What Is a Hazy IPA (and Why Is It So Popular)?

Believe it or not, Hazy IPAs aren’t just for showing off their golden orange-y appearance. And definitely not for Instagram-worthy shares.

No – Hazy IPAs are interesting little fellows for IPA fanatics, beer snobs, and casual beer drinkers. But what is a Hazy IPA, really? How is it brewed? Why is it so popular? What’s it like compared to a traditional IPA? And how many calories does it pack?

Don’t worry. You’ll get all the answers you need in this exhaustive guide including the calories in a 12-oz. (355 ml) and 16-oz. (473 ml) can. Just in case — you know — you decide to grab one yourself after this read. Here goes Hazy!

What Does Hazy IPA Mean?

Some might say a Hazy IPA is juicy and fruity, but that might confuse people thinking a Hazy IPA is a Juicy IPA, which as a matter of fact, isn’t true.

The simplest way to define a Hazy IPA is an easy-drinking beer that’s less bitter or lacks the bitterness of a traditional IPA. It has a creamy mouthfeel, refreshing fruity or tropical flavors, and a fruit basket of aromas.

And of course, you can’t forget the hazy or cloudy appearance. But as you’ll learn later throughout this post, the haziness is simply a side effect of the brewing process.

Why Is It Called Hazy IPA?

The term you’re looking for is turbidity. Turbidity is the brewing term for the hazy or cloudy appearance you see in a Hazy IPA.

Another reason why it’s called a Hazy IPA is the flavor and aroma of the beer. You’ll notice citrus and fruity flavors after taking a sip. Juice bomb? You might say that. But it’s not quite fitting for a Hazy IPA.

Distinct sweetness is a much more pleasing term. Apart from the low bitterness, think plush, pillowy, smooth, or creamy.

As for the fruitiness, some of these hops should give you a better picture of what the fruity elements could taste like:

• Mosaic
• Cashmere
• Idaho 7
• Mandarina

What Makes a Hazy IPA Different?

Cloudy … with a chance of meatballs? Nah, that was just to grab your attention.

What makes a Hazy IPA different is without a doubt its hazy appearance, but also the brewing process, grains, and yeast used.

• Yeast: Low to medium flocculating yeast to promote suspension in the beer and reduce clumping.
• Brewing Process: Dry hopping to reduce bitterness and deliver a burst of fruity aromas and brighter flavors. Furthermore, Hazy IPAs are unfiltered. That means you don’t get the clarity and crispiness you would see in traditional IPAs. Instead, you get a hazy appearance since all the particulate matter is left behind.
• Grains: Oats, wheat, or spelt make a creamier and smoother beer. It also contributes to the opaque, hazy appearance.

In the later sections, you’ll find out why each element is crucial to brewing a Hazy IPA, along with why Hazy IPAs should be unfiltered.

What Is the Difference Between a Hazy IPA and a Regular IPA?

There are 3 key differences between a Hazy IPA and Regular IPA:

1. Taste
2. Brewing Process
3. Appearance

Taste

Regular IPAs have a piney, citrusy, and bitter flavor. Hazy IPAs are sweeter, have a smoother and creamier mouthfeel, and stronger tropical fruit or citrus flavors.

Brewing Process

Remember these words: during the kettle boil and after fermentation. The former refers to when hops are added when brewing Regular IPAs. The latter refers to when hops are added when brewing Hazy IPAs.

Pretty straightforward, right? Adding hops during the kettle boil is what extracts most of the bitter punch you get with Regular IPAs.

As for Hazy IPAs, adding hops after fermentation is what’s known as dry hopping. This doesn’t extract as much bitterness as a Regular IPA but rather a fruity, refreshing aroma and flavor.

Appearance

Hazy IPAs have a light golden to orange cloudy appearance while Regular IPAs have a light amber to golden clear appearance.

Are Hazy IPAs Good?

You betcha! After all, Hazy IPAs are friendlier on your palette than a Regular IPA. None of that bitter “poison” to knock you out. Then again, taste is subjective, and not everyone will agree.

The best Hazy IPAs are all about balance. You get a smooth & rich mouthfeel, fruit-forward or juicy flavors, and enough hoppiness to still fall under the IPA scale.

Why Are Hazy IPAs So Good?

Probably because they’re juicy enough to be mistaken as orange juice? Or beer juice? But that wouldn’t sit well with a lot of IPA fanatics and beer aficionados.

Beer and juice aren’t exactly perfect prom dates. This isn’t your high school punch served in a red cup. If it tastes like orange juice, it’s not an IPA. At least that’s what some claim.

But really, what makes Hazy IPAs so good are the lower perceived bitterness and the ripe fruit flavor that’s refreshing, easy to drink, and at times, juicy.

