Thanks so much for all the thoughts on this episode - we couldn't keep up, but dug into some of the comments in our weekly podcast right here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iNCTq9aex8CpemQ.html

I actually think mediocre beer is doing more harm than Hazy IPA's. Lately, I can go in and by a mixed 6 pack from my store and only 2 of them are worth drinking anymore. Mediocre beers keep me from buying beer . I just brew my own now because I'm tired of a 33% success rate...

While the IPA is "flooding the taps", I also notice an increase in sours finding it's way to even more taps. At least here in Copenhagen. But we do need more Bock!

I don't mind that Hazy IPAs exist, but I do think calling them IPAs is a big mistake. 5-10 years ago I could go into a supermarket and pick up a random IPA and I would like it 90% of the time. But now it's a crapshoot because so many breweries fail to make it clear that an IPA is hazy, and the IPA bucket is too broad. This has made me gunshy in my purchasing decisions, and I find myself just going back to reliable favorites rather than trying new IPAs unless they are explicitly labelled "West Coast". I think the poor labeling hurts everyone from consumers to the brewers.

What I hate is watching "American IPA" on the list to then discover it was a hazy and worse, no option of a bitter, dry and clean IPA on the listings.

I have to say, as a professional brewer, I'm ready for hazies to go away. I hate going into a taproom and seeing 8+ of their 20 taps devoted to hazy IPAs.

Hazy IPAs don't bother me, because I don't have to drink it. What I don't like is when I walk into a micro and out of 20 taps, 12 or more are some sort of hazy and nothing dark like a porter or stout.

My wife used to have zero interest in any IPA until she tried a Hazy and loved it. This past weekend she (of sound mind) ordered something described as "skunky" and thought it was great. Honestly, Hazy IPAs helped turn her into a beer geek and I'm loving it. Whatever keeps the craft breweries in business and keeps us drinking tasty beer, I'm all for. Cheers!

My wife started with hazy IPAs and is now discovering she enjoys really bitter West Coast, Barley Wine, etc. And even an occasional lager 😮

There are three pubs within walking distance of my home. Of the three, the closest you’ll get to any kind of ipa is Magic Rock’s Saucery in one pub. If hazy IPAs are taking over, nobody has told large parts of the country. What we do have for those who don’t want macro lager and macro cider is local cask (Hooky, Shagweaver) and local cider (Napton Cidery).

"You can't project your palate on to someone else" is a sentence a lot of people need to hear! As a beer geek and speciality coffee drinker myself it's important to know how to communicate nicely with someone that has different tastes!

My craft brew journey began when West Coast IPA was the trend. BRING BACK WCIPA! I want to smell a Pine forest and drink a Christmas tree 🤣

There's two things that have killed my love for craft beer 1. Hazy/New England IPAs that taste like grapefruit. I was over that flavor 10 years ago when brewers started using Cascade hops for everything and my hatred increases annually. 2. The hard selzter boom. At least where I live, hard seltzer is absolutely dominating the shelf space in supermarkets and convenience stores and pushing aside all but the most popular craft beers. Yes, beer stores exist, but until recently I haven't had to make a trip to one in over ten years

I have seen it effect beer in general with bitterness. Many beers that used to be historically quite bitter, are now less bitter and/or sweeter. One, because of the consumer demand asking for less bitterness, and two, hops being bred for brighter juicy flavors. I crave bitterness to come back into play. I think there used to be a more defined role for bitterness to play in hazy, that's been continually pushed away.

I have not gotten on the Haze Train, stayed where I was already. I did get frustrated to see some styles get swapped for Hazy, however that is changing back.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Hazy IPA sells because a large portion of beer drinkers think it’s delicious and listening to countless brewers they’ll tell you how important it is to their overall business and giving them the ability to make other styles. It’s probably true that there are a few too many hazy IPAs on at a given time at a tap room, but something to consider is that to some of us they’re not all carbon copies of each other. Different hop combos bring out different nuances in flavors that we enjoy exploring. I’d also say it’s the single most important style to drink relatively fresh (within at least 3 months, preferably 2 if kept cold) which may affect some people’s opinions of it if they’re buying a 6 month old hazy at a grocery from a brewery that doesn’t make a great example in the first place. Hazy IPA is my favorite style, but I at least enjoy every style of beer to some extent and love some other styles nearly as much as hazies(namely lagers, stouts, and traditional mixed ferm styles). I don’t think there’s any need in this community to crap on other styles. We’re literally living in the best time you ever could for beer. You can get anything your heart desires. One day hazy IPAs won’t be king of the hill anymore and it’ll be something else, but just enjoy the ride. It’s just beer. 😁

I don't know, I feel like Hazys peaked a year ago or so. I got really into them and now I'm kind of burned out on them. I've been going back to regular IPAs.

