We’ve asked the Pursuit of Hoppiness writers to come up with their top picks for the beers of the year. Between us the aim is to have exactly 100 beers.
TOP PICK: Beanbag Brewery x Hazzy Hunter Hazy IPA
Although I might be a bit biased with this one as I had a hand in bringing this brew to life but this is the perfect hazy, it’s packed with flavours like tropical bubblegum and pine needles but it goes down the hatch easier than water. If you haven’t tried this brew yet, then you better hunt it down before it’s all gone!
Sawmill Fresh Hop NZH-106 Hazy IPA
My first experience trying the NZH-106 trial hop and damn I think it’s my new favourite hop! The brew team at Sawmill managed to encapsulate the hop flavours into a juicy hazy that I had many cans of during fresh hop season.
Parrotdog x One Drop Hazy DIPA
When one of NZs best breweries teams up with one of the best from over the ditch, the result is only going to be amazing! One of the smoothest DIPAs that has ever touched my lips! I still think about this beer to this day.
Batsmen Brewing Flying Bat Hazy IPA
This one really surprised me, I went into the Batsmen brewing taproom in Morningside with no expectations but this blew me away! It’s the right amount of thickness and absolutely exploding with mango and stonefruit notes.
Garage Project Willamette Valley Hazy DIPA
I managed to snag a pint of this from Rogue Hop in Napier on Valley Day and it absolutely slapped my palate with passionfruit, peach and pineapple notes. This is a must-drink for all y’all hazy heads!
Twofold F’OG
Twofold’s first beer brewed in their Parnell brewery and it lived up to the hype! Their head brewer Bernie knows how to brew a thick hazy and F’OG is no exception.
Urbanaut Kenora Hazy IPA
Earlier in the year I was starting to lose my love for hazies after drinking too many mediocre ones, but Kenora was the beer that snapped me out of this and made me fall back in love with these opaque beverages.
Saint Leonards x Behemoth Wrong Side of the Tracks WCIPA
Up until I cracked into this beer I never really thought much of WCIPAs (I’m more of a hazy kinda guy as you can tell) but this grassy beverage made me realise that that there is more to craft beer than hazy IPAs.
BEERS Cool Cool Cool Cool Cold IPA
BEERS are relatively new to the scene but they have been releasing banger after banger but my favourite from them has to be their Cool (x 4) Cold IPA. Flavor-packed but super refreshing at the same time, I enjoyed every drop of this brew!
Brothers Beer The Italian Brothers Hazy IPA
Brothers have been brewing great hazies for years now but this has to be their best work yet! It’s everything I look for in a hazy — sweet, slightly bitter, bursting with tropical fruit notes and most importantly it’s super more opaque than a glass of OJ.