Review: Muskoka Hazed & Confused Juicy IPA

Muskoka Brewery's Hazed & Confused has had a Juicy/Hazy IPA on the market in my neck of the woods for a few months now but I always passed right by it when at the liquor store.

From the label: Look into my eyes. you are feeling thirsty. Very thirsty. You will desire this Juicy IPA, with its hazy appearance and hypnotic character bursting with fruity hop aroma, followed by a juicy citrus kick. A graduate of our Moonlight Kettle series."

I think I kept passing on it because of the Moonlight Kettle vibe of the can, for some reason my mind still thinks that Muskoka's Moonlight Kettle series was a series of kettle sours and simply not a series of experimental batches of beers from the brewery.. so the moon on the label deters me. I do love a good Juicy/Hazy IPA so I should've sampled this ages ago!

Hazed & Confused contains 2 Row, Wheat, Cara-red and Flaked Oats for malts and grains; Mandarina, Citra, Amarillo and Mosaic for hops. They recommend serving this with Spinach salad with mandarins and goat cheese. 6.5% ABV, 52 IBU

Appearance: Hazy orange appearance with a bit of a murkiness to it. Very faint amount of carbonation in the body, while the head is pretty thick and creamy with an eggshell white hue to it. Once the head diminishes a bit, it leaves behind a good deal of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Certainly a Juicy IPA - it's got a moderate tropical presence to it with notes of pineapple, orange peel, hint of apricot and lemon. Mild cereal presence with predominantly oats and a hint of crisp barley. Floral hoppiness at the end.

Taste: Very leafy Juicy IPA with a hint of a dill-like presence to it. Good amount of tropical sweetness with pineapple, mango, lemon and a hint of orange peel. There's a hefty amount of yeast in this beer to give it a bit of a grittiness and a bit of a bitterness as well.. a flavour I can't really describe but I only really get in these kinds of IPAs.. maybe a very dense sourdough bite? There's a hint of pine at the very end, while the mouthfeel is a bit creamy and the aftertaste is mostly the yeast and a hint of bitterness from the hops.

Overall Thoughts: I've sampled maybe half a dozen NE/Juicy/Hazy IPAs in the past couple weeks and I think this may be one of the better ones I've had yet - it reminds me more of the NEIPAs I sampled when the style was first popping up, also which means that you'll get a good clump of sediment if it's not savoured reasonably fresh. Good job, Muskoka!

https://muskokabrewery.com/beer/hazed-confused/