Does this mean a Regular IPA doesn’t taste as good? Of course not! But there is one thing to note here. And it’s why a Regular or Double Standard IPA can throw off some people. Sometimes, it’s a bitter nuclear bomb you taste. Evolution shows your body will naturally reject overly bitter substances so that you don’t — to put it bluntly — die.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Hazy IPAs have become so popular. People are after the packed flavor a Hazy IPA promises over just hoppiness.

Not to mention, a creamier, fuller, and smoother mouthfeel adds to the experience of drinking an IPA. Although Hazy IPAs have this haze craze going on, it doesn’t mean Hazy IPAs are superior to Regular IPAs.

It’s all a matter of preference. Some prefer the classic old-school Regular IPA and some enjoy the juiciness, haziness, or fruitiness of a Hazy IPA.

Is Hazy IPA an Actual Beer Style?

Hazy IPAs are also referred to as New England IPA, East Coast IPA, and Juicy IPA. This confuses consumers because not all Juicy IPAs are hazy. And although New England IPAs and East Coast IPAs are quite similar, there are differences between the two.

So is Hazy IPA an actual beer style? Yes, it is! And it uses a specific brewing process known as dry hopping along with specific yeast strains and grains to create the hazy effect.

Furthermore, Hazy IPAs are unfiltered. While most beers are filtered for a clear appearance, the unfiltered process contributes to the cloudy appearance of a Hazy IPA.

Now does unfiltered beer really matter in making the haze? You’ll find out more about the unfiltered process in the later sections.

What Kind of Beer Is a Hazy IPA?

Hazy IPAs are still classified as IPAs. Although Regular IPAs are traditionally bitter, IPAs have evolved over the last century.

Just think of all the IPAs you can buy off a beer store shelf: West Coast IPAs, East Coast IPAs, Milkshake IPAs, New England IPAs, American Double IPAs, and so on.

It’s worth noting that Hazy IPAs still use a ton of hops in the recipe, and it is in fact what gives IPAs their distinct characteristic: hoppiness.

Is Hazy IPA a Wheat Beer?

Brewers define wheat beer as any beer where a sizeable portion of the grain used is wheat. The end result is typically a citrus and hazy beer.

You could say a Hazy IPA is a form of wheat beer. This is because not all Hazy IPAs or beer will use wheat as an ingredient. And not all wheat beers are hazy. Some are filtered like the Kristallweizen, for example.

What Makes a Beer a Hazy IPA?

Fruit-forward hops, low-flocculating yeast, and specific grains like oats or wheat are key ingredients that make a beer a Hazy IPA.

Another essential aspect is the dry hopping method where hops are added after fermentation. This process allows brewers to extract less bitterness and produce a stronger fruity or citrusy aroma and flavor.

And finally, it must be unfiltered. Filtering beer is a common practice to create clarity and crispiness in beer. It’s also useful in eliminating dead yeast to extend the shelf life of beer.

When you unfilter beer, you get sediment. That sediment, as some people like to call it, might sometimes be referred to as yeasties, floaties, or flakies.

Basically, sediment is protein and yeast particles that remain or float in beer. After fermentation, yeast cells form a clump and sink to the bottom.

When you agitate the bottle, these clumped yeast and protein particles are thrown back in suspension. The result you see is the sediment in beer.

But wait … how does that relate to a Hazy IPA? The keywords here are sediment and particulate matter. The sediment left behind contributes to the hazy appearance and creates a stronger fragrance & flavor.

Where Did the Hazy IPA Come From?

The first Hazy IPA came from legendary Vermont brewery The Alchemist. This is also one reason why Hazy IPAs came to be known as New England IPAs — it all started in Vermont, New England.

Now, here’s a fun fact: The creative brewers at Vermont weren’t trying to brew a Hazy IPA. They were trying to brew a fruity, less hoppy, and unfiltered IPA, which came to be known as the Heady Topper.

This opened new doors for breweries along the East Coast who also started brewing their own versions. By 2017, breweries from all over the world were trying to brew their own kind of hazy.

And by 2018, the Brewers Association added Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale to their Beer Style Guidelines.

Who Invented Hazy IPA?

The Hazy IPA is credited to John Kimmich and Greg Noonan who had been brewing Hazy IPAs in Vermont Pub and Brewery since the mid-1990s.

It wasn’t until 2003 that Kimmich opened The Alchemist brewpub and released Heady Topper. The Heady Topper came to be the original Hazy IPA and started a haze phenomenon that led breweries to create their own Haze IPA.

In fact, Heady Topper was the only Hazy IPA available at the time. You could only get a Hazy IPA in Vermont Brewery.

By August 2011, Kimmich started to can Heady Topper. These 16-oz. cans of hazy traveled all across the United States, and from then on out, attitudes toward IPA began to change.

