Cold IPA Today; What’s New Tomorrow? Beer Experts on Inventing New Beer Categories and Exploring ‘Hybrid’ Styles
As the craft brewing industry continues to evolve, ‘hybrid beers’ and new styles aren’t just inevitable; they’re electrifying.
By Emily Hutto and Karson Krouse
The modern brewing industry is rooted in experimentation. So many of the beer style categories we know today exist because someone dreamt them, and gave them a shot in the brewhouse. And then, adjusted batch over batch over batch over batch until those dreamt flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel became reality.
When we first began to tackle this editorial about innovative beer styles, we often called them ‘hybrid beers’— expressions often the result of combining brewing practices for both ales and lagers. Take a German-style Kölsch, for example. One of the oldest examples of brewhouse experimentation originating in Cologne,— and one of the most crowd pleasing over its long history— this style is typically fermented with ale yeast at cold temperatures. It’s been around long enough to be recognized with specific characteristics in beer style guidelines, such as those established by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), North American Brewers Association, and the Brewers Association. The German-style Kölsch is light in the paler side of beers (often straw colored), low on the bitterness scale, and with an alcohol level slightly lower than your average ale. It’s most often brewed with German Noble hops and Pilsner malt. Some great American examples of the style are the classic Colorado Kölsch made by Steamworks Brewing, Zipline Brewing’s German-style Kölsch, and Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.'s Clearwater Kölsch.
Photo courtesy Steamworks Brewing
In the example of Kölsch, ‘hybrid’ beer styles provide opportunities for small craft brewers to experiment stylistically despite constraints of their facilities. Julia Herz, the Executive Director of the American Homebrewers Association, explained this opportunity in episode 2 of the RadCraft Industry Relief Podcast. “The whole notion of [American] breweries on a small level [historically] not being able to craft lagers is actually a truism in a sense; they’re more expensive, you don’t necessarily have lagering tanks, and they take longer to ferment,” she said.
Photo courtesy Julia Herz
But now, she poses, craft brewers are experimenting not out of necessity but instead curiosity. “You're seeing craft brewers say we’ve got all the equipment we can do all these things, let's do some things that will take people to even a deeper place for flavor in beer.”
One of these “deeper flavor places” has been the recent development and craze around Cold IPA (and Pale Ale too). Generally, a Cold IPA is a dry, crisp, and clean IPA that has the flavors of both the bitterness from hops as well as the flavors from hop oils. We’d call Cold IPA a ‘hybrid beer’ because opposite of Kölsch, it employs lager yeast fermented longer at warmer temperatures. Josh Weikert of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine suggests that this can be tricky because you have to find certain lager yeasts that can withstand the higher temperatures. Typically, the grain bill for Cold IPAs has a light Pilsner base that also relies on subtle sweetening from corn or rice. “As a ‘proper’ Cold IPA should,” Arbieter Brewing Company says of their seasonal flagship, “Cold Classic gives the impression of having body and chewiness to it but this perception comes from the alcohol content and hop oils, not residual sugar from the malt!”
Of the many brewers we talked to about Cold IPA, John Able of Citizen 33, said that the aim in brewing this brew style is to let the hops shine. Able also pointed out that with any beer style, the nuances and associated guidelines are not static. “Sometimes I drink a ‘Cold IPA’ and I think this tastes like a Dry Hopped Pilsner. Beer names can mean everything and also nothing.”
At the MaltCon2024 conference, Master Cicerone Jen Blair declared that “not every beer fits neatly into a beer style.” And most importantly, she suggested after comparing several examples from BJCP and the Brewers Association, THAT’S OKAY.
Blair’s presentation reinforced the need for rigid beer styles in judging and awards programs, and equally the need for flexibility from brewhouse to brewhouse. When our community has space for curiosity and innovation, incredible sensory experiences are the result.
As the craft brewing industry continues to evolve, ‘hybrid beers’ and new styles aren’t just inevitable; they’re electrifying. They breathe new life into otherwise forgotten categories, and they give brewers a reason to collaborate. Like Herz, we’re all in. “The exploration continues,” she added. “Inventing new styles is one of the best things… sign me up to brew these styles.”
