Winter IPA

I always thought the "winter ipa" thing was just breweries trying to get on celebrations coat tails. I've never known it to be a distinct style. Just an ipa, that they released for winter.

 

"It seems they are a hybrid of India Pale Lagers and American IPAs. Basically, an IPA but with lager yeast brewed at a colder temperature?"

I have not seen a lot of Winter IPAs so I personally really can't comment if there is a 'definition' here (e.g., likely to be brewed with lager yeast).

I did discuss Brooklyn Winter IPA (a new brand for Brooklyn Brewing) in a recent NBW post:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-72.663445/#post-7402577

I am under the impression that Brooklyn Winter IPA is brewed with an ale yeast. FWIW I would personally characterize Brooklyn Winter IPA as being a Red IPA.

Below is a link to an article which discusses Winter IPAs. From reading that article there does not seem to be any aspect(s) which 'define' what a Winter IPA is. At this point it just appears to me that it is just a marketing term that a brewery uses to sell a seasonal IPA for this time of year?

https://vinepair.com/articles/winter-ipas/

Cheers!

 

Goose Island brewed a Christmas IPA last year* (pretty sure it was back this year) that I was expecting to be a Celebration clone, but wasn't. It was also a top-fermented, so doesn't follow the current trend -- but maybe that's changed?

All in all, it was a pretty decent IPA.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1146/447153/

*might have actually been introduced 3 years back.

 

This isn't a trend around here as of yet, as all of the Winter IPAs I have seen are Ales. But I do wish breweries would dabble in IPLs again, as I would like to revisit the style (a local brewery just released one and I may give it a go).

 

insurrection! @FBarber said, me thinks you are mixing cold ipas and winter ipas. Some.brewers might be choosing to brew cold ipas for their "winter ipa" brand, makes sense, but they aren't inherently the same thing.

Anyway, who are all these weirdos that think we've got too many ipa substyles? Don't they love the clarity it brings!?

Alright, hope you all enjoyed my morning opinion IPA, I've got to make breakfast IPA for my children IPAs. #craftbeer #independent #notlikeotherbeers

 

I always associated Winter IPA with New Belgium’s Accumulation (added to BA on 2013)-which used to be what they classified as a “white” IPA or Belgian wit/IPA hybrid. Looks like they re-branded this year to Hazy IPA although you could argue it was a hazy IPA before the re-brand. Still good though. Another one I think of is Peak Organic winter IPA.

 

"It seems they are a hybrid of India Pale Lagers and American IPAs. Basically, an IPA but with lager yeast brewed at a colder temperature?"

OK, it would seem that the above is referring to Cold IPAs?

Below is an extract from Wayfinder Brewery as regards their Cold IPA:

"How it’s made

Adjunct lager malt bill. 20-40% rice or corn mashed with all American two row pilsner malt. No caramel malts. Fermented to incredible dryness. 82-88% apparent degree of fermentation.

Lager yeast fermented warm. Quick fermenting yeast that throws low ester and low sulfur. Kölsch, Chico or California Common yeast could be substituted. It MUST not have high sulfur or high ester notes. Cold IPA is a canvas for IPA hops.

Dry hopped warm during spunding or krausening. This achieves bio-transformation while negating O2 pickup.

Filtered crystal clear and well-carbonated. Cold IPA is the anti-thesis of NEIPA.

Characteristics

Color: Straw to pale

Clarity: Appearance should be clear. Chill haze should not be present

Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Malt sweetness is very low to low. Alcohol sweetness is medium. These beers finish extremely dry. Increased perceived sweetness may be due to increased alcohol.

Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: High, exhibiting floral, fruity (berry, tropical, stone fruit and other), sulfur, diesel-like, onion-garlic, catty, citrusy, piney or resinous character that was originally associated with American-variety hops. Hops with these attributes now also originate from countries other than the USA.

Perceived Bitterness: Medium to high, but not harsh

Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters and complex alcohol aromas and flavors are acceptable at low levels. Alcohol should not be solvent-like. Diacetyl should not be present.

Body: Low to medium-low

Additional notes: Finish should exhibit low to medium-low body with a clean, crisp malt character evident at low levels. Up to 40% corn and/or rice in the grist should be used. These crisp and refreshing beers are fermented warm with lager yeast or cold with ale yeast.

Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.055-1.065 (13.5-16.0 °Plato) • Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.009 (1.6-2.4 °Plato) • Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.1%-6.3% (6.4%-7.9%) • Hop Bitterness (IBU) 50-70 • Color SRM 2.5-5"

https://www.wayfinder.beer/cold-ipa

I am not aware that Cold IPA is an 'official' beer styles (i.e., does not exist yet in style guidelines: Brewers Association, BJCP, etc.) but the above verbiage from Wayfinder sure reads like a beer style description. Perhaps Wayfinder's not so subtle strategy to influence an update to the Brewers Association style guideline?

So, according to Wayfinder there are a number of aspects which define/discriminates a Cold IPA:

• Lager yeast is used but fermented at warm (i.e., ale) temperature.
• A significant amount of adjuncts (i.e., rice, corn) which will encourage the production of a beer that is dry (e.g., lower final gravity value)

There are other attributes of a Cold IPA but not necessarily different from other types of IPAs:

• Clear appearance
• Dry hopped warm under pressure (spunding) or krausened (i.e., some fresh wort added for the dry hopping phase)
• No caramel malts

There is mention in the above verbiage that instead of using a lager yeast an ale yeast fermented on the cool end of the fermentation temperature range (e.g., lower 60's) is an option.

I do not know whether other breweries who produce beers they label as Cold IPA follow the same 'rules' as Wayfinder does for this beer.

It will be interesting to see whether in next year's update to the Brewers Association style guideline whether a new style is added for Cold IPA.

Cheers!

 

We all knew that this day would come: American Adjunct IPA

 

Gotta have that nutmeg in there to call it a winter IPA, man....
Cheers, hope you're well...

 

Hey guys. To my knowledge, a "Winter IPA" and Cold IPA would be different things. JackHorzempa posted the Cold IPA "style" guidelines, and we adhered to that in the couple we've done. We plan to do more, and it'll be fun to see what hops really work well with this style.

From the Winter IPAs I've seen, it appears most are IPAs with a bit more of an older school maltier backbone to hold up to the colder weather. Nice to see a little more variety in the style making a comeback.

 

Yes I have always thought of the Winter IPA as more of an old school WC IPA, one not afraid of shoving some crystal/caramel malt in the grain bill. That is why most that I have seen have that reddish hue to them, and that distinctive caramel pop when drinking

 

Just grab a "Cold IPA". same thing.

Sorry Kevin.

 

I wasn't a fan.

 

Basically. Although I don't think it's ever had spices in it.

 

Hard to say for my palate, as Lager yeast at warmer temps does produce a different flavor profile for me.