When Did Hazy IPA Become Popular?

Hazy IPAs didn’t become as popular at first when Kimmich first released Heady Topper back in 2003.

This “new” IPA created a lot of debate since there were many who didn’t understand the haziness this new IPA had.

They were saying IPAs had to be clear, needed to have a certain degree of bitterness, and the hazy effect shouldn’t be there.

However, it didn’t stop breweries from creating their own Hazy IPAs. When online beer forums like Untappd and Beer Advocate emerged around 2011, Hazy IPAs started to gain popularity.

Who Makes Hazy IPA?

Nowadays, you could walk into a 7-Eleven and grab a Hazy IPA. This goes to show just how many breweries from all over the world brew Hazy IPAs. Some of which include the following:

• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company
• Samuel Adams Boston Brewery
• Bell’s Brewery Inc.
• Lagunitas Brewing Company
• Tired Hands Brewing Company
• The Alchemist Brewery
• Hop Butcher For The World
• Root + Branch Brewing
• Other Half Brewing Company
• Humble Sea Brewing Co.
• Mountains Walking Brewery
• Great Notion Brewing

Why Are There So Many Hazy IPAs?

It’s not surprising to find so many Hazy IPAs today. After all, if you got your hands on a juicy, citrusy, and refreshing IPA that gave you a good bitter kick and sweet punch, wouldn’t that make your brain light up?

This juicy, fruity aroma & flavor coupled with a creamy or smooth mouthfeel is what attracts so many to the Hazy IPA.

For others who don’t enjoy the harsh bitterness of a Regular IPA, could you think of an alternative? That’s what Hazy IPAs offer. It’s only natural that people would be drawn to an IPA with a subtler bitterness and distinct sweetness.

Now, it’s important to remember that brewing beer is an art. When art meets creativity and the demand for that creativity rises, you get mass production of this newfound style.

Flavor-wise, Hazy IPAs give people something you don’t find in a Regular IPA: juiciness, tropical flavors, and a fuller mouthfeel.

Ever heard of the haze craze? One reason it started is because of the flavor it embodies, and the other is simply about the haze or hazy effect.

Breweries didn’t just brew Hazy IPAs. They also wanted to brew IPA with more haze even if it didn’t alter the flavor. This so-called unofficial competition of brewing the best haze led to breweries creating Haze IPAs from all over the world.

And what do you get? Mass production of Hazy IPAs.

What Are Some Good Hazy IPAs?

Give these Hazy IPAs worth a go:

Good Hazy IPAs Worth Trying	Brewery
JJJULIUSSS!	Tree House Brewing Company
Samuel Adams Wicked Juicy Hazy IPA	Samuel Adams Boston Brewery
Dogfish Head Hazy-O! Hazy IPA	Dogfish Head Brewery
Lagunitas Hazy Wonder IPA	Lagunitas Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA	Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Visions of Spock	Monkish Brewing Co.
Zappa	Salikatt Bryggeri
Gggreennn!	Tree House Brewing Company
Be Kind Rewind	Mountain Culture Beer Co.

What Is the Best Hazy IPA?

It’s hard to say what the best Hazy IPA is since taste is subjective for everyone. However, Hazy IPAs such as JJJULIUSSS!, Hazy Little Thing, Visions of Spock, Mind Haze, and Zappa are some of the best Hazy IPAs you’ll find today.

Where to Buy Hazy IPA

You can buy Hazy IPAs almost anywhere. Even 7-Eleven has a few Hazy IPAs you can try. Other places you can buy are mostly online such as:

• Drizly
• Target
• Walmart
• Craftshack
• The Beer Library

In case you didn’t find the Hazy IPA you were looking for in any of the mentioned places, try Untappd. The best part is you get to see what other IPA fanatics have to say about it!

And finally, it’s always best to buy from the actual online brewery store. That’s always an option worth considering.

Why Are Hazy IPAs So Expensive?

Hops.

That’s one reason why. Hops are only harvested once per year. Because the demand for hops is massively high, the price is inevitably high as well.

Hazy IPAs require heaping amounts of hops to achieve those fruity, citrus, and juicy flavors you’re dying to try.

This demand alone can contribute to higher prices. Furthermore, larger breweries have contracts with hop harvesters, which could last several years.

As a result, smaller breweries will have a harder time sourcing their main ingredient: hops. It’s worth noting that brewing any IPA is more expensive than, say, a lager.

The material costs, labor costs, and production costs all contribute to the prices of Hazy IPAs and IPAs in general.

What Makes a Hazy IPA Hazy?

To keep it as short and as simple as possible, it’s 3 things: low-flocculating yeast, grains used like wheat, oats, or spelt, and dry hopping.

