Not since the IPA explosion of the late aughts has a style of beer experienced such a meteoric rise to dominance.
In the space of just a few years, hazy went from just the latest adopted American beer trend to the most popular style of craft beer around.
This unprecedented popularity all but dictated that brewers needed to get aboard the hazy train, regardless of what they may think of the style. These days you can pick a craft brewery out of a hat and just about guarantee they’ll do one (if not several).
Only this year has the rise of hazy beer shown signs of levelling off, gaining only a handful of additional entries in the recent New World Beer and Cider Awards. After the Brewers Guild Awards later in the year we’ll know for sure, but even if the plateau has finally been reached, hazy is still sitting on an absolutely titanic slice of the craft market.
However, as the years of hazy saturation have worn on, a growing number of drinkers are finding themselves well and truly over the style. Over the bar, the once ubiquitous refrain of “Got any hazys?” is gradually shifting to “Got anything else?”
Whether you’re over it or still all-in, hazy beer isn’t going anywhere any time soon, so you might as well be getting the good stuff.
Hazy, just like any other style, has good and bad examples. Generally speaking, the overall quality has increased significantly just in the last year or two, as more brewers figure out the eccentricities of these challenging beers. But there’s still plenty out there that seems like it’s been brewed as an afterthought and chucked out onto the market just to capitalise on the popularity of the style. Lazy Hazy I call it. Dull, murky tasting beer with plenty of haze, but no life or character to the flavour.
So how to aim for a good one? First know what you’re getting. The principle split in the styles of hazy beer is whether or not they’ve had lactose (unfermentable milk sugar) added. Lactose introduces a sweetness and weight to the body of a beer, and while these milkshake style hazys certainly have their following, they’re absolutely not for me. So, if you’re not after a sweet, heavy beer either then check if lactose has been added. It should be declared on the packaging of most examples.
Lactose aside, good hazy beer should (despite its appearance) have a brightness to its aroma and flavour. A sharp acidity that holds those fruit flavours up and keeps them tasting fresh and crisp. Without that sharpness and lift, all that fruitiness can end up tasting muted, over-ripe and squishy.
Another trap hazys often fall into is lack of bitterness. While hazy is a low bitterness beer, it shouldn’t be a no bitterness beer, and without that bit of grip to conclude the finish, the drinkability can suffer.
As long as those two boxes are ticked, you’ve likely got a perfectly sound beer. Whether it’s also an interesting beer depends on a myriad of other factors, including personal taste, but it’s a good foundation to keep in mind as you’re exploring.
As discussed, there is a lot of hazy beer out there. But I have a few highly available go-to’s that are easy recommendations. Mac’s Apparition is a remarkably good budget option in a six pack, as is Panhead Sandman for a craftier but still affordable pick. If you’re aiming closer to the top shelf, Behemoth Me Time Mozaic and Garage Project’s single batch Fresh IPA are some of the very best I’ve tasted.
Tim Newman
hoppiness.co.nz
