It seems everywhere you look you’ll find a Hazy Craft Beer these days. Have we hit ‘Peak Haze’ yet?
And if so, what can the trends in the Beer & Beverage Markets tell us about what might be the next big thing?
Let’s dive in.
Drunk History
Throughout the 18th and 19th century the brewing of beer exploded across the European continent, and a trend emerged – beers becoming ‘paler’
In England, dark beers like Porters and Stouts emerged with the Industrial Revolution before being replaced in popularity by more ‘pale’ beers such as the ‘Pale Ale.
In 16th Century Germany the Dunkel – a kind of dark malty lager – was replaced by the golden ‘Helles’, a tribute to the ‘Pils’ (Pilsner) that was coming out of the Czech Republic and exploding in popularity.
These were successive trends created by innovating styles, changing ingredients and the optimisation of the brewing process itself. That process is still affecting the Beer Market today.
Into The Haze
The Hazy IPA style originated on the East Coast in the early 2010s.
According to Sew Hop’d Brewery, brewers in New England began experimenting with ways to create a beer that was both hoppy and hazy. The goal? To capture the hops juicy, fruity flavours while also making a visually appealing, cloudy beer.
The hazy style was as much about how the beer looked as it tasted.
It echoed the shift from dark porters to ‘pale’ amber ales in the 16th Century while embracing the visual branding and marketing boom that began dominating retail industries in the 2010’s creating the Brand forward, in your face aesthetics of the modern beer fridge.
Land Of The Long White Hazy
You don’t need to look at the Google Trends report to gauge the popularity of the ‘Hazy’ beer here in New Zealand, you can see it at your local supermarket.
Searching for ‘Craft Beer’ on the New World website, 32 out of 96 results were labelled ‘Hazy’. That’s 33%.
On Untappd, a beer review app, 13 out of the top 20 rated beers in production here in Aotearoa are labelled as ‘Hazy’.
The ‘Hazy’ beer is so in-demand that, as Martin Bridges reported in his article for Pursuit Of Hoppiness, several brewers he’d spoken to had said they often hear of drinkers going into bars and asking “what Hazys’ have you got?”, with some leaving if there weren’t any available.
If we have indeed hit a saturated market for Hazy beer, that begs the question.
What’s next?
Beer: The Next Health Drink?
When it comes to dietary health, the biggest and fastest growing concern worldwide is gluten, which of course naturally occurs in beer, a beverage brewed using wheat and barley
And while Google searches for ‘Gluten-Free’ have been steadily increasing over the last 10 years, the search for ‘Gluten-free Beers’ has remained flat.
Instead of searching for Gluten-Free Beers, the market seems to be searching for Gluten-Free alternatives – namely Hard Seltzers (like Pals, White Claw etc).
This suggests the next beer trend may be less – well, ‘Beery’.
2023 saw the increasing trend of ‘beer adjacent’ beverages, including Urbanaut’s new cider brand, Sawmills alcoholic ‘Ginger Beer’ and Bach Breweries non-alcoholic ‘Hop Water’.
However, competition in the health & beverage markets is intense and breweries will face stiff competition from more health-forward brands.
For example, after conquering the US market, canned water drink Liquid Death has recently launched in Aotearoa, hoping to replicate its success overseas by providing social cover to non-drinkers using can branding that looks decidedly ‘alcoholic’.
One thing is for certain, you’re only trendy if you keep up with the trends. Expect to see Hazy Sparkling Water coming to a Countdown near you soon!
