A cooling device is provided for cooling a beverage in a dispensing line. The device comprises two heat exchangers for exchanging thermal energy between the beverage and a coolant fluid in a cooling circuit; the coolant fluid having a lower temperature than the beverage. Placing the two heat exchangers in series relative to the dispensing line, provides two-stage cooling, allowing more accurate cooling. This may be improved by placing brute force cooling to a particular temperature window, followed by accurate cooling. This makes the cooling process is less sensitive to whatever the initial temperature of the beverage may be. Relative to the cooling circuit for the coolant, the two heat exchangers may be placed in parallel and, optionally, further in parallel to a buffer circuit. A distribution module may be provided to control distribution of coolant over the heat exchangers, optionally from the buffer, to control temperature of the beverage.