Pass Me a Mountain IPA: The New IPA Sub-styles to Know | VinePair

During the early 2000s, the American IPA was cleaved along coastlines. Sweeter, maltier East Coast IPAs — earthy, floral — contrasted West Coast IPAs that smelled of dank cannabis and pithy grapefruit. Over time, West Coast IPA’s softened and turned tropical, while New England breweries birthed the juicy hazy IPA.

As craft beer boomed, location had scant bearing on a brewery producing directional IPAs, reducing geographic callouts to shorthand for aroma and flavor. We eventually became a nation of New England IPAs, our smooth highways paved with Citra hops.

Now it’s time for detours. To distinguish themselves, breweries are developing geographically distinct IPAs tailored to local climates, tastes, and native ingredients. From Ska Brewing’s Southwest Coast IPA, a specialty of Durango, Colo., to the desert-dry San Diego IPA, here’s how breweries are dropping fresh pins into the modern IPA map.

For VinePair, I take a look at the rise of new regional IPAs.