Hops

Hops barely grow in Vermont. The major US growing regions lie in the Pacific Northwest, and that's where the fields are that supply brewers with their cones. According to the BarthHaas Hop Report, US growing area in 2025 was 17,057 hectares, accounting for 40% of the world's total alpha acid output. The small state in the northeast draws from this same supply, usually through merchants who deliver the hops chilled and vacuum-sealed as pellets.

The appeal lies in how they're used. With a classic IPA, hops are boiled for a long time to extract bitterness. Hazy beer flips this around. Boiling is kept to a minimum, and instead hops are added late to the hot wort or even directly into the fermenter. This cold-hopping technique is called dry hopping in English, and it draws out aroma without releasing bitter compounds. Style guidelines allow 25 to 60 IBU, compared to 40 to 70 for a classic American IPA.

IBU is the measurement for bitterness. Hazy beers feel softer despite high hop quantities, because fewer bitter compounds are extracted. When you taste them, you first notice juice, fruit, and a touch of resin. The bitterness only shows up afterward and fades quickly.

Certain varieties are closely tied to Vermont beers. Sean Lawson used the then-new Citra variety for his Double Sunshine, the forerunner of Sip of Sunshine. Citra is known as a fruit bomb with notes of citrus and mango. The brewery doesn't disclose the hop blend in Heady Topper cone by cone, so the exact variety mix remains a matter of speculation.