Mad Hopper Hazy Pale Ale Fresh Wort

Brewery-made hazy pale ale wort from Mad Hopper, ready for you to ferment and dry hop. The mashing, the hopping and the boiling are done. You pitch the yeast, add the dry hops and finish it. Seventeen litres of wort in the bag, tops up to 21 litres in the fermenter.

The beer

A juicy, silky, hop-saturated hazy pale ale in the taproom style. The wort arrives with a soft, full body and a gentle bitterness, built as a canvas for the dry hop. Mad Hopper recommend Nectaron and Simcoe, and that combination lands on ripe passionfruit, pineapple and a piney edge. Cloudy gold in the glass, smooth on the palate, no harsh bitterness anywhere. This is the beer that turns lager drinkers.

What's in the box

• 17 litres of fresh hazy pale ale wort, mashed, hopped and boiled at the brewery and packed fresh
• Batch date on the label so you know how fresh it is

Yeast and dry hops are not included, and the dry hops are not optional for this one. Grab a sachet of Verdant IPA and 100 to 200g of hops with the kit and you have the whole beer.

When you know you have nailed it

Appearance: Cloudy, pale gold, almost orange juice in the glass. A fluffy white head that sticks around.

Aroma: Tropical fruit first, passionfruit and pineapple from the Nectaron, then pine and citrus from the Simcoe. It should smell like the hop bag when you open it.

Flavour: Juicy and soft. Fruit up front, a light sweetness through the middle, and a bitterness you notice more as balance than as bite.

Mouthfeel: Silky and full for a pale ale. Carbonate around 2.3 to 2.5 volumes to keep it lively without stripping the softness.

Make it your own

• Split the dry hop. Half on day 3 while the yeast is still active for biotransformation, half on day 7 for aroma.
• Swap Simcoe for Galaxy or Vic Secret to take it in an Australian direction.
• Skip the top-up and ferment the 17 litres straight for a bigger, hazier beer closer to an IPA.
• Keep oxygen away from it after the dry hop. Closed transfers and a purged keg keep the haze bright and the fruit fresh.

Fermentation guide

1. Sanitise your fermenter, airlock and anything that touches the wort.
2. Pour the wort into the fermenter. Top up with cold water to 21 litres if you want the full batch, or leave it at 17 for a bigger beer.
3. Pitch your yeast at 18 to 21 degrees C and hold it there. In a Queensland summer that means a fridge and a temperature controller, not a laundry floor.
4. Dry hop on day 3 to 4 while fermentation is still active, or day 7 for pure aroma. Leave the hops in for 3 days, no longer.
5. Take a gravity reading two days apart. Same number twice means it is done. Bottle or keg, and drink it young. A hazy is at its best in the first four to six weeks.

Hamish's verdict

Do not skimp on the dry hop. Fifty grams gives you a pleasant soft pale ale, 150 grams gives you a hazy. And once it is packaged, keep it cold and drink it fresh. This is the one style where a month in the cupboard costs you the beer.

Reviewed by the AHB Brewing Team, September 2026.