I would love to see a study / studies) on how our drinking habits have changed as well, particularly when apparently, younger generations are drinking less- how does that affect buying habits and the ways in which we choose the beer we drink? At the tender age of 36, my personal favourite way to drink beer now is at beer festivals or anywhere where I can access flights. I rarely go out to drink because it's so expensive (in Finland) and when I do, I want maximum value for my experience. Trying several different beers at 100 - 150ml measurements is such a joy to me and I would LOVE to see more bars and pubs offer this. 15€ for 2 pints (usually focusing on what I know / like) or 15€ for 0.5L (ish) of several wildly different beers, some I never would have touched at 7-8€ a go is just perfect for my tastes. If I could pick up 'flight packs' of several 100ml cans covering a range of styles to take home and drink, I'd be in absolute heaven! I don't see the article writer's point, beyond also being frustrated at seeing sometimes 75% of taps dominated by cloudy IPAs- but it's less about taking choice away I think and more about bars and pubs pushing things like flights to get people excited about the beauty and variety of beer out there- by making it as accessible as possible. For most people (I think), beer is just beer, and the experience matters just as much as the product. So rather than get gatekeepery and nerd-ragey about what we see in our own bubble- I totally agree that we need to continue to find ways to make craft more accessible and removing options from the menu doesn't do that. And that's coming from me- someone who actively avoids cloudy IPAs. Just because I'm bored / frustrated at seeing the same stuff on the shelves / drink lists constantly, it doesn"t mean I want others to lose what thet enjoy. Just drink what you want to drink and enjoy the success of our lovely craft brewers 🍻

I was obsessed with hazies for a few years, but they kind of ran their course for me. I still like them, but I usually order other styles now. Cheers!

It’s taken over the world because it is gorgeous.

Barrel Aged stouts and sours are also doing pretty well here in USA

Hey Johnny just so you know cask ale is alive and well here in the states. My wife and I are going to Seneca lake in the finger lakes region of New York next week and one of the breweries we will be visiting is Seneca lake brewing company that specializes in traditional and authentic cask ale. The only ipa they have is an “English ipa”. Their food features meat pies and pasties with mashed potatoes and mushy peas!

Great video with really good points made. I'm not a massive craft beer guy but this vid has educated me thanks keep up the great work!

My local bottle shop, although predominantly hazies does a monthly sub box showcasing all styles. A great way of introducing others to the diversity of beer!

I am so over done with Hazy Beers, at 59 I have been become a beer W****r and find every hazy tastes pretty much the same. I love a West Coast and currently my favourite is Bone Shaker by the Amsterdam Brewery (Canada) 100 IBUs. Happy to bring a few back to the UK for you. My first stray away from real ales was Brewdog, it was different and I've progressed. I've even gone back to Pilsners like ABK. But you can't beat a decent keg beer which is my daily drinker.

I work as a brewmaster in Switzerland and I feel like here the hazy trend is already dieing before it really took off. It was a thing obviously but the general public outside of the beer scene probably never heard of it. If I was too chose a hype ``style`` it has too be non-alcoholic beer. It´s the style that´s driving innovation, money gets invested and it´s a great way too show-off for any brewery because it takes a lot of technical skills to get it right.

I went to school in Burlington Vermont when Heady Topper was big and people were buying it for $20 a can. It was insane. People would follow the delivery truck around, I would get a 4 pack and mail my uncle a single can to his glee. It was totally ridiculous.

I have seen a negative effect from various "hazy IPA" releases. Breweries have all, to some degree, jumped on the hazy bandwagon. The problem, from my view, is that only 60-70% of breweries are capable of a half-decent hazy, BUT only 20% are making the effort. The rest are producing shite that turns off new craft drinkers AND drinkers that rely on big breweries. A massive release from a big brewing concern can turn a whole generation off of craft beer by saying "this is a hazy" and presenting the drinkers with some cloudy rubbish that tastes bland and watery.

If Hazies mean more Flanders Reds and Rauchbiers, I'm all for them.

