Let’s talk about beer! That’s what we’re here for after all, aren’t we? Today, we’re going to talk about one beer in particular, of course, but I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss the business of beer, as well. A small piece of it anyway. As you probably know by now, I am a frequent patron of Taco Mac. Because, well, beer. That’s where I enjoyed the mug of New Realm Hazy Like a Fox New England IPA.

Hazy Like a Fox was introduced in August of 2018, but it’s back as a featured beer of the month for February of 2019. Each month, if you don’t already know, Taco Mac features a brewery and offers four different beers from that brewery. Sometimes they have five, with the fifth being a special release.

This is where the business of beer comes in. If you’re a brewery looking to get your name out there, or maybe just sell a lot of beer, this is a great way to do it. New Realm is a recent addition to the Georgia beer scene. They’re widely know amongst beer geeks because the company was founded by Mitch Steele, former brewer at Stone in California. But hey, maybe they want to be better known still.

Consider. There are 25 Taco Mac locations in Georgia. Yes, there are 3 in North Carolina and one in Tennessee as well, but they obviously have different distributors and different beers of the month. So, we’ll stick to Georgia. But hey, let’s say that you swing beer of the month like New Realm did. 25 different locations times 4 kegs each is 100 kegs of beer sold. Not bad! Of course, I’m willing to bet each location sells at least 2 kegs of each beer in a month. Probably more. So, that’s 200 kegs of beer. If we assume the brewer ends up with $100 a keg that’s $20,000. Not a bad chunk of change at all.

There are reasons that I think Taco Mac probably goes through even more than 200 kegs a month. For one thing, their Brewniversity program, which offers rewards as you drink more and more different beers. Even if you’ve had a beer before though, you’ll get a new Brewniversity credit for it as Beer of the Month. Then too, if you order a featured brew on Thursday nights, you get a logo glass or some other swag free with purchase, while supplies last. Sure, that costs the brewery money, but it gets their name out there. If you’re like me, you’ll probably pick up some of the brewery’s beer at the packy with which to fill your logo glass.

As far as New Realm Hazy Like a Fox New England IPA goes, here’s what New Realm says about it:

Hazy Like a Fox is our first Hazy IPA brewed with a blend of pale malt, oats, wheat, flaked barley and lactose. It pours a pale gold with an opaque haze. Pineapple and tangerine hop aromatics dance together in the nose while its taste is very soft with a juicy orange and tangerine finish. With a bit of brewers' magic, we gave this beer a very soft and smooth mouthfeel with low perceived hop bitterness. Hazy Like a Fox was double dry-hopped, once during fermentation to give it huge orange juicy character and again post-fermentation to derive intense hop aromatics.

New Realm Hazy Like a Fox New England IPA has an alcohol content of 6.4% by volume with 50 IBUs. I paid $6.80 for a 23-ounce mug at Taco Mac with a free glass included. That’s not a bad deal at all, because New Realm charges $7 for a 14-ounce draft at their Atlanta brewery. Total Wine sells it for $14.99 a 4-pack of pint cans.

My mug of New Realm Hazy Like a Fox New England IPA arrived a hazy orange color with a thick head formation of loosely packed bubbles and tangerines most prominent in the nose. Taking a sip, I got light malt, grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple in the palate, then a light tangy bitter hop finish.

About par for the course as these beers go, definitely overpriced in cans, but I can’t complain at all at the price I paid for draft. Given that this is a beer I would most likely come across again in cans, though, it's not really something I would buy again. There are plenty of other very similar beers for a lot less money.

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, canned

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler



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