Beer column: This scrumptious milkshake IPA might sneak up on you with an 8.5% ABV

I love milkshake IPAs.

I also love beers that are brewed for a good cause.

This week’s feature beer checks both those boxes and it’s from the fine folks at Cannery Brewing in Penticton.

Their new Mango Milkshake IPA is the perfect drink to enjoy on a patio in the sun, which is great because we are certainly into patio season now.

Be careful though, because this milkshake IPA is actually a double IPA, which means it comes in at a healthy 8.5% ABV (alcohol by volume).

But as I’ve said in this column many times before, this isn’t your typical IPA, or in this case double IPA, because the addition of lactose makes it a totally different experience.

A milkshake IPA is a type of hazy IPA that is defined by its use of lactose (unfermentable milk sugar) in the brewing process, which gives the beer a smooth feel you might expect from a milk stout.

Since lactose doesn’t ferment and turn into alcohol like other sugars, it stays intact to give the beer a sweet flavour as well.

Milkshake IPAs then feature adjuncts like tropical fruits, vanilla, chocolate or peanut butter.

As a result of all this, a milkshake IPA doesn’t have the overwhelming hoppy taste that IPA drinkers know and love, or IPA haters despise, but rather a sensation of a sweet dessert.

This particular milkshake IPA, brewed with Simcoe and Citra hops, is made with the perfect summer combination of mango and vanilla.

As for the charity aspect of this particular Cannery creation, it was made in support of the Beer Babes Family.

The North American charitable organization is an online community that strives to support and positively engage all women in the beer industry.

Cannery launched the Mango Milkshake IPA earlier this month with an event that saw $1 from every glass poured donated to the Beer Babes Family.

Now that’s a cause we can drink to!

You can find this new creation in several private liquor stores around the province and, fortunately for you, Cannery has provided a comprehensive list here.

Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at [email protected]. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.