Now wait, is it that simple? Just 3 key elements?

Slow down there. Although it looks simple on paper, the process isn’t as simple as you might think. And that’s exactly what the next section is for.

How Do You Make a Hazy IPA?

You know now 3 key elements are needed to make a Hazy IPA. Here’s the complete explanation.

It’s Time to Flocculate Yeasties!

First, the yeast. You can’t just grab any yeast you like and dump it into the brew. Special strains of yeast are required, specifically yeast strains that produce fruity esters.

Why is this important? Here’s a quick science tour: these special strains of yeast should also have a low to medium flocculative tendency.

As brewers would describe it, flocculative tendency is the tendency where yeast cells aggregate together or form a clump. You can refer to this “clump” as yeast sediment too.

If the flocculative tendency is high, then the more the yeast cells will want to clump and drop out of the solution. The result is clearer beer.

However, if the flocculative tendency is low, you’ll see more yeast remain in the solution. And the more yeast sediment there is, the more haze you get.

But that’s only the first part, and it’s not enough to create a stable haze.

Hops and Polypheno-What?!

Hops are the stars of IPAs. Even in Hazy IPAs. But it’s how these hops are added that makes a Hazy IPA.

The hops are added after fermentation, also known as dry hopping. One of the benefits of dry hopping is being able to reduce the extraction of bitterness so you get a burst of flavor and aroma instead.

Think of dry hopping this way. If your entire hop budget is 100 hops, you would add about 1% to 2% of that budget during the kettle boil. The remaining 98% is added after the kettle boil and during fermentation.

So how does dry hopping contribute to the haze?

First, you have to learn a little hop anatomy. Hops are the dried flower parts of the hop plant. In that hop plant is a cone. And in that cone, you’ll find that 1% to 3% of its weight is hop oils.

Hop oils are mostly responsible for delivering the flavor and aroma of your favorite beers. Think any beer. If your favorite beer has piney or citrus aromas, you can thank hop oils for that.

Extracting these hops can happen in many ways, and dry hopping is one of them. When dry hopping takes place, these hop oils or polyphenols are released imparting the aroma and flavors you love in a beer.

Here’s where things get interesting. But first, remember these two terms: dry hopping and polyphenols.

Grains, Proteins, and Bonds

Ever heard of wheat beer? If you’ve seen wheat beer, you’ll notice it also has a haze similar to Hazy IPAs. Why is that so?

One of the reasons why is wheat, hence wheat beer. Hazy IPAs use specific grains such as wheat, spelt, or oats.

While the grains are important, what’s even more important is what’s inside those grains: protein. Still, remember polyphenols and dry hopping?

During the dry hopping stage, this is when the protein found in those grains combine or bind with polyphenols.

The protein-polyphenol bond formed during the dry hopping stage is also called colloidal haze. The particles in a colloidal haze are large enough to be seen by the naked eye but also small enough that it stays in the solution.

Now, this colloidal haze is what causes the haze you see in a Hazy IPA. And finally, there are two key aspects to this colloidal haze:

1. The particles should be large enough to cause a haze, but not too large that it ends up dropping out of the solution. The effect? No haze. Nada.
2. You need to use a generous number of hops for the protein-polyphenol bond to happen. If you use below that, again, no haze.

How Do You Get Haze in Hazy IPA?

Now that you’ve learned all the terms related to making a Hazy IPA, this should be easier for you to digest.

But the better question to ask is, how do you get a stable haze in a Hazy IPA? Because really, you can create the haze but it won’t be as fruity or juicy as you expected.

Or it might be hazy for a short time, then clear after. Yeast, proteins, and dry hopping are definitely key factors that all play a role to get haze in a Hazy IPA, but what about the stability?

How Do You Get Stable Haze in a Hazy IPA?

You might have read or come across an article or comment on a beer forum saying it’s not actually yeast that contributes to the haze.

Or it might be that the haze suddenly disappeared! How could this happen? Or some might say they got the haze but failed when it came to the flavor.

So what in the world is happening? Well … learning about how to make the haze in a Hazy IPA is one thing. It’s another to keep your haze stable.

Ready for another science lesson? Here’s a table to show you the factors that create a stable haze:

Factors for Creating a Stable Haze	Explanation
The Right Hops	Use hops that are high in myrcene for the dry hopping stage. Good hops to use are Mosaic, Galaxy, Columbus, and Simcoe
High-Protein Grains	Proteins play one of the biggest roles in creating a haze. High protein grains like flaked wheat or raw wheat should be part of your grain bill. Oats are great too for adding a creamy mouthfeel.
Healthy & Happy Yeast	Never store yeast in warm conditions. And also, don’t store it for too long. When yeast doesn’t receive enough oxygen or nutrients, you get sad yeast. This sad yeast will break down more protein than normal, scavenge for nitrogen, and ruin your haze.
Batch Consistency	Make sure you use the right pitch rate (how much yeast is added to cooled wort). Also, ensure good yeast viability (amount of living cells in a cell population — higher viability is better).
Monitor Your Mash and Wort pH	Aim for a mash pH of 5.5 and adjust your wort pH as desired during the postboil stage. If your mash pH is too high, the result is less protein in the solution of your wort.

