Topic Archives: Juicy/Hazy IPA
Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction Volume 7 features new French hop
May brings the 7th edition of Wild Leap Brewing’s Alpha Abstraction Double IPA, a series hop heads should have checked out by now. The series is a blitz of everything a juicy IPA should be, mixed with a rotating cast of dank hops.
It was the 5th edition early this year that really blew us away – it’s hazy IPA done right. Late March brought the 6th edition, brewed with Lotus hops. This release features a hop most have never heard of – Barbe Rouge. The hop is native to France and boasts flavors of strawberry, blackcurrant and, cherry.
We shouldn’t have wait until the 5th release to try Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction
Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction 7 is available for a limited time in 12-ounce cans and draft.
Style: Imperial Juicy/Hazy IPA
Hops: Barbe Rouge
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Rotating.
Debut: Early May 2019
8% ABV
Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction 6, brewed with Lotus hops
Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction 6 is hitting shelves now, the 6th formulation of the brewery’s popular imperial IPA.
Last month, we finally tried our first Alpha Abstraction (#5) from Wild Leap and were thoroughly impressed. As some folks have probably learned the hard way, just because your IPA is hazy, it doesn’t make it good. Wild Leap’s Alpha Abstraction Series is exactly what have come to expect (and want) from this style.
We shouldn’t have wait until the 5th release to try Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction
Since this series is ever-changing, you’ve missed your shot at AA #5, but coming in hot is Alpha Abstraction #6, brewed with Lotus hops. Wild Leap states this release boasts vanilla, berry, and orange flavors, finishing with a soft bitterness.
Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction 6 is available in 12-ounce cans and draft for a limited time.
Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Lotus
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: Late March 2019
8% ABV
New Realm Hazy Like A Fox
New Realm Hazy Like A Fox
We shouldn’t have wait until the 5th release to try Wild Leap Alpha Abstraction
It took us until the fifth edition of the beer to finally find out what all the excitement is surrounding LaGrange, Georgia’s Alpha Abstraction Series. What this long means we waited too long.
Wild Leap Brewing’s reputation in the beer world is made by Alpha Abstraction aka “AA”. The double India pale ale is one of the best juicy/hazy style IPAs in Georgia right now. While each release uses a different hop bill, the response from fans is clear- they love it.
Wild Leap Alpha Extraction #5 is double dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops, finishing with just a hint of bitterness. This 12-ounce can of juicy goodness is velvety smooth to the point of being creamy, lingering with tropical fruit hop flavors that linger with every sip. In our opinion, this a great example of why the hazy IPA is popular.
AA #5 is a limited release in 12-ounce cans and draft. Wild Leaps states the 6th edition is coming in mid-March.
Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Nelson Sauvin
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.
Debut: Early February 2019
8% ABV
PIC: Beer Street Journal
Smuttynose Lady Stardust IPA
Smuttynose Lady Stardust IPA
Charlotte Haze: Birdsong Brewing Hazy Sexy Cool IPA returns
Birdsong Brewing Hazy Sexy Cool IPA re-joins the brewery’s seasonal lineup again on January 31st.
This beer was first introduced in 2018 as a part of the Charlotte, North Carolina based brewery’s IPA Series. Back by popular demand, Birdsong is re-releasing the hazy IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
We’ve been making hazy, unfiltered beer for years, long before the haze craze and love for the New England style IPA, but why not really haze it up?
Birdsong Brewing Hazy Sexy Cool IPA is available in 16-ounce cans at the brewery on January 31st, then local shops shortly after the release.
Style: Hazy IPA
Hops: Citra, El Dorado, Mosaic
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.
Latest Return: 1/31/19
?? ABV
Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA may be the best hazy IPA we’ve had yet
In the wild west of hazy India pale ales, one of the best breweries out there is about to release one of their own after a year of experimentation. Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA debuts this month.
Firestone’s brewmaster Matt Brynildson recognizes this hazy IPA trend got its start on America’s East Coast, but according to him, he also sees it starting with Bavarian hefeweizens. This may help explain the flavor profile in Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA.
This can of hop-haze boasts a creamy mouthfeel and tropical-banana aroma according to the brewery. (Where the Bavarian influence comes into play.) The brewing team amplified the esters from the yeast and paired it with fruity hops.
Firestone Walker killed it. In the world of hazy IPAs, Mind Haze is immediately one of the best we have ever had. This beer hits all the high notes of a hazy IPA; it’s a tropical juicy hop explosion, that finishes soft and almost creamy. No weird vegetal or underfermented flavors that some poorly made hazys possess. Brynildson and the brewing team took their time perfecting this beer before releasing it and you can truly taste it. This is a hazy slammer of a year-round release that raises the bar for the style.
“We’re not relying on residual yeasts or starches for turbidity. The haziness and mouthfeel of Mind Haze are cultivated by more stable means, namely using 40 percent wheat and oats in the grain bill while nailing the timing and interplay of our hop additions,” says Brynildson.
It’s this hazy IPA meets Bavaria flavor that Firestone Walker hopes really puts their own “stamp” on the style.
Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA hits the brewery’s entire distribution footprint this week in 12-ounce cans and draft.
Style: Hazy IPA
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: January 2019
6.2% ABV
Image: Beer Street Journal
