The Best Hops for Your Next IPA
All hail the haze! Brewing up your own hazy IPA is extremely fun, especially when it comes time to pick out your hops. This is where you can really flex your creative muscles because there are so many great hops for hazies and every combination is different and unique. Selecting the right hops that play well together can really take your hazy IPA to the next level.
Here’s where you will find our top hop combos for hazy IPAs as well as some of our favorite varieties if you want to mix and match and choose your own adventure. These hops were chosen because of some sciencey things like thiols, but mostly it comes down to hops that we enjoy brewing with and drinking. We can’t wait to see what hop combo you choose for your next brewday, so be sure to show it off on social. Happy brewing!
Top 3 Hop Combos for Hazy IPAs
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Citra® + Mosaic® + Galaxy®: This is the GOAT hop combo for hazy IPAs. A 1:1:1 ratio will yield incredibly juicy flavors and aromas of citrus, sweet fruit, and berries. These hops cover all the bases for both biotransformation precursors and trendy thiols. In fact these hops are so good together that they are practically cheat codes for brewing the perfect hazy.
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Citra® + El Dorado® + BRU-1™: Citra® can be a staple hop in any hazy IPA, but it really shines when teamed up with its best buds El Dorado® and BRU-1™. El Dorado® brings the tropical fruit party as always and BRU-1™ is pretty much the most pineappley pineapple to ever pineapple. BRU-1™ is also the perfect hazy hop because it appears to have some unique polyphenols that might help contribute to a more stable and beautiful haze.
- Chinook + Columbus + Nugget: This is a classic hop combo that is often overlooked for modern hazies. It might not be as flashy as other combos with newer varieties, but it still hangs with the best of them. Chinook and Nugget together offer up many of the key biotransformation precursors and thiols present in the current superstar Citra. Columbus also offers up the highly sought-after linalool and comes packed with ripe orange aromas. Together, this combo is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Best Hop Varieties for Hazy IPAs
BRU-1™: Not only is BRU-1™ just dripping with juicy, ripe pineapples, but it also appears to offer some unique polyphenols that may help contribute to a better and more stable haze. Strong enough to carry a beer on its own, but works best as an accent hop.
Cascade: It’s a classic and for good reason. Cascade’s signature grapefruit aroma is a great fit in any IPA, but it also offers some precursors and free thiols in the form of 4-MMP, 3-MH, and 3-MHA. Cascade plays well as a supporting character and synergizes well with other classics like Chinook and Nugget.
Chinook: This is our favorite sleeper variety that often gets overlooked. Chinook offers the perfect aroma that is packed with biotransformation compounds like Geraniol and Linalool, as well as a little bit of 4-MMP. Hotside, whirlpool, or dry hop, Chinook has amazing things to offer. So basically, just use it in all your beers.
Citra®: This one has it all. Citra® is undisputedly the best hop for Hazy IPAs. From key biotransformation compounds like Linalool and Geraniol to free thiols like 4-MMP, Citra® offers everything you could want in your NEIPA. Citra® is the easy button for brewing the best hazies around.
CTZ: Another variety that often gets overlooked, but it is a certifiable banger in Hazy IPAs. Columbus is loaded with Linalool for biotransformation as well as aromas of ripe oranges. Columbus often gets a bad rap as an alpha variety, but when Columbus is picked as an aroma variety, it is bright, beautiful, and fits perfectly in your hazy.
El Dorado®: Its nickname of The Tropical Hop is well deserved. El Dorado® is sweet with melons, pineapple, and stone fruit. It plays well with many popular hops including Citra®, Mosaic®, and Galaxy® and adds a perfect splash of fruit juice to any recipe. El Dorado® performs well in single-hopped-hazies, but really excels when surrounded by her friends.
Mosaic®: Mosaic® is neck and neck with Citra® for greatest hop of all time. It’s a good thing that it is a friendly competition, because Citra® and Mosaic® are the perfect partners. While Citra® and Mosaic® are an unstoppable duo, Mosaic® is a superstar in its own right. It offers up beautiful flavors of blueberries and sweet fruit that can carry any single-hop beer. Mosaic® is the daughter of Nugget, so maybe that’s where she gets her good genes from!
Nugget: Another classic variety that has found new life and meaning in hazies. Nugget is packed with biotransformation compounds like Geraniol and 4-MMP and works well on the hotside. Paired up with Chinook, this duo stands toe to toe with even the best modern varieties.
Sabro®: Is a newer variety that is right at home in the haze. Sabro® is zesty with tangerine, lemon, and lime. Brewers also report distinctive flavors of pineapple and peaches that really come through in hazies. Sabro® also offers up a unique character of sweet cream and coconut. We love when there is a hint of Sabro™ in a hazy IPA, so even just 10-20% of Sabro® in your hop bill will really kick it up a notch.
Galaxy®: Just like Citra®, Galaxy® doesn’t make a bad beer. It is big, bold, and just bursting at the seams with juicy citrus fruit. Galaxy® historically has a very high oil percentage, so it is incredibly impactful and even a little goes a long way. In a single hop or as part of a team, Galaxy® can elevate any beer and make it more than memorable.
Hallertau Blanc: A newer release out of Germany that is great from both an aroma and compound perspective. Hallertau Blanc has some Geraniol for biotransformation and comes packed with other prized compounds. Its aroma can brighten up any beer with notes of gooseberries and even sauvignon blanc grapes and is a solid Nelson Sauvin™ substitute. A little Hallertau Blanc goes a long way, so try even just 10% in your hop bill to add that little something special.
Mandarina Bavaria: Another newer German release that is perfect for new world hazies. Mandarina Bavaria has the trendy and highly-sought-after thiol 4-MMP and has plenty to offer in addition. As the name suggests mandarin oranges are the headlining aroma, and that makes perfect sense knowing that it is the daughter of Cascade. Mandarina Bavaria offers more sweet fruit flavors than her mother, but still carries the same diverse range of coveted compounds.
Hazy IPA Pro Tip:
Try LUPOMAX® concentrated hop pellets in your next hazy concoction! LUPOMAX® pellets have reduced vegetative matter to deliver bigger, bolder, and brighter flavors. Less vegetative matter also means that you lose way less beer from process loss in your hop heavy recipes. LUPOMAX® pellets are available in your favorite varieties like Citra®, Mosaic®, and more!
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