Milkshake IPAs. Smoothie IPAs. Cloud IPAs.
Whatever they’re called, they’ve been the next evolution in hazy IPAs since Pennsylvania’s Tired Hands Brewing brewed the first “milkshake” IPA two years ago. Around here, Skookum Brewery’s Hollis Wood brews his Clouds IPA series, while Olympia’s Three Magnets regularly brews “smoothie” IPAs.
So what’s the idea behind a milkshake IPA? Take a hazy IPA recipe, add lactose milk sugar to the boil, giving it added heft, and then use a mix of vanilla beans, a type of fruit and hops to give it that fruity, tropical aroma and flavor.
In Green Manalishi, Dennis Nagy, a brewer at Monroe’s Dreadnought Brewing, has created a lime milkshake IPA that is a great example of the style. Basing the beer on a hazy IPA recipe, Nagy used lactose milk sugar in the boil and added whole vanilla beans and lime zest post-fermentation. Hopped with Citra, the beer has a big juicy flavor like a classic New England-style IPA, while dry-hopping it with Simcoe gives it a piney aroma and flavor to balance the sweetness.
What makes the beer stand out, though, is how the lime interacts with the characteristics of the hazy style: thick mouthfeel, sweet flavor and big aromas of tropical fruit. Instead of being dominated up front with the heavy mouthfeel like most hazy IPAs, Green Manalishi starts out light and then evolves into the kind of creaminess that has made milkshake IPAs so popular. It’s a neat trick and gives it greater drinkability than most in the style.
After making a pilot batch of the beer a few months ago, Nagy made some adjustments to dial back the sweetness and give the beer more thickness. He opted to use flaked oats instead of wheat and dry-hopped it with Simcoe to counter the juiciness from the Citra hops. The beer doesn’t have the deep, murky appearance like most milkshake IPAs, but everything else is there: juicy flavor, fruity aroma and thick mouthfeel.
Nagy, along with longtime homebrewing friends Delaney Wardell and Ken Tompkins recently became partners with Dreadnought Brewing owner and head brewer Steve Huskey. After winning a pro-am competition held by Dreadnought last summer with their Scotch ale, the three started helping Huskey brew at Dreadnought, leading to the partnership.
The three, who all go to church at Morning Star Lutheran in Monroe, have been home-brewing as part of the Greater Everett Brewers League for more than a decade. Now they work their jobs at Providence Hospital, Microsoft and Boeing and help around the brewery when they’re off the clock.
“We always talked about opening a brewery,” Tompkins said. “We were spending so much time here. Steve invited us to be a part of this, and it’s been a really good fit.”
For more milkshake IPAs, visit Arlington’s Skookum Brewery as Wood nearly always has one of his “clouds” creations on tap, including his newest creation, Passionate Clouds, an IPA brewed with lactose and finished on passion fruit puree and whole vanilla beans. Also Lazy Boy’s Shawn Loring is in the process of brewing a strawberry milkshake IPA, set to go on tap in mid-April.
Other brews on this week’s taster tray:
Strong Scotch Ale/Dry-hopped Scotch Ale, Scrappy Punk Brewing: Scrappy Punk head brewer Greg Krsak brewed both beers with the help of Tim Larson. The Strong Scotch Ale is an 80 Schilling Scotch ale that will be on nitro and Larson gave an unofficial name of The Bruce in honor of his father. The dry-hopped Scotch ale is a Scotch ale brewed with French hops Triskel and given the unofficial name Mary Queen of Scots. Both available on tap at the brewery.
Chocolate Fade Out, Decibel Brewing: Aged in Skip Rock Distillers’ rum barrel with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and a hint of star anise, this barrel-aged stout clocks in at nearly 11 percent ABV. Available in 22-ounce bottles at the brewery.
Sumerian Lager, Sumerian Brewing: Vienna-style lager made with European malts and hops and a special yeast from a popular long time brewery. Available on tap at the brewery.
DRINK THIS
Green Manalishi IPA
Dreadnought Brewing, Monroe
Style: Lime Milkshake IPA
Stats: 5.7 percent ABV, 22 IBU
Available: On tap at the brewery
From the brewery: Brewed with lime and whole vanilla beans, tropical Citra and dank Simcoe hops makes this a rich milkshake IPA with great hop character that balances the lime and vanilla flavor.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
