“Hints of chocolate flavours with lime, mandarin and stone fruit finish. Hopped with Galaxy and Wai-iti hops Ladies & gentlemen, we have been cleared to land at New England IPA Airport. Please fasten your craft beer seat belt, make sure your neck & mouth are in the upright position & your taste buds are ready for landing. The Wai-iti & Galaxy dry hop attendants are moving through the choc malt cabin to collect any mandarins, lime or stone fruits that may have become loose in the overhead bins during the flight. For your safety please remain seated until the Flamin Good Beer sign has been switched off.”

Glassware: IPA

Appearance: Murky apricot coloured body with a thumb of off white head. Good retention and healthy lace clinging to the glass as it subsides.

Aroma: Smells of candied orange citrus, boiled candy, sweet lime, rockmelon, guava and honeydew. The brewers say there’s a chocolate malt used here but that would be news to us…we can pick up a semi sweet honey malt but that’s about it. A hint of resin and weedy herbals also developing late. NEIPA huh?

Flavour: Slightly delayed but once it kicks off it offers a fair amount of stonefruit and mixed orange citrus. Apricot, lime and weedy herbals provide an interesting and unique mid palate and eventually lay down for a fruity finish full of more stonefruits.

Mouthfeel: Fairly smooth and creamy. Nicely weighted with good carbonation. 5% ABV though? What the hell is that?!

Overall: We can’t work this one out. It’s called a NEIPA but there’s hardly anything NEIPA about it. There’s apparently a chocolate malt which isn’t detectable and it’s 5% ABV which technically makes it a session IPA. Confusion.