During the summer months, many drinkers tend to gravitate towards light, refreshing lagers — a phenomenon that’s plainly obvious based on recent craft brewing trends. But if you’re anything like us, you don’t want to get tired of just one summer beer style. When it comes to a summer lager change-up, you’d be hard pressed to find a better choice than the hazy IPA.
Often referred to as New England-style IPAs, these juicy, hazy, tropical fruit, and citrus-filled beers are a great choice for lager and pilsner fans, because, like those light lagers, NEIPAs have little to no bitterness. Cloudy and juicy, with flavors like mango, guava, pineapple, and tangerine — what could be more appealing on a hot, humid summer day?
The best part? There are so many great hazy IPAs on the market, you can find great options almost anywhere. This is why today, we decided to rank eight of our favorite easy-to-find hazy IPAs.
8) New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger line of beer is fairly well-known in the American beer landscape and in our opinion, the best version is its Juicy Haze. This 7.5% ABV New England-style IPA is brewed with American hefeweizen yeast, Pale, wheat, and C-80 malts, as well as oats. It’s hopped with Citra, Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, and Nugget hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly sweet with a ton of tropical fruit notes, wet grass, and some citrus. Thar’s about it. The palate is cloyingly sweet with mango, guava, and pineapple taking center stage. This is definitely not a bad beer, it’s just that it tastes more like candy than beer. The fruity flavor is about as subtle as Gallagher wielding a sledgehammer.
Bottom Line:
Hazy IPAs are known for their juicy, fruity flavor. This one takes it to a tooth-achingly new level. It’s just a little too sweet for us.
7) Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
There are few hazy IPAs as well known and highly regarded as Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing. But is it really as great as some drinkers think or is it simply popular because it’s available everywhere? This 6,7% ABV easy-drinking IPA is brewed with Two-row Pale and Munich malts, as well as oats and wheat. It’s hopped with Citra, Magnum, Simcoe, Comet, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly bland with aromas of floral hops, pineapple, and grapefruit, and that’s really about it. We tried to find more, but there just wasn’t a lot going on. The palate didn’t even add to the experience. There were flavors of tangerine, some mango, and a hint of floral hops. But overall, this was a fairly bland, disappointing beer.
Bottom Line:
We had high hopes for Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing because it constantly makes list of “best hazy IPAs.” It’s not a horrible beer, it’s just boring and not very memorable.
6) Elysian Contact Haze
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This 6%, mildly hazy, lightly bitter New England-style IPA is brewed with oat malt, Pale ale malt, flaked barley, as well as El Dorado, Southern Passion, Sabro, Mosaic, Sultana, and Citra hops. It’s known for its bold berry, citrus, and tropical fruit flavors.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found more dank aromas than expected in a hazy IPA. Slight pine resin, grapefruit, orange, mango, and passion fruit are also present. Sipping it reveals more mango, guava, and pineapple as well as a bit of malt and spicier, slightly bitter, piney hops. It’s a little more on the bitter side than I’d prefer in a hazy IPA.
Bottom Line:
Elysian Contact Haze is a fairly well-balanced hazy IPA with a nice mix of fruit, malts, and hops. It’s just a little too piney and bitter for my liking.
5) Two Roads Two Juicy
ABV: 8.2%
Average Price: $15.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Two Roads Two Juicy, shouldn’t it be Two Roads Too Juicy? Discuss. Anyway, this cloudy, unfiltered New England-style IPA is known for its use of Mandarina, Bavaria, and Hallertau Blanc hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is dominated by citrus — tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon zest. It’s followed by slight pine and some light tropical fruit notes, but not much else. The palate has more pine resin and floral, Noble hops that pair well with the citrus and tropical fruit flavors. Overall, this is a beer for hazy IPA fans that want just a kiss of floral, spicy hops.
Bottom Line:
The addition of German hops gives this hazy IPA a unique flavor profile that you won’t find in many other New England-style IPAs. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great gateway between classic German lagers and American hazy IPAs. If that’s not for you, move on.
4) Firestone Walker Mind Haze
ABV: 6.2%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This 6.2% ABV New England-style IPA has a surprisingly complex recipe. It’s brewed with 2-Row and Munich malts as well as torrified wheat, and oats. It gets its citrus and tropical fruit flavors from being kettle hopped with Mandarina and Cascade hops and dry-hopped with Azacca, El Dorado, Mosaic, Chinook, Cashmere, Callista, and Idaho 7 hops.
Tasting Notes:
A mix of citrus zest, earthy, herbal hops, fresh-cut grass, and tropical fruit aromas meet your nose before the first sip. The palate is as sweet and juicy as you’d expect from a New England-style IPA. There are also notes of bready malts, tangerine, mango, passion fruit, grapefruit, and light, floral hops at the very finish.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to well-rounded hazy IPAs you can find anywhere, it’s tough to beat Firestone Walker Mind Haze. It has everything juicy, hazy IPA fans could want, along with a nice hit of malts and floral hops.
3) Sloop Juice Bomb
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Sloop’s flagship IPA is referred to as a “northeastern” IPA likely because it’s brewed in New York, but we know what it really is (a New England-style IPA). It’s known for its mix of citrus fruits, tropical fruits, and American hops.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of tangerine, orange zest, mango, pineapple, caramel malts, and slightly resinous pine greet your nose before your first sip. The palate is a nice mix of herbal, floral hops with little to no bitterness, juicy pineapple, ripe mango, tangerine, and sweet wheat. Overall, based on its name, it’s surprisingly well-balanced.
Bottom Line:
Sure, this IPA is a “juice bomb,” like it says in the name, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a complex, perfectly balanced New England-style IPA that ticks all of the hazy beer boxes.
2) Deschutes Fresh Haze
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Deschutes is the kind of brewery that only makes great beers. In my opinion, one of the best is its Fresh Haze. It’s brewed with 2-row and Crystal malts as well as wheat and flaked oats. It gets its bold, citrus and tropical fruit flavor from the addition of Amarillo, Cashmere, Mandarina Bavaria, and Bravo hops.
Tasting Notes:
Orange zest, tangerine, lime, grapefruit, tropical fruits, and flaked oats are prevalent on the nose. The flavor is very citrus-centric with tangerine juice, lime zest, and grapefruit making an appearance along with caramel malts, and flaked oats. There’s also some earthy wet grass, but not much in terms of hop bittering and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to well-balanced, citrus-centric hazy IPAs, Deschutes Fresh Haze is one of the best. Flaked oats add sweet, flavorful depth to the juicy beer.
1) Ommegang Neon Rainbows
ABV: 6.6%
Average Price: $11.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Ommegang Neon Rainbows is a year-round offering from the Cooperstown, New York-based brewery. Best enjoyed during the humid summer months, it’s brewed with London ale yeast. It gets its bold, juicy flavor from Mosiac, Simcoe, Topaz, and Centennial hops in the kettle, and dry-hopping with Simcoe, Citra, Topaz, and Mosaic hops.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. Grapefruit, mango, guava, papaya, pine tar, wet grass, and a ton of citrus. The palate is a nice mix of pine, tropical fruit sweetness, and tart citrus. There are also notes of ripe berry, grapefruit, pineapple, fresh-cut grass, and floral subtly bitter hops. Overall, a very well-balanced flavor experience.
Bottom Line:
Ommegang Neon Rainbows is so complex and flavorful, it’s the kind of IPA that needs to be enjoyed multiple times in order to find all of the flavors.
