And now it’s time to crack into the beer that started it all
Our bestselling Mind Haze Hazy Tropical IPA is rolling into 2024 with an energized new look. We’re calling it our “see it from space” era, simply because we think our design work should match the caliber of the liquid gold in each can.
Even better, we’ve brought two new sidekicks into the Mind Haze’s orbit: Mind Haze Brain Melter Hazy Imperial IPA (8.5% ABV) and Mind Haze Cosmic Crusher Juicy Imperial IPA (9.5%).
It’s the year of Mind Haze, and it’s coming to a fridge near you. But now, it’s time to talk about the cornerstone that holds the foundation of this whole, well, thing. That’s right, we’re pouring a glass and taking a sip of Mind Haze original today.
Where do we even begin? Well… it all started five years ago when we let our minds wander right into the thick of an emergent craft phenomenon: Hazy IPAs.
When the Hazy IPA movement first caught fire on the East Coast, all of our IPAs were still firmly rooted on the West Coast. And even as hazies became a national juggernaut, Brewmaster Matt Brynildson and his team remained patient. When they finally decided to take a shot at it, they tinkered with the style, retooling and refining their beer with several R&D batches until they nailed what they were after.
The result was Mind Haze Hazy Tropical IPA, Firestone Walker’s first-ever Hazy IPA, launched in late 2018.
This was “a Hazy IPA done the Firestone way” we’d say, and it was an immediate hit. Today, Mind Haze Hazy Tropical IPA ranks as a top 5 national Hazy IPA and the #2 Hazy IPA in California. It is celebrated for its explosive tropical hop flavors of pineapple, guava, and stone fruit that leave the palate in awe.
For Matt, the Hazy IPA style doesn’t just hearken back to the East Coast, but all the way back to southeastern Germany and the Bavarian Hefeweizens of lore. “Gutmann brewery in Titting has this amazing beer called Weizenbock,” he says. “It’s this beautiful 7.2% ABV hazy beer with a creamy mouthfeel and a tropical-banana aroma that fits right in with the Hazy IPAs of today—and yet they’ve been making it for more than 50 years.”
It was this global historical perspective that shaped the recipe of Mind Haze, which drew from our own experience in brewing Hefeweizens as well as IPAs.
As Matt put it at the time, “We want Mind Haze to offer the best of what people expect from a hazy IPA. That said, we’re going about it in a little different way, and I think that’s what gives Mind Haze its own unique signature.”
Mission accomplished.
Today, Mind Haze has become a playground where we explore our wildest ideas on where IPAs can go—with the original Mind Haze Hazy Tropical IPA still at the core. Pour one out and let your mind wander into the craze known as Mind Haze.