Fancy Juice Was Built to Last, Not to Trend

by FIERCE BEERAug 25, 2026

UK hazy IPA isn't the runaway craft category it was a few years ago. The market got flooded with near-identical juice bombs, ABVs crept upward chasing bigger hits and buyers are now backing fewer, better listings instead of a crowded shelf. Fancy Juice, Fierce Beer's gluten-free, vegan hazy IPA, launched in early 2020. Every change it's made since has come from Fierce's own small-batch learnings, not from chasing the trend.

Why Hazy IPA Buyers Are Getting More Selective

Hazy IPA became the biggest style in British craft beer, and breweries moved fast. Shelves filled quickly with many similar products. Oversaturation caught up with the category. Palate fatigue set in, beer drinkers started choosing other categories in greater numbers again, and the growth of hazy IPA slowed. Hype-driven hazies began dropping out of range plans as a direct result.

How Has Fancy Juice Stayed the Same Since 2020?

Fancy Juice launched in early 2020, already well into hazy IPA's rise in the UK, at 6% ABV. In the years since, the recipe has been refined rather than reinvented and the ABV has settled at a steadier 5%. It's still brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops over pale malt, Vienna malt and oats, fermented with a London Fog yeast strain.

Fancy Juice has also been gluten-free and suitable for vegans since it launched, brewed with barley and oats and processed to remove the gluten. It's held a permanent spot in Fierce's gluten-free range throughout. It's never rotated in and out to chase seasonal trends. It's remained exactly where Fierce positioned it in the first place, up front and centre.

What Does Fancy Juice Taste Like?

Fancy Juice pours a hazy pale gold, with mango and peach on the nose and light grassy notes underneath. The finish is tropical and bittersweet, not sharply bitter, true to the hazy IPA style. At 5% ABV, Fancy Juice drinks easily without tipping into a session beer's thinness, part of why it has held its place in the Fierce range for all the years it has done.

What Does the Hazy IPA Slowdown Mean for Trade Buyers?

As the hazy IPA boom contracts, buyers are moving away from short-term, trend-chasing listings toward beers with a proven track record. Fancy Juice has held the same spot in the Fierce core range since 2020, at a sessionable 5% ABV, gluten-free and vegan throughout. That makes it a straightforward long-term listing rather than a beer that needs replacing as the next trend arrives.

How Does Fierce Keep Fancy Juice Consistent?

Limited releases and higher-ABV experiments happen regularly at Fierce, and whatever the brewery learns from them feeds back into Fancy Juice. The core beer stays the constant, refined in small ways over time, while the specials are where Fierce tests new hops and ideas.

Put Fancy Juice on your shelves

If you're a trade buyer looking for a hazy IPA with an unshaken track record, get in touch through the Fierce Beer Trade Portal to talk stock, formats and pricing.

Fierce also brews Fancy Juice 0.5, an alcohol-free version built from the same hops and malt bill, for anyone drinking alcohol-free.

What is a hazy IPA?

A hazy IPA is an India Pale Ale brewed for a cloudy appearance, a soft, pillowy mouthfeel and intense fruit-forward hop aroma instead of sharp bitterness. Brewers achieve the haze and body using oats and wheat in the grain bill and by adding hops late in the process, during whirlpool and fermentation. Fancy Juice by Fierce Beer is a classic example, built for tropical fruit character over bitterness.

What's the difference between a hazy IPA and a regular IPA?

Traditional West Coast IPA is built around resinous, piney hop character and a firm, lingering bitterness. Hazy IPA uses the same hop varieties differently, adding them late to preserve aromatic oils instead of bitterness, and uses oats and wheat for a fuller, smoother body. Fancy Juice follows the hazy approach, leading with mango and peach aroma and a soft finish, not a bitter bite.

Is Fancy Juice gluten-free and vegan?

Yes. Fancy Juice has been gluten-free and vegan since it launched in early 2020, brewed with barley and oats then processed to remove the gluten. It's part of Fierce Beer's permanent core range, not a seasonal specialist beer, which means venues can stock Fancy Juice as a year-round hazy IPA, not a one-off alternative option.

What ABV is Fancy Juice?

Fancy Juice launched at 6% ABV in early 2020 and has since settled at 5%. Some hazy IPAs kept pushing ABV up through the trend. This one settled down instead. That's sessionable enough for repeat pours while still delivering real hop character, part of why Fancy Juice performs consistently across bars, retailers and events, not just as an occasional treat.

Where can I buy or stock Fancy Juice?

Fancy Juice is available direct from Fierce Beer in cans and kegs, through independent retailers across the UK and is currently listed with Waitrose and Sainsbury's. Trade buyers and venues looking to stock Fancy Juice can get in touch through the trade portal for pricing, formats and availability.

Is hazy IPA still popular in the UK?

UK hazy IPA has come off the boil after several years of oversaturation, and the category isn't growing the way it was. Fancy Juice hasn't been shaped by that cycle. It launched in early 2020, has kept the same core recipe and a sessionable 5% ABV ever since and remains part of Fierce Beer's permanent range regardless of where the wider trend goes next.