Non-Hazy IPAs That Get Hype?

To be clear (pun excused), are you looking for hyped clear IPAs or clear IPAs with low bitterness and juicy character? If the former, I soundly believe they don't exist.

If the latter, one that comes to mind would be stuff from Kern River -- they've been releasing more one off cans/bottles lately. Not all of it is super bright/clear, but the haze you may see is pretty different than your standard NEIPA haze. Lower bitterness, great feel, juicy/fruity hop profiles.

I don't know if they can these, as we just drank at the brewery, but Fieldwork is another one worth checking out. They're doing a good amount of haze these days, but they had some bright beers too that I thought pushed closer to the lower bitterness, fruitier profile of NEIPA.

 

Cellarmaker makes INCREDIBLE "clear" IPAs. They always have. The haze train definitely won them over however and they practically never make them anymore. Sad.

Altamont, Melvin, and Boneyard are making killer non-hazy hoppy stuff. Their stuff is pretty hyped, and they show no signs of crossing over the tracks.

 

Not sure if these are in your bitterness range, but the best year-round clear IPAs I've had around here are

1. Revision IPA
2. Alpine Duet
3. Knee Deep Breaking Bud

 

Weedy, what are your thoughts on the topic of yeast flocculation and the production of Cloudy IPAs?

A yeast strain that is popular with homebrewers to produce Cloudy IPAs is Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III). I have personally not used this strain in my homebrewing but I have read many accounts that when Wyeast 1318 is used to produce traditional English Ales (e.g., Bitter Ales, Mild Ales, etc.) that this yeast drops out well and the resulting beers are clear.

Below is the description for Wyeast 1318 from the Wyeast website (with emphasis in bold by me):

“STRAIN: 1318

London Ale III™

Originating from a traditional London brewery, this yeast has a wonderful malt and hop profile. It is a true top cropping strain with a fruity, very light and softly balanced palate. This strain will finish slightly sweet.

High Flocculation

Attenuation: 71 - 75

Temperature Range: 64 - 74

ABV: 10”

So, why does a yeast strain which has the quality of high flocculation result in a Cloudy IPA?

Cheers!

 

Agreed. Or, at least not the same level of hype as local haze releases, national haze favorites like Tree House, etc. I think there are local pockets where clear IPAs have cult followings and get some excitement when they're released (i.e., batches of irregularly released stuff from Pizza Port or Societe in San Diego, for example), but definitely nothing like the hype of haze releases.

tl;dr (and to my initial post): hyped clear IPA releases don't exist.

 

So which ones were bad (and which were good, if any) that you've had?

 

Truthfully, I don't know of any brand new ones, but beers like Headhunter and Dirtwolf have good reputations. Definitely not hype-train beers, though.

 

My favs:
Alpine - Duet
Alpine - Windows Up
Bells - Two Hearted
CC - Jai Alai

Firestone has been doing well with the Luponic series. Those are all clear and very tasty.

 

I only sip #hazebro... don’t act like you didn’t know that.

 

Jack, shoulda just linked to the hazy IPA homebrewing thread! Lots of great reading material there, much of it by yourself!

 

Andromeda IPA, from Galaxy Brewing is a "clear"* low apparent bitterness. It has a similar flavor profile to Jai Alai. Maybe a little more tangerine, a little less apparent bitterness, slightly lower ABV. (Actual IBUs : 53?) Problem is finding it, & not old . I think they over-produced it last fall, or at least some outlets over-bought. + (Distributor?) everywhere I saw it, it arrived old/old-ish. Maybe with your connections you can get it fresh? (& they're on the haze-train too, with more recent offerings)
* When I first saw "clear" I was thinking really pale, rather than "normal" IPA look.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32700/101875/

 

I agree 100% Root Down in Phoenixville, PA has put out a bunch of great IPAs that are clear. Not sure they're hyped, but I love what they're doing. Plus they make an awesome helles and pils

 

Do you have any brands of clear IPAs from Root Down that you would recommend?

Based upon what is served at my local beer bars (e.g., TJs Everyday) the hazy Root Down beers are the popular ones (e.g., Flying Guillotine, Flux, etc.).

Cheers!

 

I haven’t used that strain. I have used the yeast bay’s Vermont strain that produced a hazy beer that someone said looked like egg yolk. It was a bright dense yellow like color.

There is much talk about this style and the haze factor. I can say that I have produce very turbid beers with 001 and 007. One ipa With 001 I didn’t even use wheat or oats. I did dry hop at high Krausen and again in the keg. The beer stayed turbid the whole time in the keg. It didn’t last long though.

When I used 007 I added wheat and dry hopped again at high krausen. Beer looked like a smoothi but the final pours of the keg where clear.

 

I have only brewed one Cloudy IPA (my version of Trillium Galaxy Fort Point) and I used the dry yeast version of 007 (Fermentis S-04). That beer was turbid/murky/opaque and when I drank my last bottle (about 2.5 months post the bottling date) that beer was still turbid/murky/opaque. I used wheat malt as part of the grain bill (as per the BYO clone recipe).

Cheers!

P.S. You mentioned "final pours of the keg where clear". Was your keg always in cold storage? Maybe this 'clearing effect' was encouraged by the cold storage?

 

Yes, stored cold the whole time. Which, may be the cause that the protein eventually dropped out.

 

When a Space Dust and Jai Alai showed up in my neck of the woods, we couldn’t keep them on the shelf...same with Sculpin

 

1999 wants their IPA back
Sensi Star
Bine

I like flying guillotine, but was not a fan of flux. I do like that even their hazy IPAs have a nice bitter backbone and are not just aroma

 

Mikkeller Floccy Balboa! Sorry, kept seeing the word and couldn't help, but type it.