You’re standing in a taproom in Rochester, New York. The air smells like damp grain and cold stainless steel. There’s a specific buzz in the room—a mix of local loyalty and that restless energy people get when they know a specific keg just tapped. If you’ve spent any time in the Flower City’s beer scene, you know K2 Brothers Brewing. They’re the guys who turned a former office building on Empire Boulevard into a multi-level playground for hopheads and families alike. But among their rotating tap list of sours and stouts, one beer keeps coming back to the center of the conversation: Free Will.
It’s a New England IPA. Actually, it’s the New England IPA for a lot of people in Monroe County.
Most breweries try to reinvent the wheel every six months. They chase glitter beers or pastry stouts that taste like a liquid donut. K2 Brothers Brewing Free Will doesn't do that. It sticks to the script of what a Hazy IPA should actually be, which is harder than it sounds. Honestly, brewing a clean, consistent hazy is a technical nightmare because if you mess up the hop timing, it tastes like onions. If you mess up the yeast, it turns into a muddy mess. Free Will avoids the traps.
What Makes Free Will Tick?
People talk about "juice bombs" until the phrase loses all meaning. But when you pour a glass of K2 Brothers Brewing Free Will, you get that specific opaque, straw-colored glow that looks more like a glass of pineapple juice than a beer. That’s the oats and wheat doing the heavy lifting. The brothers—Kyle and Kayleb Drinkwater—have been open since 2018, and you can tell they've spent the last several years obsessed with the mouthfeel of this specific recipe. It's soft. Pillowy. It doesn't have that harsh "hop burn" at the back of the throat that ruins so many modern IPAs.
The hop profile is where things get interesting. We’re talking about a heavy lean into Citra and Mosaic, which are basically the "greatest hits" of the hop world. But it isn't just a citrus punch. There is a distinct stone fruit vibe here—think overripe peaches or apricots. It’s sweet but finishes dry enough that you actually want a second pint.
Usually, when a brewery grows as fast as K2 has—expanding their distribution across New York State—the quality of the flagship beers can dip. Mass production is the enemy of the hazy. Oxygen is the enemy of the hazy. Yet, Free Will remains remarkably stable. Whether you’re grabbing a four-pack from a Wegmans shelf or sitting on their massive outdoor patio, the profile stays consistent. That speaks to their lab work and canning line hygiene more than any marketing fluff ever could.
The Rochester Beer Landscape
Rochester is a weirdly competitive beer town. You have the giants like Genesee, the experimental darlings like Mortalis, and then you have K2 Brothers. They occupy this middle ground. They aren't just for the "ticks" on Untappd; they’re a neighborhood hub. Free Will is the bridge. It’s complex enough for the person who spends $25 on a four-pack of triple IPAs, but it’s approachable enough for the person who just wants something that doesn't taste like water.
It’s 6.5% ABV. That’s the "Goldilocks" zone. You can have two without needing a nap, but it has enough body to feel like a real meal.
A lot of people compare it to other regional heavyweights. If you go to Buffalo, people swear by Thin Man’s Bliss. If you head toward the Finger Lakes, you’ve got different contenders. But in the immediate Rochester suburbs, Free Will has become a staple. It’s sort of the "reliable friend" of the local beer scene. You know exactly what you're getting when you see that label.
The Technical Side of the Haze
Let's get nerdy for a second. The "haze" in K2 Brothers Brewing Free Will isn't just for aesthetics. It’s the result of suspended polyphenols and proteins. In the early days of the craft boom, "cloudy" beer was considered a defect. Now? It’s a sign of a specific dry-hopping technique.
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K2 uses a process that maximizes the essential oils from the hops without extracting the bitter alpha acids. This is why you smell the beer from across the table. The aroma of Free Will hits you with grapefruit peel and mango before the glass even touches your lips. If a hazy IPA doesn't smell like a tropical garden, it's failing. This one doesn't fail.
