HazeMama New England IPA by Great Lakes Brewery

Welcome to Beers and Such, the beer review blog for the everyman written by an everyman. Craft beers are on the menu, along with whatever else makes its way into my little brain. Sit back and relax.

Today I'll be reviewing HazeMama New England IPA by Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, Ontario. I'm going to come right out and say it now, I'm nervous about this one. I'm not a huge fan of super hoppy IPAs in general, which New England IPAs tend to be. I like a solid hoppy taste, but sometimes they go way too far.

It definitely smells like it's going to be hard to drink, but at 7% a guy will definitely get bang for his buck. It's an off yellow colour, hazy as the name would suggest, and lightly carbonated.

I think I'm stalling, so I'll get to it already.

Damn, I hate being right all the time.

It's very hop heavy, it bites hard at the back of the throat, and it leaves a very bitter aftertaste that I could do without. I actually like the flavour of the hops at the front end, but for me it falls apart after that. The bitterness is off-putting and ruins the whole beer for me.

As always, your results may vary. If you're a fan of New England IPAs, this might be a good one and you should give it a go. Great lakes Brewery makes lots of good beers, and though this one doesn't get me going, my guess is fans of the genre will probably like this one.

I suggest an IPA glass to drink this IPA out of, and I'm sure you're very surprised to hear that.

My rating: 5/10. It's hoppy taste is great, but the rest of this beer doesn't do it for me.

My lovely wife is my second sipper and she has no appreciation of the fine art of IPA's. Especially New England IPAs judging by her reaction...

My wife's rating: 1/10. On a good note, she was going to give it .5, so she doubled her original score. That's a positive, right?

There you have it, friends. Hazemama New England IPA by Great Lakes Brewery is a pass for me, but I encourage NE IPA fans to give it a go despite my personal dislike of the beer. Great Lakes Brewery has a ton of great beers and they work hard to come up with new creations all the time. Check out their website at greatlakesbeer.com