For some reason, the bell bottomed biker on the beer can, our single friend and one eyed Jack* riding through the streets on his slow-ped mo-ped with a keg precariously balanced on the passenger seat, reminds me of an earlier version of Chicken Man, peddling his bike with a chicken in the carrier. Why? I don’t know why. Do I have to explain everything?
Refined Fool tells us that “this cold-filtered and lagered stag rides alone.” This gives us a bit of a window into what a Cold IPA is. When you first heard the term Cold IPA (Quantum Hugs for me) you may have been thinking exactly what I was thinking “but all my IPAs are frosty cold right out of the beer fridge and poured into a chilled glass”. Of course, you may not have been thinking that either but that’s not the point. The point is that a Cold IPA has nothing to do with the frostiness of the pint you are about to quaff. What the brewers tell us is that this new beer style attempts to bridge the gap between hazy/juicy IPAs and crisp session-able lagers. So does our single lone wolf friend** (flashback to the 2009 movie The Hangover) make the grade?
A golden slightly hazy pour with a nice white foam mullet. I think some frosting on top of a high ABV brew is a good sign. The aroma is mild hops and fruit. This chilled IPA has some malt in the background with a grapefruit body and grapefruit bitter on the finish. A mellow body with a nice mouthfeel, the mild hoppy grapefruit finish hung in there like dice from my rearview mirror. This 7 percenter is on the verge of boozy but the mellow body keeps the boozy at bay. This is a mellow easy drinking IPA, mild from start to finish. A Cold IPA is a bit confusing if you are expecting a traditional IPA but you can see the effect*** the lagering has. Good beer.
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