Comparison
Milkshake IPA vs Red IPA
What is the difference between Milkshake IPA and Red IPA?
The short answer
The main difference is bitterness: Red IPA has far more of it than Milkshake IPA. Milkshake IPA also leads on tropical fruit; Red IPA on malt intensity and caramel & toffee.
Generated from the two style records. No editor has written this comparison up, so it carries no verdict beyond what the data supports.
Where they overlap
They share comparable hop aroma, citrus, overlapping strength ranges, the same style family — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| Milkshake IPA | Red IPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | IPA | IPA |
| Fermentation | Top-fermented (ale) | Top-fermented (ale) |
| Origin | United States | United States |
| Category status | Commercial category | Commercial category |
| Strength | 5.5–8% ABV | 5.5–7.5% ABV |
| Bitterness (IBU) — IBU measures iso-alpha acids in the lab. It does not track perceived bitterness, which residual sweetness, body and roast all alter — compare the sensory rows below for how each actually tastes. | 20–40 IBU | 50–80 IBU |
| Colour | Pale gold to orange — 4–10 SRM, 8–20 EBC | Reddish amber to copper — 11–19 SRM, 22–37 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.060–1.080 | 1.056–1.070 |
| Final gravity | 1.016–1.026 | 1.010–1.016 |
| Serving temperature | 7–10°C | 8–11°C |
| Carbonation | 2–3 vol CO₂ | 2–3 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Teku glass, Tulip glass | Tulip glass |
| Clarity | opaque | clear |
How they taste different
| Character | Milkshake IPA | Red IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Bitterness | Trace | High |
| Malt intensity | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Tropical fruit | High | Not characteristic |
| Caramel & toffee | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Resin & pine | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Alcohol warmth | Not characteristic | Low |
| Stone fruit | Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Sweetness | High | Low–Moderate |
| Body | High | Moderate |
| Carbonation | Low | Moderate |
Which should you choose?
- You want more bitterness → Red IPA
- You want more tropical fruit → Milkshake IPA
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.