Hiya from Bellingham in Washington State, USA… I work as a server and bartender at a pretty popular brewery here in town, and we’re best known for hazy IPAs because that’s what our founder has brewed for the longest. But at this point

OK, the hazy IPA focus as a good or bad thing for craft beer is a grossly misguided thing to focus on, at least in the U.S. As a pro brewer for 13 years and a beer lover long before that, I've been living and breathing all things beer and seen the trends over many areas of the U.S. Being in the military since 2000 and the Air National Guard since 2008 in a mostly part-time capacity, it's allowed to be do A LOT of traveling and gets me exposure to a lot of different demographics of people that many in the industry do not interact with very much. It definitely keeps me grounded in reality in terms what the general public knows and like on the alcohol front. From my wide perspective, the "downfall of craft beer" started as more people that got into the industry to start breweries that had little to no knowledge or passion for beer and brewing more than anything. These more business focused people had us brew more and more what sold most and ignored diversity of styles that what so common for years when brewers were also the owners calling the shots. Some of these owners looked at larger trends from the sales data that was available, which usually is generated for and focuses on large breweries with huge distribution networks to manage. We were forced to chase trends more and more. Some of this increase in owners/managers with less knowledge and passion for beer, coupled with newer waves of brewers that came of age with a solid craft beer presence, forgot or weren't aware of how much work it was to educate everyone on what beer was and could be beyond American Light Lager. With every person that came through the door, you had to check their level of knowledge and usually had to guide people through the beer styles to find what they liked most. For several years now, it seems most people just assume everyone knows all the basics of beer, but that absolutely nonsense, even beyond the fact someone comes of drinking age every day. Even though we blew past the 10% share of the market that we wondered if we'd ever achieve, craft beer is still a small percentage of beer sales in the U.S. and mostly around the world. The lack of education I see at most breweries isn't helping our cause. I certainly was one of the brewers that didn't welcome hype beer or NEIPAs with open arms, but back in 2009 I was saying a dry-hopped American wheat beer would be better than all the boring American wheat beers that were growing in popularity. IPA still wasn't the number one craft style on a national level with Amber still holding on with things like American wheats pretty popular, especially since more and more brewers were losing their minds with how bitter they can make an IPA. I think that stalled craft growth from what it could be until NEIPA came along--but even then, there are people to this day that will not touch an IPA because of the reputation is got during the first hop war. Also, so many people now only know craft beer as being IPA, which mostly started once IPA became the number on seller, but also due to the above issue of just brewing what sells the most. I was on the trip through Northern California in early 2019 and finally was able to go to Moonraker because they were never open when I went through before. It was really busy and they didn't list style types on most of their beers on the visible board, and didn't want to hold up the line when building my six-beer tasting flight--they all turned out to be NEIPAs (and they ALL looked identical!). A few stood out enough to tell they were different beers, but the others not so much. When I went to Knee Deep a month prior, 18 of 26 beers were an IPA or hop-forward Pale Ale. We did this to ourselves, and did a disservice to beer lovers and people coming to beer for the first time to try out. So in a way, hazy IPAs definitely ruined craft beer, but because so many breweries only really focused on brewing and hyping them more than anything else. Like I said, we did this to ourselves, but [mostly] used hazy IPAs to burn it all down.

From a Brit Brewer in a Canadian market perspective. They are expensive to make, Citra/Mosaic isn't interesting anymore and the market is saturated with sweet, same tasting, hazy beers (they don't interest me at all). Budget Lagers are a growing in the "craft" market and it's a race to the bottom in competition for shelf space. Majority of drinkers are looking to ABV to get bang for the buck in IPA, or for cheap lagers. Just my opinion though.

When some of my favourite craft went up 50% in price I stopped buying craft 6 months ago. Found a lager from a “big brewery” that tastes great and costs half as much as craft. Sadly I think my craft exploration is over.

The data I'm seeing is that IPAs in general make up 46% of the craft beer market (in the us.) I can't imagine that 39% would be west coast ipas, so can I ask where you got that 7% figure from?

At least in the Eastern US, I think we are seeing growing interest in more traditional malty beers like Scottish ales and various Belgian styles. I suspect that's the next big thing.

I would tell people "Drink what you like" as Jonny said in the video. I would also tell people "Be adventurous. You might find something new to you that you will enjoy." I confess that when i see someone come into my local microbrewery, and they dont see every tap having a hazy and bomb the place on Untappt, to getting annoyed. You made the trip. Give the beer an honest try.

Living in a town where the closest bottle shop is about 15 miles away I get most of my beer either online or from supermarkets, the fact that I can get many different styles of craft beer even in Tesco (including St. Bernardus abt 12 these days!) tells me that craft beer is doing fine although wish someone would open a bottle shop here!

