Though we may be past the peak of the hazy craze, IPAs still reign supreme in the craft beer circuit. If you want proof, all you need to do is pop into your local taproom and peruse the menu. When you do, you’ll likely spot one or two hazy IPAs, if not more.
Named after their cloudy appearance, hazy IPAs almost always spawn from a “dry hopping” technique, where brewers add hops at the end of a beer’s primary fermentation. The method diffuses the IPA’s intense bitterness while amping up juicy, fruity essences. This results in a unique style complex enough to make even the most hardline IPA critic at least partially reconsider their stance.
Several well-known craft brands have made hazy IPAs their calling cards over the years. While their prominence provides consumers easy-to-spot examples of the style, several underrated hazy IPAs stand in their shadows, waiting to be discovered. With that in mind, we asked 10 brewers which unsung brands deserve more attention. Because hazy IPAs — and IPAs in general — have such strong links to the craft sector, it’s not too surprising to find some picks have fierce local or regional ties. Don’t fret if you can’t find these brews near you. If you support your local craft beer scene, you’re likely to find your own underrated gem.
The most underrated hazy IPAs, according to brewers:
Wayfinder Beer Flower in the Kettle
Strong Rope Brewery Wolf in the Garden
Victory Brewing Company Brotherly Love
Lone Pint Yellow Rose
Trap Door Brewing Glowed Up
Industrial Arts Wrench
Meanwhile Brewing Tender Robot
Tonewood Brewing Fuego
Orono Brewery The Way Life Should Be
Your local Great American Beer Festival-winning hazy IPA
“Hands down, the most underrated hazy IPA in Portland — the western one — is Flower in the Kettle from Wayfinder Beer. Jam-packed with juicy grapefruit explosions that finish with honest-to-goodness balance. It’s dry but creamy from its dense malt bill, and so incredibly repeatable. It took a lager brewer’s lens like [Wayfinder] brewmaster Natalie Baldwin’s, to correctly interpret a relatively undrinkable style and make it a winner.” —Kevin Davey, brewer and owner, Heater Allen Brewing, McMinnville, Ore.
“I think the most overlooked hazies come from anyone not using standard ‘IPA hops’ grown in expected places like the Southern Hemisphere or Pacific Northwest. If you want a fantastic example, I’ll refer you to our neighbors at Strong Rope Brewery here in Brooklyn. Their hazy IPA, Wolf in the Garden, uses hops you might recognize by name, but the New York terroir makes them totally unique in the best way possible.” —Tyler March, co-founder and head of operations, Wild East Brewing, Brooklyn
“The most underrated hazy IPA on the market is Brotherly Love from Victory Brewing Company. I gravitate toward balanced and drinkable beers, and Brotherly Love hits that every time. It has great hop character, is slightly fruity without being overwhelming, is easy-drinking at 6 percent ABV, and absolutely passes the ‘6-pack test’ (‘can I drink six in one night?’). The price point is approachable, the flavor is consistent, and you can find it almost anywhere with a halfway decent beer selection.” —Richie Tevlin, owner and brewmaster, Space Cadet Brewing Co., Philadelphia
“The most underrated hazy IPA, hands down, is Lone Pint Yellow Rose. It’s a single-hop Mosaic beer that still outworks most multi-hop bombs I’ve had recently. Floral on the nose, bright mango and orange peel flavor notes, soft bitterness, and a clean finish. It’s been consistent for years, and it still holds structure and aroma even in a 19.2-ounce can. It’s a quiet assassin in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. What seals it for me is the history behind the name: The Yellow Rose of Texas was a Black woman, and Lone Pint listened, learned, and corrected the label to reflect the truth. That matters.” —Marcus Baskerville, brewmaster, Windmills Craftworks, The Colony, Texas
“I’ve spent a decade in San Diego surrounded by world-class breweries that are pushing the boundaries of innovation, especially in the hoppy beer scene. There’s no secret we love unabashedly loud hazy IPAs around here. Luckily for me, I was blessed with trying one of the best hazy IPAs I think I have ever had while on an annual trip up to Yakima: Glowed Up from Trap Door Brewing in Washougal, Wash. It was a beer that instantly took me back to San Diego sitting on the beach crushing a burrito and a couple pints. Ripe with intense but defined tropical hop character, and balanced so effortlessly with dense hop oil saturation and a refreshing, soft finish. I haven’t come across another IPA quite like it since, and wish it was available for everyone to enjoy.” —Daniel Cady, head brewer, TapRoom Beer Company, San Diego
“I would consider an underrated hazy IPA to be one that’s reliable and not talked about frequently enough. I think the one that best matches this criteria for me is Wrench by Industrial Arts. It’s clean, has a great color and appearance and always hits that hop flavor and aroma I’m looking for. Having brewed for most of my career in California, it reminds me of a West Coast brewed hazy IPA.” —Josh Penney, head brewer, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn
“My favorite hazy IPA in Texas outside our own is Tender Robot from Meanwhile Brewing in Austin. That can always has a home in my fridge. It’s got amazing tropical flavors — citrus, pineapple, and guava — that collectively provide a unique, one-of-a-kind blended fruit flavor. The aroma of this beer is so deliciously sweet and fruity, it truly minimizes the hoppy bitterness of the beer and makes it extremely crushable.” —Mitch Sokolis, brewmaster, Karbach Brewing Company, Houston
“Fuego by Tonewood Brewing. I had never even heard of Tonewood Brewing before I had this beer, but I was given a can at a beer share and instantly asked my friend where he picked this up. Beautiful color; great carbonation; a taste that lingers on the tongue; and a nose full of grapefruit, lemon, and peaches. Fuego lives up to its name: a solid beer for a friend who has recently ventured into the hazy market. If you are driving through the beautiful Garden State of New Jersey, make a pit stop at their brewery in Barrington. You can also find it distributed in New Jersey and some parts of Pennsylvania.” —Creighton Morris, assistant brewer, Finback Brewing, Queens
“The hazy IPA I’m always impressed with is Orono Brewery’s The Way Life Should Be. Utilizing local Maine grains to achieve its signature mouthfeel and hazy appearance, it is triple dry-hopped with Galaxy, Mosaic, Ella, Citra, and El Dorado hops. This brings plenty of hop complexity which is everything but one-noted. This IPA handily beats out most of the big names in New England for me while somehow being a 6 percent-ABV hop bomb with immense drinkability.” —Michael Fava, co-founder, Sacred Profane Brewery, Biddeford, Maine
“I think the most underrated hazy IPAs are the ones that your best local breweries are making. These beers are usually pretty easy to get — there’s no trading or chasing down trucks involved — and that means you’re usually going to be able to get them fresh and at a lower cost than seeking out exclusive hazy IPAs that aren’t distributed to your market. To support my opinion, I’d say to look at the Great American Beer Festival medal winners in the hazy/juicy IPA category across the last five to 10 years. Many of those medal winners are smaller regional breweries whose names probably aren’t top of mind when thinking of the most hyped hazy IPA breweries. You’ll also notice that the winners seem to change every year and nobody really dominates the field when it comes to blind tasting or judging. So my advice is to quit chasing the hype and make up your own mind about what you like. We’re living in a golden age of beer quality with tons of top-tier options to choose from.” —Aaron Juhnke, co-founder, Junkyard Brewing Co., Moorhead, Minn.
The article We Asked 10 Brewers: What’s the Most Underrated Hazy IPA? (2025) appeared first on VinePair.