Ingredient Insight: New Belgium bucks the dark winter beer trend with white IPA

Typically, as the days grow shorter and the wind grows colder, the beer brews darker. It keeps some meat on your bones for those cold winter nights. New Belgium Brewing, however, tends to always march to a different drum, which explains its Accumulation White IPA. The white IPA is returning to the brewery’s winter lineup to offer an alternative to traditional dark winter beers. Four bold hop varieties give Accumulation a tropical flavor with a nice, bitter balance. Nugget and Centennial hops along with a dry-hopping of Mosaic and Amarillo hops all combine to create Accumulation, which pours a pale, hazy golden color with a medium body. It comes in at 6.2 percent ABV and 70 IBUs.

“Many beers out this time of year are malt bombs and going with an IPA that has some tropical flavors defies expectation,” said New Belgium’s Brewer Grady Hull. “Accumulation also has a hefty dose of wheat, which provides a good counter-balance to the bitter bite of the Mosaic and Amarillo hops. The big, juicy hop flavors, combined with the smooth wheat make this a great wintertime companion.”