Neon Haze
Amsterdam Brewery

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned May 2/25. My fifth beer from the Toronto, Ontario brewery, and fourth for 2025. Heartily endorsed by Gracie the cat...

 

I got a tall boy can of this beer from the LCBO store in Red Lake, Ontario whilst up there dropping my son off for two week hockey excursion. It poured a hazy golden with thin white ring head that is leaving some lace. The scent had bitter citrus notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base and bitter grapefruit citrus presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

 

 

Jan 12 2024

 

A-Bright yellow, with little to no head and poor lacing
S-Some feint fruit aromas with an acidic fragrance that is quite pronounced
M-Medium carbonation with a sour, tart presence and dry mouthfeel
T-Astringent flavour in more of a sour ale that brings a little citrus character but not enough to be present
O-Nope, maybe the cab was not fresh as it was two months old, but this was a tart mess.

 

 

L: Opaque hazy tan yellow with minimal head and lacing
S: Inviting fruity juicy aroma with notes of peach, mango, and pineapple
T: Balanced juiciness and bitterness. Bright citrus and stonefruit juicy flavour. Very slight resiny hops and light sweet caramel malts.
F: Medium bodied, smooth carbonation, and a moderately dry finish.
O: Great balanced hazy IPA, nothing mindblowing.

 

 

 

473 mL can from Superstore; coded Aug 31 2021 and served barely chilled.

Pours cloudy and turbid, its body an apricot-yellow hue; seated atop is roughly one finger of soapy, foamy white head that fizzles off within a minute or two. A narrow collar of suds is left encircling some filmy patches on the surface, with a tight ring of lacing also left in place; looks like a typical NEIPA. Smells juicy and fruity - I'm getting grapefruit, orange and peach, with additional hints of lemon, passion fruit, and maybe a touch of mango.

The flavours follow the nose - citrus and stone fruit are what I'm getting, including white grapefruit, orange, peach and apricot. Hints of wheaty pale malt sweetness underneath, with suggestions of passion fruit, mango and maybe a hint of honeydew melon. Finishes juicy, with minimal bitterness and a slight hop acid burn as stone fruitiness dissipates into the aftertaste. Medium in body, with moderate carbonation that provides just the right level of prickliness to this brew's soft, plush mouthfeel. Easier to toss back than most NEIPAs, but the sub 6% abv is a big reason for that.

Final Grade: 3.99, a B+, on the verge of an A-. One of Ontario's eldest extant craft breweries, Amsterdam has more experience than most when it comes to putting out decent-to-good brews... but still, I've never been a big proponent of their IPAs. That's why I was pleased to discover that Neon Haze might actually be one of their best hoppy beers to date, hazy or otherwise: it's at least on par with Boneshaker in terms of quality, though they're practically opposites otherwise (what with Neon Haze being more of a light, hazy, juicy brew, and Boneshaker being a strong, old school, bitter one). It's something I'll return to once in a while, and I'd encourage other hopheads to give it a shot as well.

Pours cloudy blond with a smallish head that musters up a lot of lace chunks on the glass. Guava, mango, pineapple, citrus hop aroma in the nose. The taste is a tropical hop explosion with floral notes on the sides. A compact, doughy malt profile provides balance throughout. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with brisk carbonation. High bitterness and lots of tropical fruit in the long finish.

A fantastic NEIPA from this old school Toronto brewery. Hoppy and juicy. Worth a try.

 

Review from notes. LCBO purchase and served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - Hazy yellow, good color with two fingers of long lived white head. Good staying power and spotty lacing.

Smell - Light citrus notes of grapefruit, mango and cantaloupe primarily.

Taste - Matches the nose almost perfectly with some strong bitterness initially from grapefruit but sweeter notes of mango and cantaloupe and possible other melon.

Mouthfeel - Smooth and medium bodied with appropriate carbonation.

Overall - Smooth and pretty juicy, good flavors, balanced yet unique. One of Amsterdam's better beers of recent memory.