Yes, you can drink IPAs in winter (these are my go-to styles)

If you’re anything like us, you spend the summer months sipping West Coast IPAs, Hazy IPAs, and anything piney, hoppy, and pleasantly bitter. But, even if you’re a self-proclaimed “hop head”, you still might stop drinking IPAs in favor of darker beers when the weather begins to turn cool. We think that’s a shame.

I’ve been writing about alcohol for just a shade under two decades. In that time, I’ve imbibed plenty of IPAs. I’ve found that even though shorter, colder days might make you feel like you’d rather drink a barrel-aged stout, porter, or even barleywine, don’t sleep on the tried and true IPA.

Drink IPAs during the cooler months

Yes, you can drink IPAs during the cooler months. You can drink your favorite dank, piney, resinous, bitter brew that you throw back on the Fourth of July before Thanksgiving dinner, on Christmas Eve, and even in the post-New Year’s lull. We don’t think there’s ever a wrong time of year to drink a West Coast IPA, New England-style IPA, milkshake IPA, and any other hop-driven beer.

While there’s no reason you should put away your summery hop-bombs, there are also two great cold-weather IPA styles, and one is a specific category of IPA that’s actually brewed to be sipped during the winter months. They are the boozy imperial IPA and warming, malt-forward winter IPA.

What is a winter IPA?

A winter IPA is exactly as the name suggests. It’s an IPA specifically brewed for enjoyment during the winter months. In general, winter IPAs are often higher in alcohol than their summery counterparts. Instead of sitting at 5% ABV, winter IPAs range from 6-9% ABV in general.

Brewers are also known to add seasonal ingredients, such as rye, flaked oats, and malts like Crystal, Carafa, and Caramel. Winter IPAs lean more heavily into the malt portion of the recipe than other IPA styles. But they’re still IPAs. There’s also a nice citrus and dank pine element, with a perfect level of bitterness.

There are myriad winter IPAs to choose from. They include classic beers like the eagerly awaited Sierra Nevada Celebration, Bell’s Hopslam, Upslope Spruce Tip IPA, and the aptly named Troegs Blizzard of Hops.  

Imperial IPA

The other IPA style well-suited for cold-weather drinking is the imperial IPA. Also referred to as the double IPA, the imperial IPA gets its name not only because it’s made with more hops and malts and carries a higher alcohol content (8% and beyond), but also as a reference to the Russian imperial stout, which was brewed for the court of Catherine the Great. Both beers are renowned for their bold, high-alcohol-by-volume (ABV) flavor profiles.

While not specifically designed for winter months, the imperial IPA is bigger, bolder, hoppier, and boozier than other IPA styles, making it a perfect choice for cold weather. Lucky for you, there are a lot of imperial IPAs to choose from. They include Cigar City Florida Man, Red Hook Big Ballard, Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA, Lagunitas Maximus, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, and Fiddlehead Second Fiddle.

Bottom line

We hope that you’ve now realized that there’s nothing stopping you from imbibing IPAs during the winter months (and all year round). You won’t miss out on other classic cold-weather beers. There’s more than enough time during the chilly months to also drink barrel-aged stouts.