The History of the IPA
So, you’ve decided to take that step and dig a little deeper into the world of IPAs. Well done, you. It’s time to embark on a journey that explains the age-old question: what is IPA beer? (p.s. in case you’re wondering “what does IPA beer mean??”.. it stands for India Pale Ale!)
An Expansion Problem
So, what is IPA beer then? Other than delicious, of course. To find the origins of the India Pale Ale, you have to go way back to the British Empire and their expansion to, well, India. You can’t simply take over another country without keeping your troops adequately lubricated.
It’s hot in India…
As it turns out, India was too hot for the British to brew a satisfying ale. The boys in red began to complain about nasty brews and the inability to get their expansion on, so the powers that be back in England came up with a solution.
Hodgson to the Rescue!
The London brewer Hodgson came up with a super hoppy, strong brew that aged like wine. The new brew was called October Ale and was shipped to India to be enjoyed by the troops. As the ale aged on the trip, it became lighter, paler, and far tastier than when it left the docks in England. Everyone loved it, and pretty quickly, bigger breweries started making their own versions.
Big Brewers Ruin IPAs
Wouldn’t you know, after a few short decades, the big brewers that made IPAs accessible to the masses had tightened their purse strings so much that the alcohol content and flavor of the true IPA was reduced to a mere fraction of what it had been. Then somebody got the bright idea that people should refrigerate things to keep them cold. The combination signaled the end of the once-mighty brew.
Proper IPAs virtually disappeared from shelves, and the world started to forget about all that hoppy goodness. Decades went by with nobody getting a taste of a single drop of an IPA until the 1970s.
The US Steps In
There was a brewing boom in the US during the 1970s. It hasn’t stopped yet, and hopefully, it won’t. One of the things those brave souls did was recreate the old brewer’s styles of IPA beer. It was a huge success.
Expanding on a Classic
These days you can get a delicious IPA in a variety of styles. Hazy IPA beer is taking the world by storm at the moment, though I’m partial to Double IPA beer. Standard IPAs are great, and typically run from 5% to 7% ABV, which is generally higher than your normal beers.
Double IPAs are a newer invention in the IPA world. Created by a mad scientist, err, Vinnie Cilurzo in the 1990s, the Double IPA uses more hops to create a slightly more bitter, stronger ale. The range on these is typically 8% to 9 1/2%, though some truly push the envelope and develop anomalies that range into the mid-teens. Whatever the ABV, they taste delicious. Vinnie’s gift to the world is still recognized as one of the very best. If you haven’t tried a Double IPA, give the Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Elder a try. It lives up to its reputation.
The Double Hazy IPA is out there, and I can attest that it is worth a try. With more of a bold fruit-forward flavor and a smooth feel, Double Hazy IPAs are a great example of the ways IPAs can be experimented with and improved. The next phase of IPA is going to come along sometime soon, and at first the world will be sceptical. After a few glasses, they’ll realize it’s still an IPA after all, and everything will be fine.
With home brewing’s popularity growing since the 1980s, the idea of tinkering with beer recipes is a given. You can’t expect brewers to keep making the same thing repeatedly without changing things occasionally. It’s that need to experiment that keeps pushing the IPA boundaries.
IPAs are consistently in the top-5 best-selling list for craft beers, and for good reason. Have you ever tried to expand your empire after drinking a few pints of Guinness? I don’t know about you, but it seems a bit heavy for the tropics. It is delicious, though.