I have basically converted many many beer drinkers (coors, bud, etc) to craft beers. Now those people are dabbling in many other types and are impressed with the options. I drink mostly "hazy" IPA's but also will drink bitter IPAs, stouts, scotch ales, winter warmers, oh my favorite Imperial everything haha

What’s not helping is the too high ABV (>8%) malt beverages masquerading as hazy IPA (I’m looking at you New Belgium and your awful Voodoo Ranger line).

In my USA grocery store, we have bad domestic beers that are basically water and hazy IPAs. What I'd give for just a regular clean IPA or a nice pils or kolsch.

Ah yes, from the makers of "Is TV killing the radio?" and "Is hybrid working killing the office?", now there is this one. As you touched upon, times and the public taste will always change, Pilsener has temporarily killed off many historic styles, but they have been resurrected when in demand. Second, and this is more semantics than anything else, for something to 'kill' anything else, it should, in my opinion, be distinct from that other thing. 95% of Hazy IPA's brewed would fall under my definition of 'craft beer', so it would be hard for Hazy IPA to kill itself. Last but not least, we live in the most diverse beer world in at least 50 years. Even when three quarters of the tap list consists of Hazy IPA's, nobody is forcing you at gunpoint to drink them. You like other styles? Great! Let brewers know their other beers are still in demand and drink them! You are enjoying your beer and it might stimulate brewers to keep brewing them. Thank you for listening to my mini-rant.😂

Very interested to hear you mention Verdant Helles. We visited their Seafood Bar by the harbour in Falmouth and I started working my way down the chalk board. My wife is definitely not a ‘beer geek’ and so went for the Helles. I tried it and was blown away. Had to buy her another one! I like the style anyway, from lots of trips to Bavaria and Austria, but what Verdant are managing to extract from their use of Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops took it to another level. Inspired me to buy a pack from The Malt Miller and have another go myself!

I appreciate you took the time to be level headed about a polarizing topic. I definitely agree the love of hazy ipa is more of a symptom than a cause and I certainly agree it brings more people into craft beer. I can think of a few breweries that seem to lean too hard into the trend and might go under if hazys drop in popularity, but this world is full of people too quick to criticize and gate-keep. Drink what you like, explore if you wish and the market will adjust.

I’m fortunate to have a dozen craft breweries around my town and they make all varieties of beer, and do a great job of it. I’m also a home brewer and the past few batches I’ve made have been hazy IPA’s because they are delicious and great in the summer. The cost of ingredients and massive inflation in the US is what is going to hurt the sales of craft beer.

My local brewery has started brewing ONLY hazies, at first I was extatic to find a local hazy brewer. After a few months my pallet is starting to become unable to distinguish their beers and is missing some diversity

The bigger issue in my view is gen Z don't drink much and if they do they don't drink beer. Would like to see that discussed and what we could do about it to preserve our hobby

I enjoy the NEIPA. I tend to go for Saisons, Kolsch, and some IPAs depending on the hops used. The NEIPA for me is my nice weather drink. Tho a shandy also fills that spot. And perhaps blasphemy, Sam Adams Just the Haze, low alcoholic version is quite tasty.

Absolutely outstanding, Jonny. The worlds a better place because of it. I for one certainty wouldn't be subscribed and loving content such as this if it wasn't for a couple of well marketed hazys 6/7 years ago. 👍

I run a small craft beer bar, Vinny and Ted, in an area were craft is still new for most of the people who walk though our door. Most of the time when i have the joy of introducing new people to craft and we talk about flavours in beer and what we have, I know that NEIPA, hazy pales and juciy IPAs are most likly what im going to be pouring for them. I feel like for a lot of people the hazy low bitterness styles, were you get bang for your buck flavour wise, is importantly is accessible for new people. As well as people who have been enjoying craft for a few years wanting something fomilear. There are people who come in and just ask for ' a hazy one', as they think that is what they are supost to say, but I feel like its my job to talk about flavor and what they actualy want to drink. I always try to have a mixed selaction and recomend new styles to people as I feel that gets newer people into trying new styles. However i know i need at least two to thee lines (out of 11) that are 'Hazy' in one way or another. I see your points about it not killing the indestry but with the groth and a larger propoton of the population drinking craft we need to Accept that the more acssesable styles will be more numous then less acssesable styles Like sours, Sasions, rauchbier, ect. I hope there are more people like me out there getting people into drinking craft and talking about as many styles of beer as possible otherwise i do feel like they may be sidelined. Sorry for ramberling.

