“For better or worse, it is now part of the mainstream,” said Fisher, who helped lobby the Brewers Association. The category dethrones the American-style IPA that had the most entries annually since 2002.

In its upcoming inaugural year at the Great American Beer Festival, the hazy or juicy IPA leads all categories with 414 submissions. Many breweries still refer to the beer style as a New England-style IPA.īEFORE YOU BUY: The highest rated IPAs made in Fort Collins The style was formally recognized earlier this year as the hazy or juicy IPA by the Boulder-based Brewers Association despite the protest of some brewers. “It still caters to hop heads with hop flavor and aroma, but is also more approachable to a more casual beer drinker that hates bitter beers.” “It appeals to a much bigger audience,” Fisher said. Hazy beers are known for having a creamy mouthfeel and fruity aroma and tasting less bitter than their more traditional American IPA counterparts. “Now it is, ‘Whatever is the haziest.’ It has really taken off.” “It used to be that the most common beer order was, ‘Whatever is the strongest,’' said Justin Crossley, who runs The Brewing Network web series and two Hop Grenade craft beer bars. The beer style first developed in the mid-1990s in Vermont has been one of the largest growing segments of the craft beer industry across the country over the past two years.īreweries of all sizes have attempted their own versions of the the cloudy, unfiltered variety. We tried a couple examples from there, took the blueprint and made it our own with no expectation of what would come.” What is a hazy IPA? “We had been hearing a lot about New England-style IPAs. “It has become its own animal,” said Weldwerks co-owner and brewer Neil Fisher. The beer that resembles a glass of pulpy orange juice earned Weldwerks national recognition and is now its flagship brew - accounting for more than 70 percent of the 7,000 barrels the brewery will produce this year.

Juicy Bits by Anne Regan