Funky Fluid Point Five Hazy IPA

Polish brewer Browar Funky Fluid have been on the scene since 2018 and their output of beers is truly staggering. At time of writing they have 361 beers listed on beer rating network app Untappd, of which 3 are in the top ten for their native Poland, including the first and second spots on that list. They’ve also received over 240,000 ratings on the app, which shows their popularity amongst the social media crowd at least. From the artwork adorning the cans of the brewer’s beers you can at least see some of the appeal. Most of them are decorated with beautiful abstract liquid textures behind the branding and name of the beer – pretty much a ‘funky fluid’ in pictorial form. And that’s before we look at the contents of said cans, which going from the images that Untappd users have uploaded tends to be thick, hazy looking, easily Instagram-able fruity IPAs.

Funky Fluid has already wowed me with their alcohol-free NEIPA brewed with coffee which I thought was amazingly balanced and not what I was expecting from the combination of ingredients. For Point Five Hazy the brewer is simply sticking with malts and hops for flavour this time, no additional adjuncts to support the beer’s taste. The brewer has gone down the double dry hopping route here, and the hops used are Azacca, Citra and Galaxy. From this combination we may be in for a selection of flavours and aromas; mango, pineapple, tangerine, pine, grapefruit, peach and passionfruit have all been documented in these hops. The Citra should also be giving us a good smack of bitterness too. Time to open up this big 500ml can (hooray!) and sample this fluid.

The beer pours a pale straw colour with a good amount of haze to it. A fairly thick creamy head is produced and it’s a stayer. On the nose we’re greeted by tropical mango and pineapple with some citrus lemon also cutting through. There’s also a sweet background note of vanilla too. Big hoppy aromas here – a good start.

Up front in the taste we have two groups of fruit; the tropical mango, pineapple and lychee, and the citrus lemon and grapefruit. Lovely fruity bases on which an earthy, grassy bitterness develops, but doesn’t overbalance into harshness. There’s even the odd floral note here and there. The beer is full-bodied, as good as you’d get in a non-alcoholic beer, with a smooth thick mouthfeel. We get a short bitter finish to the drink.

Funky Fluid Point Five Hazy IPA shows the brewer’s mastery of the style, with no fancy coffee, fruit puree or other schenanigans going on. However their Coffee Point Five still tips the scales for me, but for any IPA fan this is a great choice of drink, and one you won’t regret trying.

Buy Funky Fluid Point Five Hazy IPA

Funky Fluid’s beers are mainly available at specialist off-licenses or ultra cool bars that I’m unlikely to know or be seen in. So follow my example and buy your Point Five Hazy IPA from one of these online shops:

Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the can)
ABV	0.5%
Further nutritional information not supplied by brewer. Boo, hiss!
Ingredients
Water, Barley Malt, Wheat Malt, Oat Flakes, Wheat Flakes, Hops, Yeast
Additional Information
Country of Production	Poland
Brewer	Funky Fluid – https://funkyshop.pl/en/
Gluten Free?	No
Vegan Friendly?	No