Hazy beers, particularly New England-style India Pale Ales have dominated the American craft beer industry in the last few years. Known for their robust, “juicy,” flavor, they have quickly become favorites among consumers, but are they unfiltered?
Hazy beers are unfiltered, but not always for the same reason. For example, some unfiltered beers are hazy due to the formation of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. In other instances, the type of yeast used to brew the beer or the introduction of heavier protein molecules tend to make it hazy.
We will discuss some of the reasons unfiltered beer is hazy, followed by a discussion about the rise of hazy beer in today’s craft beer market. Let’s get started, shall we?
Unfiltered Beer Is Hazy on Purpose
Defined as “The degree to which water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates,” Turbidity is the technical term associated with hazy beer.
If that definition leaves you scratching your head, you are in good company. What that means in ordinary language is that hazy beer is the result of the presence of material in the beer incapable of dissolving during the brewing process. In the past, brewers typically filtered beer to get a crisp, clear end product.
However, that process comes at the expense of a lot of flavors. As craft beer gained popularity, many brewers learned that filtering beer can remove the resulting beer’s vibrant color, robust hop bitterness, and much of the overall naturally good flavor of the beer.
Brooks Carretta, the head brewer at Nomad Brewing Company, stated that “Unfiltered beer is beer in its natural state.” Continuing, he added that unfiltered beer “Is true to what craft beer should be,” after all, “It is an artisanal product.
Why Unfiltered Beer Becomes Hazy
Let’s take a look at how exactly turbidity works using Allagash White Belgian-style Wheat Beer as an example. As Allagash Brewing Company explained, the haze in this beer is the result of proteins and micronutrients in the grains called polyphenols.
These compounds bind together and form a new substance called colloidal haze. This hazy formation in the beer is the result of the creation of molecules large enough to be seen, but small enough that they do not drop out of the beer solution, making it clear again.
A second factor contributing to the production of this haze in Allagash White is its yeast. When beer nears the end of its fermentation process, its yeast typically bonds with other yeast cells and either sink to the bottom or float to the top of the beer.
However, Allagash White uses a medium-to-low range yeast, meaning much of the yeast stays suspended in the beer. Thus, the specific yeast they use contributes to the formation of haze in the final product.
Additionally, there is a third and final factor contributing to the formation of haze in Allagash White beer. Allagash Brewing company bottle conditions this beer, meaning they add a little sugar and extra yeast when packaging their beer.
This addition adds a bit more flavor to the beer, removes any oxygen in the bottle, and elevates its level of carbonation. Additionally, it contributes to the formation of haze.
Other Reasons Why Beer Becomes Hazy
There are a few other reasons for beer to become hazy. For instance, traditional IPA recipes call for the addition of hops throughout the beer’s boil. Then, additional hops are added towards the end of the fermentation process to boost the aromatics.
However, in the production of hazy IPA, the hops are only added towards the end of the boil. Then the brewers add additional hops towards the early stage of fermentation, and the beer is dry-hopped at the end of fermentation.
For those unfamiliar with the term, dry hopping refers to adding hops after conditioning and right before packaging the final product. However, dry hopping only results in hazy beer if large amounts of hops are used.
The result is a robust IPA with juicy sweetness and subtle tones of honey, grass, or orange rinds. Additionally, haze is produced due to this process.
Hazy Beer Goes Mainstream
The Brewers Association recognized hazy beer styles for the first time in their 2018 Beer Style Guidelines. A non-profit trade group promoting American craft brewers, their beers, and competitions, the association added the criteria for competition for a trio of hazy styles: “hazy or juicy double or imperial pale ale,” “hazy or juicy India pale ale,” and “hazy or juicy pale ale.”
Commonly called New England IPAs, the total number of entries in that year’s Great American Beer Festival totaled over 706. All three categories remain in the 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with an anticipated increase in the number of entries.
Making Hazy Beer at Home
A variety of resources are available if you find yourself interested in brewing hazy beer at home. To begin, we recommend a couple of books on the art of beer making.
DIY IPA Craft Beer – How to Brew Unique India Pale Ale at Home is a customer favorite with its comprehensive instructions for brewing delicious Belgian, English, double, triple, and session IPAs. It also talks you through using chocolate, coffee, fruits, herbs, tea, and more.
Additionally, it discusses common mistakes to avoid when making IPA beers, precautions to consider when brewing beer at home, and 13 hacks guaranteed to make IPA brewing easier.
How to Brew: Everything You Need to Know to Brew Great Beer Every Time is a best-selling option offering a broad range of information on home brewing.
For example, it covers the “top six priorities” for brewing beer: sanitation, recipes, water, the boil, fermentation temperature control, and yeast management. Similarly, it discusses fruit beers, sour beers, strong beers, and adjusting your water to match these and other styles of beer.
Last but not least, you might consider picking up a copy of The New IPA: A Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor. This book is available in a variety of formats to include audiobook, Kindle, and paperback.
It features easy-to-read breakdowns of academic studies, lab tests, discussions with researchers, and interviews with award-winning brewers. This informative book is a must-have addition to the library of anyone interested in brewing hazy beers using hops.
Bonus Tip: We actually wrote an article on brewing a hazy beer, specifically a New England IPA. You can check out that article along with a few other recipe articles to expand your knowledge on beer styles.
Beer Making Kits
If you want to simplify matters, you might consider purchasing a beer making kit. Northern Brewer has a One-Gallon Beer Making Starter Kit in four different styles: American wheat, caribou slobber brown ale, Irish red ale, and Kama Citra IPA.
Each kit includes the finest fresh ingredients, a one-gallon glass fermentation jug with cap and airlock. They also include a mini auto-siphon and tubing, bottle capper and caps, and easy to use instructions.
If you are an advanced beer maker and already have all the equipment, you might consider purchasing one of Brewer’s Best five-gallon ingredient kits. A favorite includes the Brut IPA Ingredient Kit with a light-color and crisp flavor that resembles bubbly champagne.
Another popular Brewer’s Best offering is their New England IPA Ingredient Kit. This hazy beer is pale gold with a restrained bitterness for a more robust hop flavor and aroma with a hint of candy-like notes.
Each Brewers Best kit includes malt extract syrup, specialty grains, hops, yeast, spices, and flavorings. Additionally, they include a grain bag, priming sugar, bottle caps, and easy-to-follow instructions.
What We Learned Today About Hazy Beer
We covered a lot of information about hazy beer today. For instance, we covered the gaining interest in unfiltered beer in the American craft beer industry. Additionally, we discussed three of the common reasons beer becomes hazy in the first place. We rounded out our article talking about some of the popular styles of hazy beer.
Before you leave, be sure to check out some of our other articles about pale ales. And, since hazy beers are likely to increase in popularity in the upcoming years, you might consider saving this article for future reference.
Whether you brew beer or are a fan, we wish you the best of times as you continue discovering more about craft beers.