New belgium voodoo ranger juice force hazy imperial ipa reviews

Sometimes, there’s nothing more refreshing than a fruity and tropical beer! When made well, this style can be a great way to enjoy a summer evening. When done poorly, however, these types of beers can be overly sweet and artificial tasting. It’s a tricky style that few breweries get right.

Enter Voodoo Ranger’s Juice Force IPA by New Belgium Brewing. As a Hazy Imperial IPA, this tropical brew comes in at a strong 9.5% alcohol, and it’s described as a fruit forward drink that’s surprisingly smooth.

So how does this strong beer compare to the other Hazy Imperial IPAs on the market? Is it too sweet, too bitter, or does it find that perfect balance between tropical and hoppy that many beers fail to achieve?

Let’s find out!

Rating Method

For this review, we’re going to rate the Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA based on other, similar beers. This means that points will be given if it achieves what it sets out to do, and how it tastes compared to other Hazy Imperial IPAs.

Even if I personally prefer a hoppier or more bitter beer, my personal tastes won’t affect the rating since Juice Force IPA strives to be tropical, fruity, and smooth without any bitterness.

For this review, the beer was purchased as a six-pack of 12oz cans, and while there’s no production date, it says “Best By October 2022.” It’s unfortunate that there’s no production date listed on the can, because IPAs can have a shelf life of anywhere from two-weeks to several months. Given that the beer was purchased in July, 2022, there is at least a 4-month period of freshness for this brew.

With all that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the brewery and style before getting on to the taste!

New Belgium Brewing’s Voodoo Ranger Lineup

New Belgium is a Colorado brewery that specializes in Amber Ales, IPAs, and other seasonal offerings. Their Fat Tire Amber Ale is their best selling product, and they’ve recently made a splash with their Voodoo Ranger series of IPAs.

Under the Voodoo Ranger IPA line, you can find the following year round releases:

• IPA (Classic)

• Imperial

• Juicy Haze

• Juice Force Hazy Imperial IPA

• Agent 77 (Hazy IPA)

• Plus other seasonal and limited releases

What is the Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA?

The Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA is brewed by New Belgium Brewing. As a Hazy Imperial IPA, it comes in at a very strong 9.5% ABV which is quite surprising for a supposedly smooth and tropical drink. It’s IBU, or International Bitterness Units, is at a low 30 which means it’s very low on the bitter scale.

Unlike traditional IPAs, Hazy IPAs use very little filtration when brewing which produces the drink’s cloudy appearance and unique taste. Imperial IPAs usually use twice the amount of hops as a regular IPA to give a bolder flavor. Both styles often have a higher alcohol content as well due to the brewing process.

The Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA ingredients are as follows:

• Yeast (Ale)

• Hops (including Mosaic, Chinook, Phato, Galaxy, Strata, Lotus, and Sabro)

• Malt (including Pale, Oats, and Wheat)

The Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA calories aren’t officially listed; however, it likely contains over 300 calories per 12oz serving based on the drink’s alcohol content and the calorie count of similar beers.

On their website, New Belgium claims that Juice Force is a “fruit forward” and “highly drinkable” IPA despite its higher alcohol content.

Now, let’s see if these claims actually hold up!

The Pour and Appearance of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA

Coming in a vibrant orange can featuring the company’s Ranger mascot, which is a skeleton in a fighter pilot’s uniform, the can is fairly memorable with a pleasant logo and font. Plus, when a beer can looks like the cover of an 80’s metal album, you know it’ll probably be good!

When opened and poured, it forms a nice white head that’s about two-fingers thick. The head lasted for several minutes before slowly dissipating, leaving a very thick lacing along the glass.

Voodoo Ranger pours a cloudy golden-orange color, and it has a strong haze that makes the beer mostly non-transparent. Since Hazy IPAs are made through a lack of filtration, there are often sediments floating throughout the drink, although I didn’t notice any with Juice Force.

The carbonation is apparent, although it’s on the lower end which is usual for the style.

The Initial Scent

I’ll be honest, the initial scent was very surprising! I almost thought I had poured the wrong drink, and I remember thinking, “is this actually beer?”

Upon leaning in, you get a strong and immediate scent of pure guava juice. Some slight pineapple in the background, and last but not least, a scent of oranges and tangerines lingers further in the back.

There’s no discernible hop, malt, or alcohol booze smell either, which was surprising for a beer this strong.

Let’s see if any of the 9.5% ABV shows up in the taste test!

The First Sip

Have you ever had POG juice? Made famous in Hawaii, it’s a sweet mixture of passion, orange, and guava juices that tastes quite tropical. Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA has an immediate taste of POG juice, although surprisingly without an excessive sweetness!

While there is a sweetness, it’s not overly done or fake tasting. There’s nothing but hops in here, and without any added sweeteners or artificial flavors, it tastes no more sweet than your average Hazy Imperial IPA.

However, the ads don’t lie: this is a very fruit-forward IPA, and it more closely resembles a juice than a beer on the first sip.

The next few sips were even more interesting as a tartness came through. The slight champagne-like carbonation added to the tartness, and it mildly resembled a sour beer with its sharpness. Much different than I expected, but it was better than the sugar bomb I had feared.

Oddly enough, the initial scent was very forward with guava and pineapple, but when tasting, those flavors start to fade into the background! After drinking more, the beer reveals a stronger tangerine taste than anything else.

Shockingly, there’s absolutely zero sign of alcohol which is rare for a beer this strong. Even as the beer warmed up over the course of the evening, the alcohol never came through.

For that matter, there are also few signs of hops or malt in here. That’s not a bad thing since the beer sets out to be fruit forward and tropical, but you should know before drinking that it’s more related to tropical juices than your average “tropical” IPA.