They also manage the water chemistry—the "Burton Snatch" or the chloride-to-sulfate ratio—to favor the chloride side. That’s what gives it that round, silky texture. If they leaned too hard into sulfates, the beer would be crisp and biting like a West Coast IPA. Instead, it’s lush. It lingers.
The Venue Factor
You can’t talk about the beer without talking about the space. K2 is massive. They have a dog-friendly patio, fire pits, and a kitchen that puts out surprisingly good pizza and tacos. Drinking Free Will at home is fine, but drinking it while sitting by one of their outdoor heaters in the middle of a Rochester October? That’s the intended experience.
There’s something about the community aspect of their taproom that reinforces the brand. It’s a family-run business—literally, the Drinkwater brothers—and that vibe translates. It doesn't feel like a corporate taproom designed by a consulting firm. It feels like a garage project that got really big, really fast, but kept its soul.
Why "Free Will" Specifically?
The name itself is a bit of a nod to the philosophy of brewing. You have the ingredients—water, malt, hops, yeast—but the brewer has the "free will" to manipulate them into something unique. In a world of automated brewing systems and corporate conglomerates buying up craft brands, K2 has stayed independent.
They’ve experimented with variations, too. You might see "Double Free Will" or fruited versions pop up seasonally, but the base version is what built the house. It's the anchor. When the brewery decided to expand their canning operations, this was the beer that led the charge. It’s their calling card.
Navigating the Hype vs. Reality
Is it the "best" beer in the world? "Best" is a trap. If you’re looking for a 12% barrel-aged stout that tastes like a campfire, this isn't it. If you want a bone-dry pilsner, look elsewhere.
But if you are looking for the quintessential New York hazy—one that isn't too sweet, isn't too bitter, and actually tastes like the hops listed on the can—then Free Will is in the top tier. It’s a benchmark. When new breweries open in Upstate New York, they are inevitably compared to the standards set by K2 and their peers.
The biggest challenge for any IPA is the "shelf life" problem. IPAs are like milk; they don't get better with age. If you find a can of Free Will that’s been sitting in a warm grocery store for four months, it’s going to taste like wet cardboard. That’s not the brewery’s fault—that’s just science. Always check the "canned on" date. You want this stuff fresh. Within 30 to 60 days is the sweet spot. Anything older than 90 days, and you're losing the very aromatics that make the beer worth drinking.
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Final Insights for the Craft Enthusiast
If you're planning a trip to Rochester or just browsing the local beer aisle, here is how to handle the K2 experience.
First, don't just grab the first four-pack you see. Check the bottom of the can for the date. Freshness is everything with Free Will. Second, if you're at the brewery, try it on draft alongside one of their sours. K2 is actually famous for their "shandy" style mixes and fruited sours, but the Free Will acts as a great palate cleanser between the more extreme flavors.
Finally, appreciate the "mouthfeel." It sounds like a pretentious beer-taster term, but it’s the defining characteristic of this brew. Notice how it doesn't feel thin. It has weight. That’s the mark of a well-executed New England style.
Next Steps for Your Visit:
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- Check the Taplist: Before heading to the Empire Blvd location, check their digital taplist. They often have limited-run variations of Free Will that never make it to cans.
- Pairing: Order the wood-fired pizza. The acidity of the tomato sauce cuts through the tropical sweetness of the IPA perfectly.
- Takeaway: Grab a crowler if they have a special experimental version on tap. Crowlers stay fresh for about a week, giving you a chance to share the taproom-only stuff with friends.
- Explore the Area: K2 is right near Irondequoit Bay. Grabbing a pack of Free Will and heading to the water for a sunset is the peak Rochester summer experience.
The craft beer bubble has "burst" about a dozen times according to experts, yet places like K2 Brothers Brewing continue to thrive. They thrive because they nailed the basics. They took a style people love, stripped away the pretension, and focused on making it consistent. Free Will isn't just a beer; it's a testament to what happens when you do one thing really, really well.