El estilo Cold IPA ha ido ganando espacio en los últimos años, especialmente dentro de la escena craft americana, donde la experimentación y la reinterpretación de estilos clásicos forman parte del desarrollo constante de la cerveza.
A medio camino entre una IPA moderna y una lager en su ejecución, es un estilo que pone el foco en la limpieza, la atenuación y la expresión del lúpulo desde un perfil más seco y definido.
Esta receta, originalmente publicada en Craft Beer & Brewing, pertenece a Kevin Davey, una de las figuras clave detrás del desarrollo del estilo, y forma parte del proyecto Gold Dot, centrado en lagers premium y Cold IPA.
Más allá de la receta en sí, me parece especialmente interesante porque refleja muy bien cómo se construye este tipo de cerveza: desde la base de maltas hasta la gestión del lúpulo y la fermentación.
Comparto aquí la receta completa, junto con algunos apuntes para entender mejor su lógica.
🍺 ¿Qué define una Cold IPA?
Antes de entrar en la receta, merece la pena entender qué caracteriza este estilo:
- base fermentativa limpia (tipo lager o híbrida)
- alta atenuación → final seco
- protagonismo del lúpulo moderno
- uso frecuente de arroz o adjuntos para aligerar cuerpo
👉 Es, en cierto modo, una IPA pensada desde la lógica de una lager.
Acá te dejo la entrevista que le hice a Kevin: ir a leerla y conocer más sobre las Cold IPA.
Acá la receta original publicada en Craft Beer and Brewing:
Recipe: Gold Dot Staggers & Jags Cold IPA
In 2007, Rick Allen launched Heater Allen in McMinnville, Oregon, and from the start his plan was to specialize in lager—and the Heater Allen Pils remains a beloved mainstay in the region. His daughter Lisa Allen gradually became more involved in the brewing and the business, and in November 2022, she and partner Kevin Davey—cofounder and brewmaster at Wayfinder in Portland, Oregon—bought a majority share and took over the brewery.
They also launched a new brand called Gold Dot, focused on premium lagers and cold IPA—the style that Davey had pioneered at Wayfinder.
This is a recipe for the first cold IPA to come out of that brand. “A warning for its sneaky strength,” Davey says. “This cold IPA is an instant classic.”
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.061 (15°P)
FG: 1.008 (2.1°P)
IBUs: 62+
ABV: 6.9%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
8.7 lb (3.9 kg) Rahr Premium Pils
2.9 lb (1.3 kg) Calrose ricemeal
6 oz (170 g) acidulated
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.15 oz (4 g) Hallertauer Magnum at 70 minutes [7 IBUs]
5 ml BarthHaas Flex Hop Extract at 70 minutes [35 IBUs]
0.8 oz (23 g) each Centennial & Nelson Sauvin at 10 minutes [20 IBUs]
1.2 oz (34 g) each Centennial & Nelson Sauvin at flameout/whirlpool
2 oz (57 g) each Cascade, Chinook & HBC 586 at dry hop
YEAST
Fermentis SafLager BSI 34/70, Imperial Global, Omega OYL-106 German Lager I, Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, or similar
DIRECTIONS
Mill the pilsner malt and set aside 10 percent by weight, or about 14 oz (400 g). In 2 gallons (7.6 liters of water), add the smaller portion of pils to the rice and do a cereal mash: Stirring frequently avoid scorching, raise to 209°F (98°C), and hold here for 20 minutes while continuing to stir. (I can only imagine a paint mixer would do the job, but it sounds like a pain in the butt. Maybe have your friend hold down the paint mixer while you mash in.) Using 2 more gallons of water, mash in at 97°F (36°C), then combine with the hot rice porridge to bring the total mash to 144°F (62°C)—cooler is fine, but then raise it to that step. Rest 60 minutes; raise to 154°F (68°C) and rest 30 minutes; then raise to 162°F (72°C) and rest 15 minutes. Give it a stir and use iodine to check for conversion.
If it passes, mash out: Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters), depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 70 minutes, adding hops and extract according to the schedule. After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, add whirlpool hops, and allow 20 minutes to steep. Chill to about 50°F (10°C), aerate, and a healthy yeast starter (or re-pitch from a recent lager brew). Allow a free-rise to 64°F (18°C) and ferment until complete, about 5–7 days. Add dry hops for 3 days, or it until [it passes VDK]. Crash, rack to secondary, fine for clarity, package, and carbonate.
BREWER’S NOTES
Grains: Any two-row North American pilsner malt is fine for the base. If you must, swap out the ricemeal for flakes or syrup (thus avoiding the cereal mash but arguably ending up with a simpler beer).
Dry hop: We dry hop, then bung and raise the CO2 pressure to 1 bar.
Este tipo de recetas no solo sirven como guía técnica, sino también como forma de entender hacia dónde está evolucionando la cerveza.
El equilibrio entre limpieza, precisión y expresión aromática es cada vez más relevante, y estilos como la Cold IPA son un buen ejemplo de ello.
Agus Blanco es jueza de cerveza y analiza estilos y técnicas de elaboración desde una mirada técnica y actual dentro del sector cervecero.