Craft Maltsters Guild Goes Virtual with 2021 Craft Malt Conference, February 10-12
The decision to host the 2021 Craft Malt Conference was made to support safety measures during COVID-19 but with the added perk of increasing accessibility for the greater craft malt community.
The Craft Maltsters Guild proudly presents the fourth annual Craft Malt Conference, coming to you in a virtual format from February 10-12. The decision to go virtual in 2021 was made to support safety measures during COVID-19 but with the added perk of increasing accessibility for the greater craft malt community. Come one, come all. This is an easy-to-attend artisan grains and craft beverage conference you won’t want to miss.
#CraftMaltCon2021 is a three-day event, with curated live seminars on the latest research, trends, and best practices relevant to those in the craft malt supply chain. Participants can also participate in digital malthouse tours, peruse a virtual trade show, and attend cyber happy hours each evening. Attendees will also have the chance to talk with sponsors during live Q&A sessions and check out new products via video demos.
“We’re excited about the potential this exciting new format offers,” says Executive Director of the Craft Maltsters Guild Jesse Bussard. “Adapting our conference to a virtual experience makes craft malt education more accessible than ever!”
The 2021 Craft Malt Conference keynote speaker is the esteemed craft beer icon Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Other guest speakers include Richard Simpson of Simpsons Malt, Bart Watson of the Brewers Association, Becky Harris of Catoctin Creek Distillery, and Dr. Charlie Bamforth of UC Davis, from the University of Nottingham and Sierra Nevada, among many other leading craft malt, beer and spirits industry experts.
The conference finale is the Malt Cup Awards Ceremony on Friday, February 12th. 2021 marks the third year of this one-of-a-kind malt competition, which was remotely judged by a nationwide team of 74 maltsters, brewers, distillers, researchers and Cicerones. Entry analysis and judging was organized by the Montana State University - Barley, Malt and Brewing Quality Lab. Medals will be awarded for the top three winners in both 2021 categories, Pale Malt and Pilsner Malt.
Registration for the 2021 Craft Malt Conference includes access to the full conference schedule, and is available both to CMG membership and non-members. Register here.
Media interested in attending the virtual Craft Malt Conference are eligible for comped conference participation. Please contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com to participate in the conference, and with all other media inquiries about the Craft Maltsters Guild.
ABOUT THE CRAFT MALTSTERS GUILD
Formed in 2013 by eight craft malthouses, the Craft Maltsters Guild’s mission is to promote and sustain the tradition of craft malting in North America, provide services and resources to the Association’s members, and uphold the highest quality and safety standards for Craft Maltsters. Learn more about the Craft Maltsters Guild at www.craftmalting.com.
CraftBeer.com Readers Name Freshcraft Best Beer Bar in Colorado
Freshcraft takes top honors as the best beer bar in Colorado.
DENVER, CO— The results are in— CraftBeer.com has named Freshcraft one of the Best Beer Bars in America after conducting a nationwide poll with their readers. Freshcraft takes top honors as the best beer bar in Colorado. Craftbeer.com readers were asked to nominate their favorite craft beer bar in their state last December; nearly 7,000 votes were casted to select favorites in each region.
“Being voted one of the best beer bars in the USA means a lot, especially with so many other amazing beer focused establishments in Colorado.,” said Jason Forgy, owner of Freshcraft. “Every day our crew comes in and tries to create a great food and beer experience for our guests. It is humbling and validating that the people that voted for us at Craftbeer.com recognized our efforts.”
Founded in 2010, the Denver-based restaurant and craft beer bar was built on the principle that great beer paired with delicious scratch-made comfort food is best served side-by-side. A destination spot for craft beer lovers and foodies alike, Freshcraft offers a laid-back vibe offering high-quality craft beers, a meticulously curated wine, spirits and cocktail program without the pretension, and elevated comfort food with the unique backdrop of Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo). Find more information about this accolade here.
For more information about Freshcraft, contact Chea Franz at chea@radcraftbeer.com.
About Freshcraft
Quickly after Freshcraft’s 2010 opening in Denver’s LoDo neighborhood, the craft beer bar and scratch kitchen established itself as one of the Mile High City’s best craft beer bars. A destination spot for craft lovers, Freshcraft sports twenty taps and more than 100 selections of bottles and cans from some of the most noteworthy brewing companies in Colorado and beyond. Find Freshcraft online at freshcraft.com.