By Tidal Creek Brewhouse · Published August 27, 2026
Look down the tap list on any given night and you’ll probably spot more than one IPA. That’s not an accident — IPA is the style craft drinkers reach for most, and it’s really two different beers wearing the same name. One pours crystal clear and bites back with bitterness. The other pours hazy, almost orange-juice cloudy, and drinks soft and fruity. Order the wrong one for your mood and you might walk away thinking “IPAs aren’t for me.” Order the right one, and you might just find your new favorite.
So let’s clear it up. Here’s the friendly, no-jargon version of Hazy vs. West Coast — and how to figure out which one is calling your name.
They Start From the Same Place
Every IPA — India Pale Ale — leans on hops for its personality. Hops bring bitterness, aroma, and flavor, and depending on which ones a brewer reaches for and how they’re used, you can end up with beers that taste nothing alike even though they’re technically the same style.
That’s the whole story of Hazy vs. West Coast. Same starting point, two very different roads.
West Coast IPA — Clear, Bitter, Bright
West Coast IPAs are the originals, the style that put American craft beer on the map. They’re brewed to be clear — you can see light straight through the glass — and the hops come through sharp and clean: citrus peel, pine needles, sometimes a little resin. The finish is dry and bitter in a way that lingers just long enough to make you want another sip.
Tidal Creek’s Coastlines IPA lives in this lane. It’s the beer for someone who wants a beer that tastes unmistakably like beer — assertive, hop-forward, no apologies. If you’ve had one of the bigger national IPA brands and liked where it landed, Coastlines is your speed.
Hazy IPA — Cloudy, Juicy, Soft
Hazy IPAs (sometimes called New England IPAs, or NEIPAs) flipped the West Coast formula on its head. Instead of clarity, brewers lean into haze — a cloudy, almost pulpy look that comes from how the hops and grain are handled during brewing. Instead of sharp bitterness, the hops get dialed toward tropical fruit: mango, orange, passionfruit, guava. The mouthfeel is softer, rounder, closer to a fruit smoothie than a classic bitter beer.
Brewmaster Patrick Gibson keeps hazies in regular rotation through Tidal Creek’s small-batch program, and rounds it out with a year-round core release — Beam Reach, Tidal Creek’s flagship in the NEIPA category. It’s a beer built for sipping slowly rather than rushing through.
Fun fact: Beam Reach’s name refers to a sailing term — a point of sail where the wind comes across the boat from the side, often considered one of the fastest and smoothest ways to move. It’s a fitting name for Tidal Creek’s year-round hazy IPA — bright, balanced, smooth, and easy to settle into.
If you’ve tried an IPA before and found it too bitter for your taste, a hazy is worth a second chance. It’s a genuinely different drinking experience wearing the same three letters.
Same Brewer, Two Philosophies
It might seem strange that one brewery pours both styles well, but at Tidal Creek it comes down to the same approach Patrick brings to everything on tap: mill the malt in-house, brew with reverse osmosis filtered water, and let the process — not shortcuts — do the work. That clean foundation is what lets a West Coast IPA taste genuinely crisp and a hazy taste genuinely soft, rather than both styles landing somewhere muddy in the middle.
It’s also just more fun for a rotating, small-batch tap list. Some weeks lean bitter and bright, other weeks lean hazy and juicy — and having both styles brewed well means there’s always something worth ordering no matter which direction you’re leaning that day.
So, Which One Should You Order?
A few questions to point you in the right direction:
Want something crisp and refreshing, especially on a hot Grand Strand afternoon? Go West Coast. Coastlines pairs well with anything off the grill and holds up in the heat.
Want something that tastes more like fruit than beer, or you’re easing a friend into IPAs for the first time? Go hazy and select Beam Reach. It’s the more forgiving, more approachable of the two.
Can’t decide? Ask your bartender for a small taste of both before you commit. That’s what they’re there for, and it’s the fastest way to find your lane.
Cooking dinner into the decision? West Coast IPAs cut nicely through anything rich or fatty — think burgers, wings, fried appetizers. Hazies play well with spicier dishes, since the fruit-forward sweetness tempers the heat.
There’s no wrong answer here — just two different moods, both done well.
Come Try Both for Yourself
The best way to settle the Hazy vs. West Coast debate is to taste it side by side, and Tidal Creek’s rotating tap list gives you the chance to do exactly that. Ask what’s pouring in each style tonight, grab a flight if you’re torn, and let your own glass make the call.
Find us at 3421 Knoles Street in The Market Common District, Myrtle Beach, SC. Full tap list, hours, and events at tidalcreekbrewhouse.com.