First Taste Notes:

• Tangerine

• Organe

• Guava

• Pineapple

• Slight tartness

• Light yet sharp carbonation similar to Champagne

First Scent Notes:

• Guava

• Pineapple

• Orange

• Tangerine

The Full Glass: Enjoying Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA

After the initial surprise of, “oh, they weren’t lying about this being fruity!” wore off, I began to enjoy Juice Force IPA on its own terms. While I personally prefer a more balanced IPA with an equal amount of dank to balance out the tropical tones, this beer never pretended to be anything but fruity.

So after adjusting my expectations, it became a very enjoyable drink throughout the evening. So much so that the second glass was almost mandatory. Of course, this beer has 9.5% ABV, so you’re not going to plow through them too quickly, but I’ve had light beers with a stronger alcohol warmth than this drink.

There’s zero warmth, booziness, or anything alcohol-related in this drink’s flavor profile. Even as the drink warmed in temperature, it still retained its same flavors without any booze coming through!

Pros of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA

• Lives up to its promise as a smooth and very tropical Hazy Imperial IPA

• Has a lot of alcohol without any alcohol taste or burn

• Not too sugary or sweet

Cons of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA

• Tastes more like juice than your average Hazy Imperial IPA

• The strong alcohol content is a pro and a con, because it really sneaks up on you!

Key Features of New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA

The best thing about this beer is that it really is a purely tropical drink without too much sweetness or any burn. It’s great for those who like tropical brews because it completely fulfills that promise. It’s not your average beer, and even people who normally dislike the hoppiness or bitterness of beer will probably enjoy this drink.

However, if you’re expecting a true IPA with tropical undertones, you should adjust your expectations. This is more like a carbonated alcoholic juice with some IPA undertones. If you have that in mind, it’s very enjoyable! Just don’t expect any hoppy dankness or other key characteristics of the style. This is a beer where its name really says it all!

Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA Where to Buy

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juice Force Hazy Imperial IPA stores are located throughout the US. You can find this beer available in many supermarkets and liquor stores throughout the country with relative ease. You can also utilize New Belgium’s product search feature to see if it’s near you!

Plus, the Juice Force IPA price is pretty good. It’s on par with most other craft beers, and you won’t be paying a premium to try it for yourself. Despite being a fairly small brewer, they have a large production that allows the prices to stay the same in most US states. However, customers outside of the US may have to pay more.

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juice Force Hazy Imperial IPA Reviews

It’s time to see where this beer stands on each metric, and whether it’s worth seeking out or not!

Overall: 4/5

In short: this is juice. It’s a very delicious juice, with some nice tanginess, mild carbonation, and a subtle sweetness. But it’s still juice that can get you very drunk, with a very faint taste of beer in the background. But, I really enjoyed it!

Despite wanting more dankness to suddenly appear, I finally gave in and accepted the drink as it was. And it’s not bad! Once I realized that there won’t be any dank hop flavors, I started to enjoy it much more. It’s a very pleasant, smooth drink!

I’m giving it a strong rating mainly because it does what it promises. The beer said it would be fruity and smooth, and it really, really is. How can I argue with that? Plus, it’s simply tasty, and in comparison to other beers in the same style, it’s not overly sweet or artificial tasting at all.

Taste: 4/5

I’ll give 4 stars to the taste because it is a very pleasant taste. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet, and there’s a very nice sour-tartness that comes through at times. On a warmer evening, it’s really an enjoyable drink.

However, I can’t award it higher because there does seem to be an emptiness where the hops should be. Even a slight dankness or malty backbone could make this beer much better and give it more character. In the end, it’s fruity and tropical, but you may not realize it’s a beer.

Strength: 4/5

The taste may not be overly strong, but at 9.5% ABV, you’ll feel this beer once you stand up. I’m not saying to drink it slowly, but I’d personally cap it at two glasses because this beer doesn’t mess around on the alcohol front!

Scent: 5/5

Ok, the scent is top-notch. There’s no denying that. It’s Hawaiian, it’s tropical, it’s a warm day at the beach. I want to smell this beer for hours and spray it in each room. It’s really, really pleasant!

Value For Money: 4/5

Overall, the price is low enough that I can’t imagine anyone would regret trying it. It’s not offensive, and it’s very easy to drink. However, the dominant juice flavors make it a drink that I likely wouldn’t choose often.

Pairings and Recommendations

Eggs and bacon?

When thinking of pairings, I really couldn’t think of anything that’s not for breakfast. Not to say that this beer would be bad with any cheeses or meats, but nothing comes to mind.

My recommendation: enjoy it on its own. It’s refreshing, and with such a pronounced flavor profile, you really don’t need anything competing against it.

Verdict: Is Voodo Ranger Juice Force IPA Worth the Hype?

If you want an enjoyable, extremely fruity drink that’s high in alcohol but low in bitterness, then Juice Force IPA is made for you!

If you want a more balanced Hazy Imperial IPA, that has some amount of hoppy dankness present, then you may want to look elsewhere.

I could see this beer becoming a favorite for many people, but as someone who likes IPAs with a bit of dankness and even piney flavors, I wouldn’t personally choose this over something else. Of course, it still deserves its high rating, and I would never refuse it, but it’s not likely to become a staple in my fridge.

In the end, Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA is definitely worth trying, and I’d say it lives up to its hype as a super smooth and tropical IPA. It’s unique, made with high-quality ingredients, and is really like nothing else out there!

Cheers!

Top 17 new belgium voodoo ranger juice force hazy imperial ipa reviews