What Is a Good Yeast to Use for Hazy IPA?

There are a number of good yeasts to use for a Hazy IPA, such as:

1. Wyeast London Ale III
2. WLP095 Burlington (Conan)
3. WLP 066 London Fog
4. WLP 051 California Ale V

Again, it’s crucial that your yeast is healthy. Why? Stressed and unhappy yeast results in your yeast secreting proteases.

Proteases are the worst enemies for the proteins in your beer. They’ll attack and break down the proteins so that your beer turns chunky or clear.

Evil, right? In another way, that could also be karma if you neglect your yeast.

What Is an Unfiltered IPA?

To understand unfiltered IPA, you have to understand what filtered IPA or beer is.

Put simply, brewers filter beer to create a clear or crispy appearance. Filtered beer is the process of removing any sediment remaining from the fermentation stage and before bottling.

Brewers adopt this practice to cleanse and remove any dead yeast in the beer. So what is unfiltered beer? Or rather, an unfiltered IPA?

It’s the opposite. In other words, an unfiltered IPA doesn’t undergo extra filtration before it’s bottled. As a result, you get an IPA that’s less clear or hazy.

Are Hazy IPAs Unfiltered?

Without a doubt, Hazy IPAs shouldn’t be filtered. Why is that so? For one, filtering a Hazy IPA would only make it clear. In fact, that would only turn it into a Juicy IPA instead.

Is Unfiltered Beer Dirty?

Great question.

Back in the day, filtered beer was a common practice to purify beer. The word “purify” was used because clear beer was thought to represent high quality.

However, that isn’t the case. Unfiltered beer might mean leaving a few yeasties or sediment behind, but that doesn’t mean it’s “unpure.”

What’s worth noting is that unfiltered beer is the reason you get more of the flavors and aroma in beer. You could say it’s because brewers unfilter beer that it adds character or complexity to the taste.

Why Are There Chunks Floating in My Hazy IPA?

Don’t be alarmed. You’re not going to die.

Those chunks are simply sediment in your Hazy IPA. Sediment is made of protein and yeast particles clumped together that drop down or rest at the bottom of your beer.

One thing worth noting is that older or aged beer will have more sediment (more on this later).

Do Hazy IPAs Have Sediment?

Remember colloidal haze?

It’s common to find sediment in Hazy IPAs since Hazy IPAs embody a hazy or cloudy appearance after all. Another reason for the sediment is because it was unfiltered.

Since there was no extra filtration to remove the remaining sediment, it’s only natural to find this in a Hazy IPA.

However, in some cases, your Hazy IPA might be too cloudy or hazy. This simply means there’s a ton of extra polyphenols in your Hazy IPA. As a result, these polyphenols bond to the proteins and create a chill haze effect or chill haze particles.

What Is the Sediment in Hazy IPA?

The sediment in Hazy IPAs is yeast and protein particles clumped together that float or drop down to the bottom of your beer.

Another way of putting it is that sediment is yeast leftover that remains because …

• The beer was unfiltered
• The beer was naturally carbonated inside the bottle

If you’ve tried flavored or spiced beer, sediment is common in these styles too. Now, you might be wondering, is it safe to drink sediment? Perfectly fine!

It’s just yeast. It won’t hurt you. You’ll probably feel the bite of bitterness before even noticing you accidentally drank some sediment.

And lastly, is it possible that sediment could be bad? If the beer has aged (about 6 months to 1 year) or past its expiration date, this alters the taste of your beer.

If it tastes bad or smells bad, throw it away.

What Is Hazy IPA Made of?

Hazy IPAs are made of fruit-forward hops, specific grains like wheat, oats, or spelt, and specific yeast strains.

However, one of the major ingredients needed to brew a successful Hazy IPA is high protein grains like raw wheat or flaked wheat. Protein is a key element in a Hazy IPA.

The yeast matters too, but it doesn’t create as much haze compared to the proteins that form the protein-polyphenol bond.

What Hops Are Used in Hazy IPAs?

The following fruit-forward hops can be used to make a Hazy IPA:

• Mosaic
• Citra
• Galaxy
• Tangerine Dream
• El Dorado
• Riwaka
• Amarillo
• Nelson Sauvin
• Orange Sunrise
• Motueka & Nectaron

What Does a Hazy IPA Taste Like?