As always, a well researched and balanced view to this argument. I have also been at times dismissive about the 'fad' of NEIPAS. Then, yesterday, I bought a can of Brew By Numbers' hazy India Pale Ale No 5 just because it was on offer. Although NOT an IPA in the true sense, it was absolutely delicious accompanying a spicy dahl. As a long-time fan of cask, I have embraced the diversity of these styles. That's what makes beer so astoundingly amazing.

Hazy IPA’s have saturated the market as they’re the most popular “craft” beer style. Unfortunately like all good things you can get a little sick of them and I’m personally pushing back towards West Coast IPA’s and other styles

Great clip. Lots of macro lager-drinking people I know personally have become rather fond of the NEIPA, particularly the hazy stuff. It appears to be the gateway drink to other craft beers... And in pubs where there used to be 5 macro lagers and a John Smiths on tap, you now see a couple of (often hazy) IPAs..... I cannot see how this situation is threatening craft beer...

Here (Georgia), the craft beer revolution sparked desite hazies not being made until about 3-4 years ago, since hazies have been made its only accelerated the interest and growth. Hazy pales have taken over from wheat beers and unfiltered lagers as craft beer drinkers session beers. Its just part of the machine. Now we have a load of great hazy beer, it hasnt stopped brewers making a huge variety of excellent beers that loads of people enjoy including locally inspired new flavours - clay qvevri fermented wine ales, fruited sours with indigenous fruit, and even spiced “soup beers”. Bad quality and uninspiring macro “craft beer” is more of an issue as it puts off newbies who use it as an entry point due to it’s available in the supermarket.

Well said Jonny. I went the same route. Got into craft beer pre the haze craze, but really got nerdy when New England took over before looping back round to my current favourite styles of pilsner, west coast IPA (where craft beer started for me) and bitter (where BEER in general started for me). I still love a pillowy pale though. P.S. I just got back from the Verdant tap room vinyl night, a lovely community party with locals dropping their favourite tunes and enjoying (primarily hazy) beers. We should send this wally to Penryn and see if they still think hazy beer is stagnating the industry.

$8 a pint in tap rooms, $16+ for 4 cans in a bottle shop which have little or no info about the beer and often don't have any kind of packaging date - these things are not helping. As for hazies, most of them taste like a sickly sweet sugar bomb and are more for the Blue Moon drinkers who don't really like beer otherwise.

Hazy IPAs did more than just add a vast amount of new consumers to the industry. The candied, heavier bodied and flat hopped ales brought along (most) people's sweet-tooth as well. Now you get seltzers, smoothie beers and even hazier-ales that almost give the early NEIPA an "unfiltered" WCIPA association. Too many breweries depend on these deserty-style ales to keep their company afloat (due to public outcry) becoming an alcoholic soda jerk of sorts. So, yes, I do feel that the Hazy IPA is killing the craft beer industry. Or if not, forever changed the face of what an ole brewhouse initially was.

The Hazy IPA trend that you speak of is only the covergirl [and catalyst] for the real problem with Craft Beer in general - whether on-promise or off-promise - consumer prices are through the roof. When a beer costs more than a premium glass of wine there's a serious issue. A 4pack can be $20-30 USD or well over $100 for a case. Same for the Craft Distillers who have driven up industry prices as a whole where they're asking for $80-120 USD for a mediocre bottle of 4yo whiskey just because it's "craft" from a 2-man operation with a beer keg potstill. Like any other trend-driven industry, the market gets flooded and contraction is inevitable. And I will smile.

Hazy, New England-style IPAs and fruit-infused quick kettle sours are important to the craft brewing industry because they tend to obfuscate some of the flavors people associate with beer; malt, yeast, and/or bitterness. There is a large segment of drinkers who do not really like the flavor of malt, yeast, or bitter or resinous hops. This is not a new trend as many macro-lagers are developed to be sweet, crisp and fruity. Beer drinkers do include people who prefer wine or cocktails: Juicy, hazy IPAs and fruit smoothie beers are popular because they taste less like... beer. Edit: Sweet, adjunct-filled beers are also popular because they taste like candy. Chocolate, coconut, cherry, vanilla, coffee, nuts, other fruits, whiskey, rum, tequilla, bourbon are just a few of the adjuncts that make beer tasted like not-so-much-beer-but-pastries-and-candies.

