The New England-style IPA just keeps chugging along like a juicy, cloudy, hoppy train. It came on the scene almost twenty years ago, when John Kimmich at The Alchemist in Vermont brewed the now iconic Heady Topper back in 2004. The IPA style really exploded into the mainstream in the last decade when it was officially recognized as a style in 2015. Since then, its popularity has risen every year. Now, walk into any craft brewery and there’s a good chance they make at least one hazy IPA.
This hazy, juicy IPA style is known for its bouquet of fresh hops and tropical fruits and palate of mangos, peaches, pineapples, citrus peels, and floral hops. Unlike the West Coast IPA, it finishes with almost no bitterness. Juicy, fruity, hoppy, and delicious.
Now, we’re at the point where there are essential New England-style IPAs that all beer fans should try. We’ve selected eight of these, reasonably easy-to-find gems and ranked them based on juiciness, tropical fruit flavor, and overall balance. Keep scrolling to see them all.
8) New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This juicy banger gets its creamy, hazy, juicy, tropical fruit-filled palate from the use of American hefeweizen yeast, as well as Pale and C-80 malt, wheat, oats, and Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, Cascade, and Nugget hops.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of tangerine, mango, peach, and floral hops leads to a palate of caramelized pineapple, orange juice, guava, mango, and sweet malts. The finish is lightly floral and hoppy with little to no bitterness. It’s sweet and juicy throughout.
Bottom Line:
This beer is called “Juicy Haze” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s bursting with juicy, tropical fruit flavor that will appeal to IPA fans who prefer sweetness to bitterness.
7) Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
One of the most well-known New England-style IPAs available almost anywhere, Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing is a pleasantly malty, lightly bitter, highly juicy IPA. It gets its flavor from being brewed with oats, wheat, and lupulin hop dust as well as Magnum, Citra, Comet, Simcoe, El Dorado, and Mosaic hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all oats, grapefruit peels, pineapple, and dank, floral pine. The palate is citrus-centric with a ton of tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon flavors to go along with other tropical fruits. The finish is hoppy, lightly piney, and has a pleasant, gentle hop bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This is a great gateway New England-style IPA as it still has some of the bitterness classic IPA drinkers crave along with the juicy sweetness hazy fans love.
6) Two Roads Two Juicy
ABV: 8.2%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
When it comes to New England-style IPAs, there are few as flavorful and unique as Two Roads Two Juicy. Brewed with Mandarina Bavaria, Hallertauer Blanc, and Citra hops, it’s known for its tropical fruit and citrus fruit-filled, hazy, juicy flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of tangerine, lemongrass, grapefruit, and dank pine fill your nostrils before your first sip. Drinking it reveals caramelized pineapple, grapefruit, orange peel, and floral, noble hops. The finish is a nice mix of sweet fruits and pleasantly bitter, resinous hops.
Bottom Line:
In a world of one-dimensional, overly juicy, fruity New England-style IPAs, Two Roads Two Juicy manages to be both juicy and fruity and hoppy and perfectly bitter.
5) Interboro Premiere IPA
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This complex, hazy IPA is brewed with Pilsner and Vienna malts as well as American ale yeast. It gets its melon, pineapple, and citrus flavors from the use of Mosaic, Citra, and Galaxy hops and double dry-hopping with even more Mosaic hop dust pellets.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of ripe peaches, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and dank, lightly floral hops begin your tasting journey. Sipping it brings forth notes of peach, mango, bubblegum, tangerine, honeydew melon, and lightly floral hops. The finish is sweet and gently bitter.
Bottom Line:
This is a very flavorful New England-style IPA. There’s so much going on, it might take a few tastings to find all the aromas and flavors.
4) Sloop Juice Bomb
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $15 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With a name like Juice Bomb, you should have a pretty good idea of what’s in store for you when you crack open one of these bad boys. This juicy, fruity, tropical fruit-filled IPA is brewed with CTZ, Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops in the kettle and dry-hopped with even more Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are notes of tangerine, grapefruit peels, peaches, mango, guava, passionfruit, and just a hint of floral, spicy hops. On the palate, you’ll find flavors of tangerine, lemon, grass, caramelized pineapple, mango, guava, peach, and light floral hops. The finish is slightly astringent and gently bitter with a touch of pine.
Bottom Line:
This beer is literally a juice bomb. It’s juicy and filled with tropical fruits and citrus fruits and just the right amount of hop spice.
3) Ommegang Neon Rainbows
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: $14 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This juicy, hazy, unfiltered, New England-style IPA is double dry-hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, and Topaz hops. It’s also brewed with London ale yeast. A popular yeast is usually used in darker beers like brown ales and porters.
Tasting Notes:
Taking a quick sniff will bring you notes of ripe pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, peach, and floral hops. The palate is loaded with hints of tangerine, grapefruit, mango, peach, pineapple, and gentle, floral earthy hops. The finish is a nice mix of fruity sweetness and dank pine.
Bottom Line:
As hazy IPAs go, this one is a little on the lighter side. But that doesn’t stop it from being filled with tropical fruit flavor and dank pine. It just makes it an easier drinking IPA.
2) Toppling Goliath King Sue
ABV: 7.8%
Average Price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
One of the most popular, well-known New England-style IPAs, Toppling Goliath King Sure is a 7.8% juicy, fruity banger brewed exclusively with Citra hops. The result is an epic IPA with a ton of pineapple, orange, and mango flavors.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find a ton of tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, mango, peach, lemongrass, and floral, resinous hops. The palate is filled with more grapefruit, caramelized pineapple, mango, ripe peach, cut grass, honey, orange zest, and dank pine. The finish is astringent with a pleasant hop bite.
Bottom Line:
This highly-rated New England-style IPA lives up to its name with a juicy, citrus palate and a mildly ferocious hop bite at the end.
1) Half Acre Way Bird
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $14 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Relatively new in the New England-style IPA world, Half Acre Way Bird is already a must-try brew. Made with El Dorado and HBC 586 hops, it’s known for its mix of dank bitterness and stone fruit and citrus peel flavors.
Tasting Notes:
This hazy beer begins with aromas of tangerines, mangos, peaches, passionfruit, pineapple, caramel malts, and light floral hops. The palate is a symphony of mango, peach, grapefruit, lime zest, caramelized pineapple, and resinous, sticky hops. The finish is lightly bitter and very fruity.
Bottom Line:
It seems like a new hazy IPA hits the market every week. Half Acre Way Bird might have only launched this year, but it’s already a beer that deserves your attention.