If there’s one word you might hear often to describe what Hazy IPAs taste like, it’s “Juicy.” However, juicy doesn’t serve as a standalone answer.

With a haze craze going on, there are tons of Hazy IPAs with varying tastes. All of which are subjective for every person.

So what’s the best answer? There isn’t one really, but these characteristics should give you an idea of what to expect:

• Creamy or silky mouthfeel with medium to full body
• Low amounts of bitterness
• Distinct sweetness
• Tropical and fruity flavors like stone fruit, citrus, mango, orange, tangerine, pineapple, mandarin. Other flavors you might find include guava, passion fruit, and melon.

Overall, the juicy and tropical flavors and aroma depend mostly on the hops used.

Why Do Hazy IPAs Taste Juicy?

It’s all because of the hops! Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, Amarillo, Azacca, and El Dorado are all some examples of hops used to provide tropical, fruity, and juicy flavors.

These fruity flavors could be guava, melon, tangerine, passion fruit, starfruit, papaya, etc.

Hazy IPAs tend to be associated with juicy or juiciness because of the distinct orange juice or tropical fruit flavor it delivers.

Do Hazy IPAs Have Juice?

Could you imagine the rage if brewers started brewing beer that had juice? As juicy as Hazy IPAs can be, it’s important to note that beer is not juice. Nor does it have juice.

It isn’t a margarita, no matter how juicy the Hazy IPA is. Although, some might mistake it to have juice because of the intensity of hop aroma and flavor.

Hazy IPAs might distinctively taste like orange juice, but that doesn’t mean it has actual OJ in them. Hoppiness is still a crucial characteristic in Hazy IPAs even if it’s restrained.

Is Hazy IPA Sour or Sweeter?

A Hazy IPA leans more towards the sweeter side. They’re sweeter than Regular IPAs and have a distinct sweetness most likely due to the fruit-forward hops used.

Is There Sugar in Hazy IPA?

If you’re thinking table sugar or the kind of sugar you would find in desserts, that’s not quite right. Take a step back and recall the basics of beer.

The 4 main ingredients of beer are wheat, hops, grain, and water. One of the grains used is barley, which is the source of sugar.

However, during the fermentation stage, the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol. What does this mean then? It means beer, in general, including Hazy IPAs don’t contain sugar but they do have carbohydrates.

Do Hazy IPAs Have Milk?

Hazy IPAs don’t have milk, so if you’re lactose intolerant, go hazy and buy a pack now! Most Hazy IPA recipes don’t use milk unless … someone suddenly had the urge to add milk to it.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Do Hazy IPAs Have Lactose?

Say hello to lactose.

In some recipes, brewers will add lactose, also known as milk sugar. Milk sugar adds creaminess, enhances the body & mouthfeel, and of course, makes it sweeter.

Adding milk sugar to an IPA is well … a Milkshake IPA. But that’s for another post.

The important thing to remember here is that Hazy IPAs don’t have milk so lactose intolerants can safely drink Hazy IPAs. However, you should at least make sure it wasn’t brewed with lactose beforehand.

The list of Hazy IPAs mentioned in the previous sections isn’t for brews with lactose.

Is Hazy IPA Vegan?

In a sense, yes. However, some Hazy IPAs are not vegan-friendly. What does that mean exactly? Here’s a better explanation.

All the main ingredients found in beer are vegan-friendly: grains, hops, water, and yeast. However, some brewers get creative with their recipes and add honey or milk sugar to add sweetness.

Furthermore, traditional old-school brewing techniques use isinglass to clarify beer. What is isinglass? Fish guts. Read that again.

In cases like these, it’s safe to say that not all beers or Hazy IPAs are vegan. If milk sugar was added, for example, it wouldn’t be vegan-friendly anymore.

Luckily, breweries mention this in their ingredients list since milk is an allergen and it’s required to do so. By simply checking the ingredients list, you can identify which IPAs are vegan-friendly or not.

Another way of determining which Hazy IPAs are vegan friendly is by going to the PETA website. They have a list of vegan-friendly beers. Barnivore is also another site with a list of vegan-friendly IPAs.

And finally, you can always contact the brewery to ask if the Hazy IPA you want is vegan-friendly.

Is Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA Vegan?

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is a vegan-friendly brewery. And their Hazy IPA Hazy Little Thing is vegan-friendly too!

If you want more vegan-friendly Hazy IPAs, you can simply type “abillion vegan friendly Hazy IPAs” on Google. You’ll find several vegan-friendly Hazy IPAs and other vegan-friendly beers.

Is Hazy IPA Beer Gluten Free?