Here in California, I feel like I've noticed craft IPAs have peaked and are now returning to equilibrium. Craft brewers are putting out more Pilsners, Mexican-Style Lagers and Belgians now

Spot on Johnny - whilst I’ve become weary and find a lot of Hazy IPA’s to be too expensive, if it helps the breweries survive and allowing them to spend the money and diversify in other areas, then great. I understand why the prices are so high for a lot of fashionable IPA’s, but these beers are too rich for me. That said, that’s for people to choose and it’s great to have such variety.

I think to many breweries tries to be cool and hip. I would like to see more breweries do lager, helles etc.

Massive "how-many-IBUs-can-you-cram-in-a-pint" IPA fan, to hazy IPA fan, to pilsner/lager/helles fan in the span of 10 years. Everyone has to start somewhere. And, as you said, who cares WHAT people drink as long as they keep drinking beer? And sure, I wish a random brewery taproom would have more options of what *I* like when I go inside, rather than a bunch of styles I *don't* like, but again, as you say, that's part of the obscure economic theory known as "supply & demand." As long as they're making enough money to brew the occasional lesser-known style, I'm going to have to accept that.

I'll be honest, I think they have a point. I do like a good IPA here and there, but I feel like it's almost the only thing available in a lot of places touting themselves as having a great selection of beer. Far too often there's 20 different IPAs and barely anything else. Here in Australia, there are a lot of bottle shops where there's a few crappy lagers and two dozen IPAs to choose from. Not everywhere - we have a few decent shops, but with the more standard modern IPAs it's pretty clear that the target audience is people who are used to crappy lagers and are now trying something that isn't that but is, quite frequently, really not a hell of a lot different. The other thing, and this is a personal perspective that I know a lot of people will disagree with, I miss good balance. Sure, that may be old-fashioned of me, but an important element to beer used to be a good balance between the malt and the hops. Sometimes it's exciting to try something 'out there' but not all the time. Anyway, I'm probably just a relic of the past.

It's gotten hard to find a good brown ale. A lot of the time, all I can find is Newcastle, if I can even find that.

Tried my first Hazy IPA about four months ago; loved the citrus and pineapple! Thought I hated IPA because it seemed a race to make a better pine-cone taste. Spent good deal of cash looking at what's out there, and all for the better!

When i see a brewery close i ask 3 questions: 1) have i seen them on keg/cask recently or are their small pack beers available through common craft retailers/available to small shops via common wholesalers? 2) do they have a core range? 3) are the beers they have most commonly available all one style or closely similar styles? You can have the best brewery in the world but if their sales team cant/or unable to get their beer to the right market then a matter of time before that brewery closes. Supermarkets cause retailers not to buy certains beers from breweries. I think north had that problem for a long time, yes they overstretched themselves with their bars but that also what made them attractive to the new owners. Yes craft is cyclical but business is business.

Absolutely true. Hazy IPA needs to be an option at a brewery...not the entire list. When I go to breweries and there are 8 hazys on the board it's a sure sign of laziness and usually a poor brewery experience due to lack of variety.

I rolled my eyes a little when I saw what I initially saw as a clickbait title, but it's actually a good question, Johnny. It's a way of asking "If you live by the sword, do you die by the sword?" I'm not into gatekeeping. (Okay maybe a little bit for hard seltzers because it's categorically not beer, and intentionally strips out all character that makes beer... beer) But whatever gets people supporting craft breweries and closer to craft beer, I'm a fan of. Anyone who was only ever in it to drink Hazy IPAs, i.e. dilettantes who get off the bus when the industry moves on... in my book, they were never really into beer, they were into hazy IPA. But Hazy itself represented incredible innovation and thumbing a finger at convention, I hope it stays popular for a while longer. If you love malt, it will eventually lead you to english ales and continental lagers. If you love yeast expression it will inevitably lead you to Belgian styles. If you love hops but hate bitterness, you'll probably never leave the cozy bedside of hazy IPA, and that's fine. But the industry and craft is no worse off for losing these types of fairweather fans. Bottom line - beer has been with humans since we have recorded history. Styles can certainly save jobs, and businesses, and revenue that would chase spirits or wine, but beer does not need saving. It might shrink as a category, but it's not going anywhere.

I put it down to Lazy Journalists who very rarely venture into pubs bars or tap rooms. I love all kinds of IPA'S but I also crave Mild and Bitter come the weekend. Great video mate.

