10 new Cold IPA’s from the Pacific Northwest
You want something bold and hoppy but you need to cool off right, how about a Cold IPA? Time will tell if the current trend of adjunct lightened and semi-lagered Cold IPA will be more than a hot fad like Brut IPA but right now it’s so cool that brewers up and down the PNW (and across the world) are giving it a try.
Portland, Oregon’s Wayfinder Beer first started the trend with Relapse IPA in October 2018 and 21st Amendment and New Realm Brewing quickly followed with Rice Cold IPA in 2019. This set the stage for more breweries to take a swing at it. The concept of Cold IPA is an updated version of an India Pale Lager brewed like a hopped up malt liquor or an extra light bodied West Coast IPA. How this is achieved is another story, luckily we have an entire article about that here.
But if you thought Wayfinder and a few others were the only places to get Cold IPA in the pacific northwest think again. There are atleast the following TEN new Cold IPA’s all recently released from breweries in Oregon and Washington, perfect for some summertime refreshment.
pFriem Family Brewers Cold IPA
We may be a bit premature plugging pFriem Family Brewers first Cold IPA, but bottles and draft should be dropping any day now. Brewmaster/co-owner Josh Pfriem told us earlier this year “We were hoping to brew it last year, but COVID took a lot of things from last year that we are excited to bring into 2021” and it’s scheduled as a new summer seasonal.
The description reads: If you love the hoppy invigoration of an IPA, yet crave the icy refreshment of a lager, our Cold IPA hits the spot, with tropical fruit notes and a crisp, clean finish. So you can have your IPA and crush it too. Goes great with artisan pizzas, burgers and a farmer’s tan.
A dual dose of Gambrinus Pilsner Malt and Rahr Old World Pilsner Malt with the standard rice addition for a Cold IPA. Hopped with another duo of dank, funky and fruity hops Mosaic and Strata. Flavor notes of Candied Papaya, Gummy Bears, Meyer Lemon. Of note: pFriem’s Cold IPA is fermented warm with lager yeast. 6.2% and 42 IBU
Seattle, WA has an all Asian owned brewery called Lucky Envelope that has become a Ballard favorite known for it’s GABF award-winning Helles Lager and innovative ales. Owner/brewer Barry Chan couldn’t resist the urge to get in on the Cold IPA trend and "Drop that zero and get with the hero" as they say.
The Cool as Rice Cold IPA is heavily late plus dry-hopped and fermented with Lucky Envelope’s house lager yeast. Pilsner malt, wheat, and flaked rice to keep this beer crisp and Cool as Ice— the universally-panned, non-cult-classic 1991 movie loved by Barry and the namesake of this beer. It's hoppy, light bodied, and exactly what you need to keep cool this week.
Now that their original brewhouse on NE Glisan is back up and running, Migration Brewing is churning out more small batch beers from the refurbished innovation system. The brewery’s first Cold IPA is fresh off the tank and bright and straw colored as a refreshing lite lager. Fermented with lager yeast at a warm temperature, this Cold IPA uses both the traditional rice as well as flaked corn to both lighten the body and give it a sweeter mouthfeel to offset it’s dry and bitter finish. The bursting hop aroma and bold hop flavor end in a clean finish. 6.8% ABV, 28 IBU and Draft Only.
Fortside Brewing Cool Runnings
One of southwest Washington’s best breweries has put their first attempt at Cold IPA on tap recently. Cold Runnings is a Rahr Pilsner malt based beer with a little acidulated malt to bring the pH down. Brewer Paul Thurston based the fermentation regimen on a classic steam beer technique by pitching Augustiner lager yeast after knocking the beer out at 55 degrees, he then let the temp free rise to 65 degrees. For the hopping, Fortside went with a complex program that started with Azacca hops in the whirlpool and then dry-hopping with Citra and Motueka while the beer was fermenting at high krausen on day 3. Thurston spunded the beer at 15 PSI from there, and then gave the beer another week in fermentation at 65 degrees and then ramp cooling at 29 F to pass VDK. Cool Running spent 2.5 weeks lagering and Thurston is pretty happy with the results, meaning more Cold IPA’s with slightly adjusted processes and variations on hop varieties are likely coming. Try Cool Runnings now at the taproom in Vancouver, WA.
