When you order a draft beer, the first thing you notice is its appearance. A Hazy IPA, as the name suggests, has a cloudy look, quite different from the clarity you might see in other beer styles like a light-bodied pilsner or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But a Hazy IPA is much more than just its appearance. That hazy look hints at the rich, full flavor that awaits. The careful selection of malts and hops, along with minimal filtering before packaging, results in a beer with lower perceived bitterness than other IPAs and a distinctly fruity hop character. You’ll often hear the term "juicy" used to describe it, evoking the taste of ripe citrus like the lush orange flavor in Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA. While some craft beer styles might be considered acquired tastes, like the bold bitterness of a West Coast IPA or the depth of an Imperial Stout, the popularity of Hazy IPAs shows they are crowd-pleasers.    

It’s not that Hazy IPAs are necessarily better, but they are a welcoming entry into the world of craft beer. What makes a Hazy IPA so hazy? It’s all in the brewing process, particularly the extensive dry hopping, but it actually starts even before heating the brew kettle. The recipe for a Hazy IPA relies on oats and wheat, both malted and unmalted, which play a crucial role down to their specific protein content, beta-glucans, diastatic power, and other technical specs. 

In Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA, this precise grain mix interacts with the polyphenols (essentially pre-haze molecules) in the massive amounts of lupulin hop dust — the concentrated flavor from inside hop cones — to create a smooth and juicy haze.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. also chills their fermenters at slightly higher temperatures to ensure the haze doesn’t fade, then skips the filtration process to package all that hazy goodness at its peak — straight from the tanks and into the can.