Skeptics’ eyes may glaze, but the haze craze has reached a new phase: dominance.
Three new categories for juicy or hazy pale ale, IPA and double IPA at the Great American Beer Festival have attracted a “staggering” number of entries, one of the festival organizers said in a blog post Thursday.
The leader is the Juicy or Hazy IPA category, which has seen a record number of entries — 414 — in the 35-year history of the GABF competition, which is widely considered the most prestigious in the nation.
The previous record for most entries was 408, set last year in the American-Style India Pale Ale category. This year’s American-Style India Pale Ale entries have dipped as a result of the new juicy or hazy categories, down to 331.
Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale has seen 131 entries, and Juicy or Hazy Double IPA has 161 entries, resulting in a total of 706 juicy or hazy entries, according to Julia Herz, craft beer director of the Brewers Association, which operates the festival and its competition.
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The festival will be held Sept. 20-22 in Denver.
Hazy IPAs, also sometimes called New England-style or double dry hopped IPAs, are marked by intense fruitiness and a lack of bitterness, resulting in a beer often compared to juice.
Though the style has many skeptics and is often made badly, it has also been wholly embraced by brewers and beer drinkers alike and is a revelation when done well.
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