Some Hazy IPAs are gluten-free, but if the beer was brewed using barley or rye, it’s not gluten-free. The best way is to check the ingredients list. Here are gluten-free ingredients to look out for:

• Buckwheat
• QuinoaGhost
• Rice
• Millet
• Sorghum

If the beer contains wheat, barley, or rye, it’s not gluten-free. Examples of gluten-free Hazy IPAs include the following:

• Holidaily Brewing Big Henry
• Aurochs Brewing Hazy IPA
• Moonshrimp Brewing Blood Orange
• Ground Breaker Brewing Huge Monster
• Moonshrimp Brewing Hazy White IPA
• Ghostfish Brewing It Came From The Haze
• Ground Breaker Brewing Double Hazy IPA

Is Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA Gluten-free?

Although Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA uses oats as one of their ingredients, they also use wheat in their grain bill.

Sad to say, Hazy Little Thing is not gluten-free.

Do Hazy IPAs Have More Calories?

In general, IPA’s have more calories than your run-of-the-mill beer. Know why? It’s because of two things:

1. ABV
2. Pour size

Pour size is obvious. The bigger the can or bottle, the more calories it has. In other words, a 16-oz. (473 ml) bottle has more calories than a 12-oz. (355 ml) bottle.

Now, what about ABV? Why does ABV contribute to a higher calorie count?

During fermentation, the yeast converts sugar into alcohol. Most of the calories you see come from the alcohol content. In fact, alcohol on its own has calories.

Don’t you ever wonder why most diets almost always say to refrain from drinking alcohol? But back to the point.

Here’s what you should remember: the higher the ABV, the more calories it has.

And what contributes to the ABV in the brewing process? The amount of fermentable sugars. Put simply, the more sugar you add gives yeast more sugar to convert into alcohol.

If you added honey or maple syrup to your grain bill, it would inevitably raise the ABV. However, the best way to determine this is to measure your OG (Original Gravity) and FG (Final Gravity). These two values will give you the ABV.

Hazy IPAs will typically have ABVs above 5%, so it’s expected to have more calories. If you want a more thorough explanation and some examples, head over to the next section.

How Many Calories Are in a Hazy IPA?

The calories in a Hazy IPA can range from 170 calories to 240 calories for every 12-oz. (355) bottle or can. Take for example Bell’s Official Hazy India Pale Ale. With 6.4% ABV in its 12-oz. (355 ml) serving, it has 190 calories.

Compare that to a Budweiser or a Corona. A Budweiser only has 55 calories while a Corona has 90 calories.

How Many Calories Are in a Craft Hazy IPA?

Counting the number of calories in craft beer alone can be tricky. However, craft beers or craft IPAs will have higher alcohol content than commercial beer.

So put it this way. Most commercial beers have an ABV between 3% to 5%. Craft beer has an ABV between 5% to 10%.

Craft IPA? Craft Hazy IPA? One can definitely expect a higher ABV and higher calorie count in the 200 to 240 calorie range.

How Many Calories Are in a 12-oz Hazy IPA?

There is no definite answer to this as the calories can vary for every Hazy IPA. However, the calories in a 12-oz. (355 ml) Hazy IPA could be at least 170 calories or as high as 240 calories.

Dogfish Head Hazy-O Hazy IPA, for example, has 220 calories. Samuel Adams Wicked Hazy IPA has 210 calories. Firestone Walker Mind Haze has about 200 calories as well.

Although, if you opt for Firestone Walker’s Mind Haze Light IPA, it only packs 100 calories. It’s a great alternative if you want a Hazy IPA but you want to reduce your calorie intake.

How Many Calories Are in a 16-oz Hazy IPA?

Remember that calories in beer are influenced by ABV and pour size. Even if the ABV of a 12-oz. (355 ml) Hazy IPA is the same as a 16-oz. (473 ml) Hazy IPA, the calories are higher in a 16-oz. (473 ml) due to higher pour size.

The number of calories in a 16-oz. (473 ml) bottle of Hazy IPA can range from 250 calories to 360 calories! Phew! That packs quite a lot, doesn’t it?

How Many Calories in a Can of Hazy IPA?

The standard size for a can of Hazy IPA is about 12 oz. (355 ml). That means you can expect about 170 calories to 240 calories depending on the ABV.

Sometimes, going to the brewery’s site should give you additional info as well. There are also free online charts that provide the calories per serving size and ABV.

How Many Calories in Can of Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA?

Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing Hazy IPA has 214 calories. If you go to Sierra Nevada’s website, you’ll find additional nutrition facts like the ABV, protein, carbohydrates, the hops used, and even a beer pong game!

How Many Calories Are in a Lagunitas Hazy IPA?

Surprisingly, a 12-oz. (355 ml) can of Lagunitas Hazy IPA has 170 calories. It’s not as high as the other Hazy IPAs that fall in the 200-calorie range.

Are Hazy IPAs Bad for You?

