For many beer connoisseurs, a "Cold IPA" style beer is likely nothing new to them. But for the less experienced beer drinkers, this style of beer may be a bit of an enigma. It's an extremely popular beer style that has been gaining more and more fans each year, and many experts are predicting 2023 to be the year of the cold IPA. Time will tell!
But what exactly is a cold IPA style of beer? Let’s find out.
With a Cold IPA style, malt and yeast take a backseat to the headliner -- hops! Cold IPAs are a new spin on traditional IPAs that work to give drinkers a crisper IPA without dipping too far into being a lager-style brew. With a cold IPA, hops are added at the tail end of fermentation, giving off the flavors of an IPA with the light body of a lager. This style of IPA can be described in two words: hoppy and clear.
According to BSG Craft Brewing, “Cold IPAs can be distinguished by their details… fermented with lager yeasts at higher temperatures than traditionally done with lager yeasts, and dosed with dry hops at the tail end of fermentation for biotransformation. The hops used are typical of hop-packed IPAs rather than the noble hop varieties you’d expect in a regular lager.”
So next time you're at the grocery store, your local watering hole, or a beer festival, be sure to give a cold IPA a try. It has become increasingly popular among experienced beer drinkers and its popularity is predicted to continue through the next few years. You never know, this type of beer may just become your new favorite brew!