Boulder Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale Beer Review

Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale

Review Date 6/7/2008 Last Updated 9/18/2016

Try? Re-buy?

Colorado. There, I said it. Now that I did, what was the first thing that popped into your mind? Was it skiing? A vacation maybe? The Rocky Mountains? When I think of Colorado, I think of beer. And no, I’m not talking about Coors, thank you very much. Because the simple fact of the matter is that Colorado has a long and proud craft brewing tradition, one of the earliest and finest in the nation. And in Colorado, the earliest of the earlies is none other than Boulder Brewing Company.

Boulder is, in fact, not only one of Colorado’s first microbreweries, but one of the first in the nation. Brewing operations began all the way back in 1979, and Boulder proudly displays their federal license, the 43rd ever issued in the United States, on their website. As a forty-something beer enthusiast, I can tell you I recall buying their beer at West Warwick, Rhode Island’s tiny Mac’s Liquors in the early to mid eighties.

Today, Boulder is still rolling along, and in addition to its regular lineup, the company has several special brews in its Looking Glass series. One of these is Hazed and Infused Dry-Hopped Ale, a hop-head’s delight sold in 22-ounce bomber bottles. I picked one up for about $4, which is not a bad deal these days, especially for a specialty brew like this.

Why is the beer called “Hazed and Infused?”? The “hazed” moniker refers to the fact that the beer is not filtered, resulting in a hazy appearance. Dry hopping, the practice of aging (in this case fermenting) the beer on whole hop flowers, adds spicy, floral hop flavor and aroma; the beer is “infused” with hops. And they don’t skimp on them either: 250 pounds of five varieties (Willamettes, Centennials, Chinooks, Cascades, and Crystals) are used.

Boulder Hazed and Infused Dry-Hopped Ale pours to a dark hazy reddish brown color with a thick chunky head formation and a very spicy herbal grassy hop nose. When you take a sip, you immediately discover why they call this Hazed and Infused. That's because this beer really is infused with, nay bursting with, herbal, very grassy, slightly resiny hop flavor. There's some chewy caramel underneath, too, and it lends body, but the hops really dominate this beer.

In the finish, there's more flowery hop aroma, and some bitterness too. All that dry hopping has produced a flowery delight that in many ways reminds me of Orval. Not as big perhaps as an IPA in body, but certainly a hop lovers delight. This is a beer designed to show off the art of dry hopping, and it very much succeeds at that.

Update 9/18/2016: Boulder Hazed and Infused is still a wonderfully hoppy, delicious pale ale, as I was reminded recently. I enjoyed a mug at Taco Mac while watching the Patriots and munching on wings. A bit pricey for draft at $7.75, but it's reasonable in bottles these days at $9.99 a six-pack.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

Home