I love Hazy and it definitely was one of the styles that got me into Craft beer but probably my only critique of it is that there isn’t too much variety anymore. From my experience, Hazies fall into 3 categories: full on juice with some bitterness mixed in (love this one), balance of juiciness and hoppiness and leaning more towards the bitter end. Almost every time I go to a brewery in NJ and parts of PA, when I have a Hazy I’ll think to myself “I’ve had this exact brew at X brewery before”. Hazy beer isn’t hurting the industry right now but the over saturation is gonna cause a bubble to burst for that specific style. Hopefully by the time that bubble does burst a new staple will come around

Went to Other Half brewing in New York State this spring and they had 11 unique hazy IPAs on tap, the only non haze IPA was a session under 5% alcohol. This is New England so ground zero for NEPAs, but this can't be sustainable. People are going to get tired of it.

Porter/stout was the best selling type of beer in Ireland from the late 19th century to 1999.

I like Sierra Nevada's approach to "hazys" as they come off as more like hybrids to me. But pure straight up hazy's generally aren't my cup of tea.

This was a really good kind of video. Well done.

I have converted many a macro drinker and indeed non beer drinkers with my hazies , I do like to mix it up my latest is a american pale ale and Oktoberfest but I think the next will be a hazy nothing better to introduce the carling drinker to craft

From the perspective of my personal dealings on retail side, hazies are absolutely the lifeblood of the craft industry and there's no end to the innovation or availabilty of them. They're also reliable sellers, I can pop any hazy I can get my hands on on a shelf and it'll be gone, it's genuinely great. My issues with them come down to the fact that people are more willing to pick up their usual hazy over trying something different. There are so many fantastic options, even within the same brands, that will just sit because the truly adventurous craft drinkers are actually uncommon. I get it, though, you don't want to spend money on something you wont like, and thats not the fault of the hazy IPA, that's just people being people. I guess my point is that hazies are a good foundation, but from my personal experience they're basically the "domestic beer" analog of the craft industry. Please for the love of beer, try more new things. (Seriously, please, I literally dont stock any saisons because in the past they've all sat to the BB date, and as a saison enjoyer it pains me.) I guess I should also clarify that I have no hatred toward hazies, I actually enjoy them myself. I'm mostly just disappointed that my area has tons of breweries but the interest only goes as far as "oh that looks fun".

For me... I really think any "stagnation" is due to end user pricing. I am NOT going to pay £8 for a pint of anything even if it has gold leaf floating in it, nor am I going to pay £4 for a single can in a supermarket. When I could cook a good roast dinner for 3 people for £15. I appreciate a good beer, and as a business person also fully understand that side. The asking prices are so far out of reality now that I it genuinely makes me sad for younger people.

As other people have said, everyone has tried to jump on the hazy bandwagon and most of the big producers who have supermarket shelf space aren't doing a great job of it (because they have that shelf space and don't necessarily need to make a top quality beer). Personally, I've got really bored of hazy beers anyway: there are still some really good ones of course but so many taste so similar I find it boring and I'm more likely to drink cask again - which is no bad thing.

You are making beer culture better. Thank you sir

Why is every 'craft' beer an IPA? Where are the browns, milds and bitters? I don't want a hop bomb. I don't want crazy cartoon graphics.

I prefer a West Coast IPA as I think the bitterness brings balance, but there's a time and a place for a NEIPA. I generally find a session hazy IPA a little one-dimensional as you're not getting much ABV or bitterness, but bump up the ABV and dial up the juicy hops and there's enough going on that you're not wanting for bitterness. More Triple IPAs on tap, please

My local bottle shop/tap room has 16 beers on tap and 6 are IPA’s

Bring back the old original and traditional English IPA….it can’t happen quick enough IMO.

I think the craft beer segment globally is experiencing a similar trend. When the segment emerged it grew through a small number of providers providing excellent product, and was grown by the hardcore consumer, who understood the difference in product etc. Craft is no longer a niche, it is part of the mainstream. And like any industry that has strong double digit growth for extended periods, it's usually driven by a flood of new entrants. It's great in the early days but soon true innovation becomes hard because everyone is chasing a smaller slice of the pie. Hazy gave the broader beer category a jolt, at a time when traditional styles were struggling. But with everyone doing multiple versions now it's lost its unique proposition. Cost pressures are now reigning in the segment across the globe. What will hopefully be left are a base of producers who are better at managing portfolio balance. When innovations come through, in a smaller competitive environment, the segment will again see growth.

A great video Jonny and it always fascinates me how you can sit in front of a camera and have a discussion covering a few different sides of the discussion, great job as always. What would also be an interesting topic is why has Hazy IPA been 'The Style' that the craft beer industry has latched onto, most UK drinkers have come through the ranks of cask ale or lager so why did we latch onto Hazy's.

