IPAs (INDIA PALE ALES)
Style History
When we talk about IPAs, we need to talk about hops. Many beer drinkers, who are not brewers, are often surprised to find out that beer is actually a sweet flavored beverage due to the sugars released from the malted barley. Hops balance the beer's sweetness with the bitterness of the hops. So let's talk a little about the hop plant. A climbing vine in the nettle family and closely related to marijuana, hops have been cultivated since ancient times, although they didn’t regularly find their way into beer until about a thousand years ago. The parts useful in brewing are the cones. Inside the hot cone there's a small internal stem, or strig, holding the leafy parts of the cone together. All around the strig are tiny golden globules of the pungent waxy substance lupulin. This contains the bitter resins and aromatic oils so valued in beer. Also in the lupulin are dozens of aromatic oils, each with its own character. Every variety and location produces hops with a unique mix. Floral to resiny, minty to spicy, hop aroma is a great tool for adding personality to beer. The first beers to emphasize hops were brewed in London in the late 1700s. A London Brewer named Hodson started exporting casks of amber colored, highly hopped October beer. This was a strong beer, designed for keeping. It suited the six-month voyage and arrived in superb condition. There is no evidence that a special recipe for the India export market was developed at this time. After 40 years of booming success his son, now running the brewery, got greedy and lost the good graces of the east India company, the powerful monopoly that controlled trade in Britain’s Asian exports. Around the same time the brewers up north in Burton-on-Trent, famous for their strong ales made possible by a unique type of hard well water had increased the amount of the sweet, dark beer they were shipping up to Baltic Sea all the way to Russia. Then in 1822 their Russian export market collapsed due to the imposition of a high tariff, right at the time the Indian market opened. Burton Allsopp brewery was quick to capitalize on this opportunity. As it turns out the gypsum-laden water of Burton was actually better suited than London’s to a pale, hoppy beer; The new India bound Burton pale ales were hopped more highly than those destined for domestic use, following the general rule of increasing hops for beers that are meant to keep longer. This exported pale ale started being called India Pale Ale and a new beer style was born.
About the Style
To get a sense of the popularity of the Pale Ale style today, the American Beer Style Guidelines recognize eleven different style that fall in the Pale Ale category, they include:
● English IPA
● American IPA
● American Pale Ale
● Hazy IPA
● Double IPA
● Specialty IPAs (six varieties)
ENGLISH IPA
A bitter, moderately-strong, very well- attenuated pale British ale with a dry finish and a hoppy aroma and flavor. Classic British ingredients provide the most authentic flavor profile. Hop flavor is medium to high, with a moderate to assertive hop bitterness. The hop flavor should be similar to the aroma (floral, spicy-peppery, or citrus-orange). Malt flavor should be medium-low to medium, and be somewhat bready, optionally with light to medium-light biscuit, toast, toffee, or caramel aspects. Medium-low to medium fruitiness. Finish is medium-dry to very dry, and the bitterness may linger into the aftertaste but should not be harsh. The balance is toward the hops, but the malt should still be noticeable in support. If high sulfate water is used, a distinctively minerally, dry finish, some sulfur flavor, and a lingering bitterness are usually present. Some clean alcohol flavor can be noted in stronger versions.
EXAMPLES: Berkshire Lost Sailor IPA, Fuller's Bengal Lancer, Marston’s Old Empire IPA, Meantime London
AMERICAN IPA
A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong, pale American ale. The balance is hop forward, with a clean fermentation profile, dryish finish, and clean, supporting malt allowing a creative range of hop character to shine through. Medium to very high hop flavor (same descriptors as aroma). Low to medium-low clean and grainy maltiness, possibly with light caramel and toast flavors. Medium-high to very high bitterness. Dry to medium-dry finish. Hoppy, bitter aftertaste with supportive malt. Low esters optional. Background clean alcohol flavor optional.
