Cold IPA - a candidate for the most redundant fad IPA substyle of the year?

Beer Talk
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Had two so far. They were… fresh? And that’s the best that could be said from them. The taste profiles were not that great in either - and they were made by breweries who do these things right usually.

So, for those who missed them so far - they are brewed with lager yeast, on higher temperatures and with adjuncts such as corn and rice to lighten the body. So basically a adjunct-riddled and a bit estery IPL. Yaay.

Any… better… experiences? Stories of redeeming features?

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I have not seen these make an appearance in the US yet. I guess I would be interested to try…

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Nah, it’s American in origin - might be a PNW thing there so far, dunno.

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I really like the style. I think the name is bad enough that it didn’t get any traction. I would much rather see a Cold IPA on the menu than another Hazy IPA. I thought the rice tone was nice in the ones I had, and thought it was cool how the brewer who coined the term and made up the style made a detailed letter of intent. I would love to try the original.

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Haven’t had it yet, but there’s certainly an Australian one. Doesn’t sound terribly appealing but it’s by a brewery I like, so we’ll see.

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Hmm, which ones did you have?

I agree about the name being… silly to put it mildly and that a change of pace from all the haze is a good thing - a bunch of frequent haze brewers in Croatia for example have started mixing things up with west coast (modernized tho) and mountain IPAs because of that, and this falls relatively opposite on the scale of things - but both I’d had - from Sibeeria and Dogma, both very good breweries, definitely weren’t the highlights of their recent production.

Would love to compare them to the original take(s) though, to see what could be going wrong / differently.

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I was in Milwaukee at the time and the only two I ever saw were from Third Space and Hacienda. I am in Pennsylvania now and haven’t seen any mention of them on any menu, so I guess the style could have come and gone by now for the most part.

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Just noticed that Levante Brewing has a Cold IPA on called Error State. I will try it and report back.

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Are you in PA permanently or just for a visit?

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Never heard of will try and see if can find some

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In PA, near Eagle/Chester Springs, until January.

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Never heard of the term before. I assumed it was something to do with hopping at cooler temperatures, something I’ve seen numerous UK and Europe brewers doing this year (Cloudwater, Deya, Verdant, Basqueland being ones I’ve tried myself). However, that article makes it sound pretty close to IPL which is already an established style. Seems like a misleading term!?

Not seen any Cold IPAs in the UK yet, not sure I can see it becoming a trend either…

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They’ve already arrived:

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The one I just rated is 7.0% ABV and the brewer says

When researching the style, we recognised that these beers were essentially hoppy lagers, so we set about to flip the concept by using an ale yeast and fermenting at lager temperatures, thus making a true Cold iPA.

So I think the right style there is Imperial India Kölsch - Australia/ NZ. I feel bad for not washing a stange.

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Yup, should’ve been called Hot IPL. Or maybe Hot Gold in England.

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I hear they’re nearly as hopped up as an APA.

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Levante’s Cold IPA was pretty good, true to style. Closer to a classic West Coast IPA somehow than most breweries failed attempts at West Coast IPAs throughout the ages. Still liking them.

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By that style, I think a real kölsch brewer from cologne just killed himself! :joy:

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I was wrong. They started appearing. No one knows why though.

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They are a regular beer on the scene in Oregon.