Meet the IPA Piña Colada.
Because it is still summer and in the nineties daily. We still go to the pool after I pick up kiddo from school and they still don’t serve IPA mango slushies (I’ve given up on them and have a beer once we come home). And… all summer long I have been complaining about how sweet and practically undrinkable Piña coladas are.
I don’t like complaining, it leaves me empty and exhausted and changes absolutely nothing. Also wires my neurons all wrong, predisposing me to negativity. Enough!
I do like researching, creating and getting good at new things though. I took the matter of the overly sweet Piña colada into my own hands and in result, I am ready to offer you the IPA Piña Colada. A brand new craft beer cocktail, which I will file under craft beering twists on classics.
The IPA Piña Colada respectfully references the original cocktail, but is made with less sugar and with added hoppy zing and tropical flavors from the almighty India pale ale. For this post I chose Stone Brewing Co. Delicious IPA. It happens to be a gluten-reduced ale (not at all what drove my choice) and has a respectable ABV 7.7% and IBU 75. Bursting with flavor – it has the fruity juiciness of oranges and pineapple (wink) as well as dank and citrus. It finishes both bitter and dry and I loved how that played in the cocktail. Loved it.
As a quick refresher, classic Piña colada is mixed with 3 parts pineapple juice, 1 part cream of coconut and 1 part rum (frequently dark rum). The mixture is typically blended with ice for a frozen drink.
Remember when we made a Game of Thrones themed flambe dessert? Still had some dark rum left from that day. We don’t exactly drink this kind of rum, any rum really, but I did use it up in this IPA meets Piña colada experiment. All three rounds of it, leading to the present recipe:)
Introducing the IPA bitterness and zing was not enough to tune down the overly sweet factor though. I made two more changes.
Piña colada stands for ‘pineapple strained’, basically strained pineapple juice. Because the juice is naturally quite sweet you either need to reduce the quantity and alter the classic ratio referenced above, or use freshly strained juice (less sweet than the canned from concentrate juice) or do both. I did both. I used fresh pineapple which I blended and then strained plus I reduced the quantity of it in favor of adding the IPA.
The next thing I tackled was the cream of coconut ingredient. Notice that cream of coconut is not the same thing as coconut cream. It is important to distinguish between the two, as the first one is waay sweeter. Cream of coconut is made by blending coconut cream with cane sugar. It is very, very sweet and is perhaps even more reason for Piña coladas to taste so shockingly sugary than is the pineapple juice.
On the other hand, coconut cream is made by simply simmering the tender flesh of the coconuts with a little bit of water (4 to 1). If the water is increased relative to the coconut flesh, you get coconut milk.
After this post I am definitely not going to be mentioning pineapples and tropical flavors for a while:)
Bratwurst season is upon us friends! And Oktoberfest brews, and wearing my dirndl.
Wrapping up and leaving you with the recipe, in case like me, you generally like the flavors in a Piña colada but not the sugar content. Hoppy drinking!
IPA Piña Colada
This twist on the classic cocktail is for you if you generally like the flavors in a Piña colada, but not the insane level of sweetness. Feel free to alter the quantities of the ingredients as per your personal preference.
Ingredients
- 4 large, 1 inch thick slices of fresh pineapple, cores removed or 3 oz of pineapple juice from concentrate
- 3 oz coconut cream, not cream of coconut, there is a difference:
- 2 oz of rum, dark recommended
- 6 oz IPA, half a bottle, the rest is for you to ensure the IPA tastes good
- 8-10 ice cubes
- 1 slice of fresh pineapple for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Blend the pineapple slices and strain. You should derive about 4 oz of pineapple juice (or use the 3 oz of concentrate pineapple juice).
- In a blender drop the ice cubes, add the pineapple juice, coconut cream and rum. Blend.
- Split the Piña colada mixture between two glasses and add IPA.
- Stir to blend with the mixture (there will be some beautiful IPA lace on top, yum).
- Garnish with pineapple slice or not and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Jennifer says
Super delicious! First time to make it I was looking for a way to get rid of my pina colada mix and a bunch of Modelo Especial (golden colored beer) that was taking up space in my fridge. It was SO good—the colada mix and beer didn’t last long after that. Second time I used ingredients per the actual recipe—also delicious!!
CraftBeering says
Especially if the quests have an affinity towards IPA:) Thank you Jodie!
Amber Jane says
I am intrigued as I love pineapple and do find a pina colada sweet but I find IPA a little too bitter – I wonder is this the happy medium
CraftBeering says
Could be:) And you can always select an IPA that has all the aromatics of hops but has not been bittered that much. For example a New England style IPA, especially if the profile of the hops used to flavor it leans toward pineapple:)
Jaxx The Bearded Hiker says
Exactly…too sweet. When I saw the title, I immediately thought, but damn, I wish it wasn’t so sweet. But I clicked anyway, because…beer and I trust you guys. Somehow I knew it was not going to be some sweet crap you went and poured beer in. I can totally try this. And I realize everyone seems to be referencing fall like it’s happening or going to happen very soon, but I won’t see fall air until at least December so this can be a very drinkable hot weather situation for me for quite a while still.
CraftBeering says
We are on the same page Jaxx!Enjoy that great weather!
CraftBeering says
Thanks Lina!
Leanna says
Pina coladas are super delicious and super rich. This version sounds interesting and maybe not so heavy. Beer for hubs and girlie girl for me, sounds like a wonderful plan for his first night home from work.
CraftBeering says
Yes, definitely not heavy, while the essential flavors still pretty pervasive. I can see how overly hopped IPAs (if used) may not please many people though:) Fortunately, there are plenty of choices in the world of IPAs:)
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing at Friday Frenzy Link Party! PINNED!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Kelly!
Brittany | Beyond The Bayou Food Blog says
This looks so good and refreshing! One of my fav’s is a Pina Colada! Love the addition of IPA. Cheers!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Brittany!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Roseann!
CraftBeering says
So hoping that you do Carrie!
Carol says
This just intrigues me! Our son is a big craft beer aficionado and I tend toward the “frou frou” drinks so perfect combo to try next time he’s home from grad school! Featuring when my party opens up.
Laura Sampson says
OMG these are absolutely BRILLIANT!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Laura!
Georgie says
I’m always amazed at how many recipes you can create using beer! it’s really amazing! these look great 🙂
CraftBeering says
Thank you Georgie! It is what we love to do!! Haven’t even scratched the surface:) Hopefully we will live to an old age and continue doing this!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I don’t like overly sweet drinks either. I was actually given a flavoured water the other day and couldn’t drink it. I had to water it down cause it was too sweet for me! Funny, right? Water down your water. Anyway, I do LOVE coconut and, of course, beer so this really intrigues me! Who would have thought to make such a delicious pina colada using beer? Such a brilliant idea! Hope you guys are having an awesome weekend! Cheers!
CraftBeering says
Lol, flavored water watered down:) Thank you Dawn! Now thinking to make this IPA Pina Colada with a local toasted coconut IPA called Tropical Depression. So excited! Wish I could send you one:)
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
I’m totally with you–I cannot stand overly sweet beverages, so piña coladas are out, which is unfortunate because I love coconut and pineapple. This is brilliant! Using coconut cream instead of cream of coconut is a stroke of genius. I’m counting down the minutes until 5 o’clock today :). Have a great weekend, Milena!
CraftBeering says
Hey Kelsie! We are on the same page!
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Oh, I bet this is super good!! Will have to get my husband to make this for us for Happy Hour! Visiting from Home Matters party.
CraftBeering says
Thank you Victoria!