EXAMPLES: Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, Cigar City Jai Alai, Fat Heads Head Hunter IPA, Firestone Walker Union Jack
AMERICAN PALE ALE
An average-strength, hop-forward, pale American craft beer with sufficient supporting malt to make the beer balanced and drinkable. The clean hop presence can reflect classic or modern American or New World hop varieties with a wide range of characteristics. Hop and malt character similar to aroma (same intensities and descriptors apply). Caramel flavors are often absent or fairly restrained, but are acceptable as long as they don’t clash with the hops. Moderate to high bitterness. Clean fermentation profile. Fruity yeast esters can be moderate to none, although many hop varieties are quite fruity. Medium to dry finish. The balance is typically towards the late hops and bitterness; the malt presence should be supportive, not distracting. Hop flavor and bitterness often linger into the finish, but the aftertaste should generally be clean and not harsh.
EXAMPLES: Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale,Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, Great Lakes Burning River, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
HAZY IPA
An American IPA with intense fruit flavors and aromas, a soft body, smooth mouthfeel, and often opaque with substantial haze. Less perceived bitterness than traditional IPAs but always massively hop-forward. High to very high fruity hop flavor, same descriptors as aroma. Low to medium malt flavor, same descriptors as aroma. Low to medium-high perceived bitterness, often masked by the fuller body and soft, off-dry to medium finish. The hop character in the aftertaste should not be sharp or harsh. Neutral to fruity fermentation profile, supportive of the hops. Should not be sweet, although high ester levels and lower bitterness may sometimes give that impression. Background alcohol flavor optional.
EXAMPLES: : Belching Beaver Hazers GonnaHaze, Hill Farmstead Susan, WeldWerks Juicy Bits, New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA, Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing, Reunion Brewery Juice Factory
DOUBLE IPA
An intensely hoppy, fairly strong, bitter pale ale without the big, rich, complex maltiness, residual sweetness, and body of an American Barleywine. Strongly hopped, but clean, dry, and lacking harshness. Despite showing its strength, drinkability is an important consideration. Strong and complex hop flavor (same descriptors as aroma). Moderately high to very high bitterness, but should not be harsh. Low to medium supportive, clean, soft, unobtrusive malt character; may have light caramel or toast flavors. Dry to medium-dry finish, not sweet or heavy, with a lingering hoppy, bitter aftertaste. Low to moderate fruitiness optional. A light, clean, smooth alcohol flavor is allowable.
EXAMPLES: Columbus Brewing Bohdi, FatHead’s Hop Juju, Port Brewing Hop-15, Russian River Pliny the Elder, Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing, One Trick Pony Warlander
SPECIALTY IPAs
Recognizable as an IPA by balance – a hop-forward, bitter, dryish beer – with something else present to distinguish it from the standard categories. Should have good drinkability, regardless of the form. Excessive harshness and heaviness are typically faults, as are strong flavor clashes between the hops and the other specialty ingredients.
● Belgian IPA - A dry, hoppy IPA with fruitiness and spiciness of Belgian yeast. Often lighter in color and more attenuated, similar to a Belgian Tripel that has been brewed with more hops.
● Black IPA - A beer with the dryness, hop-forward balance, and flavor characteristics of an American IPA, but darker in color. Darker malts add a gentle and supportive flavor, not a strongly roasted or burnt character.
● Brown IPA - Hoppy, bitter, and moderately strong like an American IPA, but with dark caramel, chocolate, toffee, or dark fruit character as in an American Brown Ale. Retaining the dryish finish and lean body that makes IPAs so drinkable, a Brown IPA is a little more flavorful and malty than an American IPA without being sweet or heavy.
● Red IPA- Hoppy, bitter, and moderately strong like an American IPA, but with some caramel, toffee, or fruit character as in an American Amber Ale. Retaining the dryish finish and lean body that makes IPAs so drinkable, a Red IPA is a little more flavorful and malty than an American IPA without being sweet or heavy.
● Rye IPA - An American IPA with spicy, grainy rye malt. The rye gives a bready and peppery flavor, a creamier body, and a dry, grainy finish.
● Brut IPA - Avery pale, hop-forward American IPA variant with a bone-dry finish, very high carbonation, and a restrained bitterness level. Can be suggestive of a sparkling white wine or Champagne. The hop character is modern, and emphasizes flavor and aroma