Buck's Frosty Balls Cold IPA

Review Date 12/5/2025 By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Buck Bald   Country: USA   State: North Carolina   $ Per OZ: $.41 (B), $.41 (D)   ABV: 7%

You have to say this about Buck Bald Brewing in Murphy, North Carolina. They are (mostly) consistent. When I stopped by this December for my first visit, every beer they had on tap, regardless of style or strength, was selling for $6.50 a pint. Then too, single pint cans to go were also selling for $6.50 each. Curiously, a 32-ounce growler fill was $14, or $7 a pint. See? Mostly consistent.

Price is important when rating beer, at least for me. A high price will not stop me from buying a beer if the quality is there, but all things being equal, if two beers are of the same quality and style, it would make sense as a consumer to go with the lower priced option. That is more important than ever after the two Covid stimulus packages drove inflation under President Joe Biden, and now tariffs are doing it under Trump. I am seeing prices for beer and just about everything surge as we close out 2025.

All that said, I thought the pint prices at Buck Bald in Murphy were very fair indeed, less than the average $7 to $8 I see in most places these days. The can prices were a little high, I think, but that did not stop me from bringing some home, including the one I am here to speak to: Buck Bald Buck’s Frosty Balls Cold IPA.

Cold IPA is a lager/ale hybrid that allows for bold hop character against a clean malt backbone. Fruity esters from the yeast are reduced, though the hops can and do still throw off fruit.

Buck’s Frosty Balls Cold IPA is currently listed as on tap at Murphy, according to the brewery website. There they say:

Light, Crisp, and hop-forward. Bronze Medal 2024 Carolinas Championship of Beer, Silver Medal 2024 NC Brewers Cup, and 2025 Untappd Bronze Medal.

In a Facebook post from February of 2024, Buck Bald said:

Our brand new Buck's Frosty Balls Cold IPA is delicious. We put together an extremely light malt backbone (Pilsner, Rice, and Corn Sugar) so we could showcase the delicious hops. This is an IPA lovers dream.

Buck Bald Buck’s Frosty Balls Cold IPA has an alcohol content of 7% by volume and my can was stamped PKG 10/27/25.

Buck Bald Buck’s Frosty Balls Cold IPA pours to a cloudy pale-yellow color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of citrusy grapefruit and lemon. Taking a sip the beer is medium in body and immediately pops with the citrus rind notes the nose promised. They’re vibrant in lemon and grapefruit intensity, and the beer ends in the finish with a truly massive bitterness. It lingers long and dry at the last and I am very impressed indeed with that. I do love bitterness, you see.

One of the best “cold IPAs” I can recall having.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??