IPA 101: A Crash Course on India Pale Ale

This Thursday will mark the first ever International #IPADay, a day aimed at celebrating one of Craft Beer’s most popular styles. Considering that no two beer drinker’s taste buds are alike, I figured I’d take this opportunity to give a little lesson on India Pale Ale, where it came from and what to expect, for those brew hounds that haven’t experienced this style of beer.

We’ll start by hopping into our Delorian and go back to the 1700’s when India was still under colonial rule. Soldiers and Civilians living in India found themselves missing the traditional British ales they were accustomed to at the local pub. Brewer’s found that every attempt to ship these ales to India ended up with spoiled beer.

The only way to deliver a non-spoiled beer to the British-Colony was to increase the alcohol, and more importantly, the hops of the beer.  The process started with adding extra hops to a traditional pale ale recipe creating a higher alcohol content which fought off bacteria.  Once the ale was ready to be casked, an additional amount of dry hops and sugar was added to help prevent the ale from going flat.

India Pale Ale became a more than suitable substitute for those Imperials living in the colony, but it wasn’t until later that IPA became anything more than a specialty brew. In 1827, a ship leaving London wrecked and the decision was made to sell any damaged barrels locally. The Londoners instantly fell in love with this hop heavy ale and the IPA style was here to stay.

As to what you can expect from an IPA (Courtesy of James Clausen; Beers, Cocktails, and Beverages):

·         Coloring. IPA can vary widely in coloring depending on the types and amounts of malts used. The color can range from a light golden to a dark amber coloring. IPA usually has a good-sized head of foam and can vary in color from pure white to a darker brown.

·         Aroma. IPA usually has a strong aroma of hops. The strength of the aroma depends on the type and amount of hops used. Most IPA aromas have a sweet citrus blossom aroma or a pine tree aroma. Although there are many types of hops used in an IPA by American Breweries, Cascade and Chinook Hops are very popular. Cascade has a strong citrus blossom aroma and Chinook has more of a piney aroma. The amounts and types of malts used can also have an effect on the aroma of an IPA.

·         Taste. Many IPA’s have a bitter hoppy taste. Just like the aroma, the taste can vary widely from one IPA to another. Some IPA’s can have a very complex taste with lots of different flavors or it can be more simple with just a strong taste of pine or citrus. The taste of an IPA depends a lot on the types of hops and malts along with the amounts used. Often times a brewer will use a mixture of different types of hops and malts. Don’t judge an IPA by the aroma. Often times the aroma is totally independent of the taste.

I’ll go ahead and add my own personal disclaimer at this point in time; India Pale Ales are not for everyone. These beers are very strong and don’t sit easily on the palate of beer drinkers who don’t enjoy think full bodied beers.

UPDATE: You're telling me Santa isn't real? Apparently the origin story I have grown to know and love is a complete fallacy. It appears that the extra hops aren't added to help avoid spoiling and my face is officially red. This may be the common story spread throughout most of the beer world, (I know of at least 20 articles not published on Wikipedia that claim this story to be true) but I'm willing to bet at some point it was copy created by a truly excellent marketing mind. An in depth look at the origin can be found following the link below:

http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/the-origins-of-ipa