Technically speaking, all alcoholic drinks are bad for you to a certain degree. There’s a reason why alcohol should be taken in moderation.

Hazy IPAs aren’t bad for you at all. But you might enjoy it so much you’d finish a 6-pack in one sitting! Side note: It’s not always a bad thing to enjoy a 6-pack on the weekends. But do it in moderation.

Do Hazy IPAs Cause Worse Hangovers?

Not necessarily. Hazy IPAs or even stronger IPAs don’t cause worse hangovers. It mostly depends on a person’s body chemistry.

Some might be more tolerant of hoppy beers while others are not. Some may also be allergic to one of the ingredients used to make the IPA. Malt extract, for example, has been known to trigger a few allergic reactions.

Some are not able to metabolize alcohol which results in nausea, increased heart rate, and the so-called Asian red flush.

At the end of the day, you might find someone who’s highly tolerant to IPAs and tequila but intolerant to wine or rum. Again, it’s a matter of body chemistry.

But if you want a clear answer, you can take an allergen test to determine which ingredients you should avoid. Contacting the brewery and asking if they have any allergens in their ingredients is another option too.

Why Do Hazy IPAs Make Me Sick?

This could either be related to a beer allergy or intolerance you have towards specific ingredients. If the side effects are nausea, vomiting, and other serious symptoms, it’s a clear sign you need a checkup.

However, if this happened on a rare occurrence, it could either be that the beer was past its expiration date or it was infected.

A beer infection is quite rare, and it’s not likely for this to happen. Aged beer or rather beer that’s past its recommended shelf life can make some feel sick.

After all, who enjoys anything expired, right? And why would your stomach enjoy it at all, right?

Why Do Hazy IPAs Give Me Gas?

Are you talking about beer farts? Because if you are, you better tell everyone to clear the room first. But don’t worry.

This isn’t entirely your fault. You can blame the sulfate found in your beer. Malt, yeast, and even some hops contain sulfur-containing chemicals that make beer farts … deadly.

That’s not all. Drinking beer releases carbon dioxide or CO2 gas. This gas inevitably builds up in your gut the more you drink.

In simpler words, it’s because of carbonation. This creates gas bubbles in your stomach, which is why you tend to feel bloated after.

It’s hard to prevent all those gas bubbles from reaching your stomach. And sometimes, you get excess gas in the process.

How Long Do Hazy IPAs Last?

Obviously not longer than a Twinkie.

One thing for sure is that IPAs in general don’t last very long. Another crucial point is that filtered beer has a longer shelf life than unfiltered beer.

Since Hazy IPAs are unfiltered, then it means the shelf life of a Hazy IPA might not even reach 6 months.

There are a few IPAs that can last for 6 months and even for an entire year. However, most IPAs only last up to 3 months.

And that also highly depends on how it’s stored. If it’s stored in a warm environment, this shortens the shelf life.

In fact, most brewers recommend you should drink an IPA whether it’s a Hazy IPA or West Coast Style IPA before it hits the 3-week mark. This is so that the IPAs are still fresh and you taste all the flavors you were meant to.

Does Hazy IPA Go Bad and Expire?

Yes! It’s a well-known fact that all beer can go bad and expire. The last thing you want to do is keep your Hazy IPA alone and neglected until it’s too late.

Expiration dates for Hazy IPAs vary, though. Fortunately, most breweries print expiration date labels on their beers. It’s always recommended to follow these standards to ensure safety.

Do Hazy IPAs Have to Be Refrigerated?

Well … you won’t go to jail if you decide to keep it under the sun. However, storing beer in optimal conditions extends its shelf life and preserves the freshness, flavors, and aroma.

Just like coffee beans. Except, coffee beans don’t exactly need to be stored in refrigerators.

For Hazy IPAs it’s recommended to have it refrigerated. Unless you want to lose all the flavor?

The recommended temperature for storing Hazy IPAs, or beer in general, is 35°F (1.7°C) to 46°F (7.8°C).

How to Pour a Hazy IPA

Here’s how to pour a Hazy IPA:

• Take a clean glass and tilt it at a 45-degree angle. Keep that angle and position steady
• Pour 3/4 of the Hazy IPA from the bottle into your glass
• Swirl your bottle or can to disperse any sediment
• Pour the remaining 1/4 straight down the center of your glass

And that’s it! You’ve done it!

But wait … is this necessary? Nope. Pouring a Hazy IPA the right or wrong way doesn’t change the way it tastes.

It also doesn’t influence the flavor profile either. So why do it? For the experience and enjoyment of Hazy IPAs!

There’s nothing wrong if you want to drink Hazy IPAs straight from the can or bottle. There’s also nothing wrong if you prefer to pour it with all the angles and swirling.