Craft beer lovers drawn to hazy IPAs
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Earl Kleckner, owner of Rusty Gold Brewing in Canonsburg, looks forward to the state moving into the green phase of reopening.
Tony Rhodes, a bartender at Four Points Brewery in Charleroi, examines a Pomegranate Fruitition Sour while working earlier this month.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Big Dude Imperial IPA at Yellow Bridge Brewing in Delmont has a nose of grapefruit, guava and blueberries.
CHARLEROI – Craft beer lovers these days are becoming drawn to beers that, well, don’t taste like beer.
Adam Boura, the brewer at Four Points Brewing in Charleroi, said brewery customers are mad for hazy India Pale Ales and also sour beers, some of which taste more like Kool-Aid than traditional brews.
“People who don’t like beer will come out of nowhere to drink sours, Boura said. “That’s what people like. It doesn’t taste like beer, but that’s what the customers expect, so we keep making them.”
Hazy IPAs are unfiltered and can look more like orange juice than the traditional caramel see-through varieties. Some brewers initially thought these clouded versions were mistakes at brewery tanks, but they just kept coming and coming.
The Fourth Street American IPA, a hazy beer, is the best-selling offering on tap, brewery owner Dave Barbe said.
It’s the breweries flagship IPA made with Columbus, Citra and Mosaic hops with notes of grapefruit, lychee and citrus.
Patrons love it because it’s less bitter and softer than a traditional IPA, Barbe said.
The Pomegranate Fruitition Berliner Weisse sour is another popular beer at Four Points. Its brewed with 50 pounds per barrel of pomegranate puree.
“It’s for people who like the taste of fruit,” Barbe said.
“I can’t sell enough of it,” added Four Points bartender Tony Rhodes.
This brewery also has a chocolate and coffee-inspired imperial stout named after the infamous Donora Smog, the nation’s deadliest air pollution disaster. It’s described as being thick and chewy.
Earl Kleckner, owner of Rusty Gold Brewing in Canonsburg, said his brewer has tried making a hazy IPA but is a traditionalist who prefers the classic version of that beer.
“The hazy IPA is a trend, Kleckner said. “Eventually, people will jump to something else. It’s the next flavor of the week.”
Boura said he predicts the next trend will be hard seltzers because customers are wanting to drink beverages with less sugar.