Vancouver, Washington’s best breweries are getting in on the chilly hop showcases. With a light malt character this beer let’s the hops shine. Vic’s Secret, Hallertau Blanc and Galaxy give a complex aroma of tropical fruit, citrus, passionfruit, white wine and fresh herbs. At 7.2% the alcohol helps balance the hop bitterness and light malt characteristic. Available on draft and in 16oz cans in the Portland and VanWa areas, and the Trap Door taproom of course.
Deschutes Brewery Tasty Freeze Cold IPA and Drop It Like It’s Cold
Deschutes pub brewers are dipping their toes into the chilly waters of Cold IPA. Both the brewery’s pubs in Portland and Bend have different draft-only Cold IPA’s.
At the Bend public house is Tasty Freeze Cold IPA. A by the book Cold IPA with an unusually complex blend of trendy hops. It starts with the traditional very light malt bill of 2-row pale malt and rice, fermented with a lager yeast at ale temperatures. Brewed specifically for the hot weather, Tasty Cold has low bitterness but big punch from Callista, Mosaic, Cashmere and El Dorado Hops. 7.6% and 40 IBU.
In PDX the brew team has Drop It Like It’s Cold. Unfortunately we don’t have much info on this beer except that the brief description says “crushable characteristics of a refreshing lager combined with subtle bitterness and fruity aromatics of an IPA.” It is currently on tap at the pub in northwest Portland.
Crux Time Trap Cold IPA (photo by Serge Z on untappd)
Crux Fermentation Project Time Trap IPA
Another limited release draft-only IPA from Crux Fermentation Project in Bend, OR. We can only hope that this lagered to perfection IPA makes an appearance at the brewery’s current month-long pop-up in PDX at Function. Time Trap is all about the citrusy flavors and aromatics with Simcoe, Citra, and Amarillo hops. 6.1 ABV, 40 IBU
Working Hands Beer Secret Doors IPA (previously First Tracks IPA)
One of Oregon’s newest breweries Working Hands will specialize in lagers and IPA’s. Naturally one of their first beers out of the gate in Hood River was a cold fermented, light, clean, crisp, dank, citrus and resinous, and bright Cold IPA. First Tracks was brewer Kasey McCullough’s first Cold IPA and he plans to replace it soon with a new and updated recipe renamed Secret Doors Cold IPA.
Secret Doors is brewed with Weyermann Barke Pilsner malt, flaked rice, and light crystal malts. It’s hopped with a blend of new school and old school hops Mandarina Bavaria, Cashmere, and Chinook. 6.6% ABV. “We treat it as any other lager of ours, with extreme care and lots of patience/time as we let the beer fully lager to give us an extremely clean and crisp beer that beautifully balances its lager esque origins with hops that compliment with clean fruity. aromas and flavor, but do not wreck your palate like high ibu IPAs would” says McCullough.
This light in body Cold IPA has notes of mandarin, grapefruit, mango, and light caramel. Finishes dry, crisp, and drinks way too easy. Look for it soon at the new Working Hands and Slopeswell taproom “The Heights” that opens on July 16th.
Pono Brewing Nice One Summer Ale
Dropping this Saturday July 3rd, Portland’s Pono Brewing has tried their hand at a Cold IPA by fusing it with a SoCal IPA, not sure what that means considering Cold IPA was built to fuse with West Coast IPA’s which SoCal is apart of. But no matter, because Nice One sounds primed to ride ice cold waves this summer. Hopped with Sabro, Azacca, Mosaic and Citra hops which should throw an extra tropical note of pineapple, coconut and creamsicle the Nice One will be tapped at 2pm at The Golden Cat Beer Venue at on 7/3 and 12oz cans should be available around town after that. Details here.