I make no bones about it, hazys got me into craft beer. If it wasn't for hazys I wouldn't have tried the multitude of styles I now love and drink regularly. To me, a good beer is a good beer! I've got no time for gate-keeping and will drink whatever I enjoy. Cheers to you and Brad for all the hard work you do 🍻

Just happen to be watching this while sippin on Beak's hazy IPA collab with Uchu Brewing, loving it. 🍺 Pales/hazys are usually my go to style beer as I find they're so easy and delicious to drink and living in a place like Lewes it's not hard to find a great hazy when you've got the luxury of two breweries that specialise in making them (Beak & Abyss). However, that's not to say I'll only drink that style of beer as I also enjoy lagers, sours, and darker beers too - and with it being beer festival season it's the perfect opportunity to discover and taste some styles outside of the hazy stuff!

I do love my hazy IPA’s but at the moment I’m enjoying a st. Bernardus pater 6, brilliant beer. Cheers!👍🏻🍻

My favourite styles of Beer right now are Lagers, Westies and Bitters but without the Hazy IPA I wouldn't have discovered craft and therefore I'd be drinking Macro Lager and not Donzoko and Utopian which are absolutely outstanding. I'd be drinking Timmy Taylors either way still.

Need more west coast IPAs back on the market. Hard to get your hands on, in Scotland at least.

New drinking game. Drink a hazy IPA every time he says hazy IPA

I love going to breweries with a wider variety of brews AND they don't all taste the same. One brewery in Georgetown, I wish I liked it more, but all their beers taste the same. Pinthouse Pizza has a large selection and I think their #1 seller is "Jellyfish". It's their signature Hazy. IPAs were the last of the styles that I learned to enjoy. I still can't drink a Borbon barrel beer... never liked hard liquor. Now I like a good Hazy, DIPA or Imperial IPA.

Breweries are going to produce what the market demands and I live hazy IPAs when done right. It’s saved a few breweries around here and allowed them to continue and make the other styles they want to.

Thanks for the nuanced analysis, Johnny. I must be a really lazy drinker... I've not yet had any hazy IPA. 😂

I think there is a bit of an "old man shouting clouds" argument here. It's no different in the music industry, where older people (me included) think the music was better back in our day and that current music is ruining the industry. I was the original IPA craze that put me off beer for quite a long time as the high bitterness doesn't do it for me, and my choices in bottle shops were macro larger and WC IPAs, so I was a whiskey drinker for a very long time. It's only in the last year or so since I started brewing my own that I got back in to craft beer because I finally had choice.

I like almost every style and got into craft beer sometime in the early 2010s. I go out to a new brewery and I sometimes want to try other styles - but so many times I end up getting a hazy.....because they are effing delicious!! What can I say? Granted, if I go to a place that specializes in something else I will make a point to try it and I do have other moods. But dang - I probably buy a hazy 85% of the time? I do get in the mood for some bitterness from time to time. One thing I've also thought about with modern IPA's is the maturation of the style - instead of the "bitterness" arms race brewers are bringing out the nuance of the hops. I find it similar to what happened with 3rd wave coffee. Why buy expensive beans then roast them until they all taste the same..... ok - I could go on and on. I'll stop.

Hazy IPA itself is not killing craft. It does seem to make brewers think they can get away with selling styles that should not be hazy, hazy. Most beer styles should be crystal clear, it is a sign of quality going way way back. Hazy IPA does have that "My first beer" vide going on, I do hope people that start with Hazy, make there way to West Coast, then to the traditional styles that really are the strength of beer

I used to love west coast high IBU IPAs but I got tired of it and only occasionally grab one.

Was discussing this recently with my friends that every time I say to myself, "ok no more NEIPA's; I am sick of Hazies", one of my favorite breweries releases a new NEIPA. As predictable as I am I get excited, try it and without fail I enjoy it so much it gets scored 4.2 to 4.6 on Untappd. They (NEIPA) almost always don't suck and are tasty and flavorful! What is this which is brainwashing me into thinking I am sick of them in the 1st place? It's a pleasant conundrum.

Well Done Johnny informative and thought provoking what more could we ask for....... I am not the biggest fan of NEIPA but not a hater, the diverse types of beer is whats important for me and brewers do need to make a living so can see why so many jump on, but I think it all settles out overall, great video, how have you not been signed up for mainstream TV.....there loss is our gain.....