Is the Hazy Trend Drying Up?

I feel like we reached hazy “new release fatigue” maybe 3-4 years ago, at least I did, and have no excitement anymore when a brewer puts out a new one (either macro distro brewers or a TreeHouse type that is on their 200+ different IPA being released. It’s going to be similar to past ones so why bother jumping to buy. Nothing new to experience.

 

Here in Tucson there are still plenty of hazy beers to choose from but I have noticed that they account for much less of the total inventory than even a year ago. Perusing the Total Wine beer section this week, I would say 25% to 33% of the selection was hazy.

 

No change where I live (St. Pete). The craft beer bar where I hang always has 2-3 Hazies on tap, and multiple to choose from in the cooler. Two of my friends each get a case shipped directly from Other Half every month, and I buy interesting hop combinations from Tavour, so it seems I’m drinking what I call HazyLite almost everyday. Cheers!

 

Some of the best hazy I've had anywhere was at Pueblo Vida downtown, love the use of winter wheat in their beers, amazing stuff. Cheers!

 

I ask every professional brewer I meet in the US what they think of these beers. (Admittedly, probably an unrepresentative sample.) Not one has said they like them. Even the ones that brew them.

 

I've been to Tree House several times, as far as I know, no one lines up for their beers anymore. That being said, they're still very busy and selling TONS of beer. Just wanted to clear that up, it didn't directly have to do with your post.

Regarding your post, it's spot on. Which is great for a traditional beer style guy like me. And all of their beers are good, so it's not like they can brew just one style.

Their popularity at this point is driven by two things:

1) Their ratings are the highest on Untappd.
2) You can only get their beers on site.

This was before hazy beers were acceptable. Most IPAs were clear as day back then, clarity was a sign that you had a quality beer.

Once the true turbid New England IPA (early Tree House and Trillium) got rolling, this was not only not a concern, it was sought after.

 

As much as this may be seeming a trend, I also think the distribution has reached a better point now where people don't have to stand in line outside to get the best and freshest NEIPA. However, in my experience I still see the fresh and quality NEIPAs fall right off the shelves within a few days.
There still seems to be a silent majority scooping up these beers more than any other style. And honestly I'm among them probably as I love a fresh, top-tier NEIPA. I think now they are more widely-produced and available so the madness and crazy aren't as apparent, but based on how I see the inventory pop off the shelf, I think it's still there.

 

Hopefully!