Is the Hazy Trend Drying Up?

Oh absolutely. I didn’t mean to suggest that it’s hard to find a hazy/New England IPA if that’s what you’re looking for—only that compared to other regions you’re at least as likely (or more likely) to find a more traditional/West Coast IPA as you are its murkier cousin.

 

I would say it's been a success for a select few who have done it right. IE treehouse

 

I was scrolling through Tree House beer listings on BA not too long ago and my jaw dropped. My thumb got tired. They are prolific in a way that I would find overwhelming. And I have to wonder how much difference there can possibly be between all these beers.

Personally I’d rather go somewhere that offers a handful of beers and they are all clearly unique than a place that has 20 variations on essentially the same beer. But that’s just me, and I’ve never been to Tree House or had any of their beers, so I have no idea if that’s what they are doing.

I’ve wondered in other threads whether the versions of NEIPAs that I’ve had (almost all produced by West Coast breweries) are just not the same as the best hazy IPAs produced by some of the breweries you mention—and that maybe that’s why I just don’t get their popularity. Starting to think that’s the case. Maybe sometime I’ll have a chance to travel up that way and find out for myself. My daughter is looking at colleges on the East Coast so at least that would be a silver lining if she ends up back there…

 

There is so little if no seasonal update/swap on grocery store shelves here it kills me

 

There ain't that much difference between their beers aside from label art. They are good hazies but they thrive on FOMO and the culture of constant releases.

 

Good to know. I guess it works for them.

 

All that being said, I would never turn one down in a trade box or if I was in the area I would definitely visit. The beers are world class but of the dozen of so hazies I've tried from them they were fairly indistinguishable. I doubt I could tell them apart in a blind tasting.

 

I personally think imperial IPAs seem to be somewhat of a trend. Not a fan of the style, but they seem more a more popular from breweries like Founders and New Belgium recently with 4 Giants and Juice Force.
I don't think much has changed with hazy IPAs. Macro breweries still pump them out and Craft brewries are still making some top quality haze which I enjoy.

 

I guess what surprises me is that people go for this. I mean, everyone is tasting the same beers and if they are all truly virtually indistinguishable, I’d expect that practice to wear thin pretty fast. I’m sure their beers are great but they’d still be great if they didn’t give them all different names/labels and just settled on a handful of recipes that are more different from each other. I guess this is why I would be terrible at business.

 

There is a place here that charges $18 for 4x16 Brown ale and the IPA goes up to $22. Never been there and won’t be going. The brown ale gets an average 3.8 score on Untappd , I find scores there to be inflated.

When I can get amazing beer at Forest and Main or Human Robot for less why would I pay $18 for average beer?

Enjoy

 

Unpossible. It was just yesterday you were taking her to Chucks for ice cream.

 

Is the hazy trend drying up?

It's not clear.

 

I’m well aware of this apparent rift in the time/space continuum.

Oh, that one hurt.

 

I'd say they're more or less drying up as a "trend" in that they've become an accepted and mainstream style of beer. They're not going away. They're here to stay. Although I think some of the "hype" of the style has died down as they've jumped the shark somewhat. I saw Heady Topper at a local dive bar last week, and my local neighborhood liquor store had Trillium and Other Half in stock. This would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Times are changing. Except for maybe Tree House and a few others, you don't really see people camping in line for hazies like you did 5-10 years ago.

I think hazy IPAs will stick around to simply become a normal core offering for breweries' lineup, alongside American/West Coast IPAs.

 

I don't think they are not drying up. Maybe not as many releases, but there are still plenty out there.

 

While it may be the "Grandfather' of the style, I have never, not for a single second, considered HT to a Murky/Hazy IPA. It's not fruity, it's not ugly, and it comes across as something that beer drinkers would enjoy.