While the ‘Haze Craze’ really hit its stride in 2018 — after the Brewers Association unveiled the Juicy or Hazy IPA style into the Great American Beer Festival — this fruity, plush variant of the American IPA can be traced back to 2003!

Yep, 2003. At the same time many of us rocked out to ‘Stacy’s Mom’ in our low rise jeans, breweries in New England were experimenting with hopping methods and filtering techniques! With an emphasis on late dry hopping, brewers discovered how they could extract bright layers of tropical fruit flavors from hops without conflicting bitterness — a defining characteristic of the style. They also left the brews unfiltered, hence the hazy nature of almost all NEIPAs!

Today, the New England IPA continues to explode across the U.S. At the 2021 Great American Beer Festival, the Juicy/Hazy IPA category was by far the largest with a staggering 427 entries. Needless to say, walk into almost any taproom, and there will probably be a Hazy on the taplist.

Aroma: Intensely tropical, fruity

Appearance: Cloudy, opaque, color ranges from light amber to sunset orange. Meringue-esque, pillowy white head floats above its often bright, OJ-like pour.

Flavor: The NEIPA’s bright, juicy flavors depend on the hops selected. Common tasting notes include tropical fruits like pineapple, passionfruit, or guava, or stone fruits, like peach and apricot.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full, fluffy, smooth