Style Profile: IPA

"Give a man a beer, he wastes an hour.  Teach a man to brew, he wastes a lifetime"

I saw this quote last time I walked into my favorite homebrew store.  Really pretty true, although I have a couple problems with it.

1) If it takes you an hour to drink a 12oz beer, let's be honest, you're nursing it.
2) Brewing is a pretty scientific, enlightening, and just downright awesome process.  Hardly a waste.  Although it probably seems like a pretty alcoholic, wasteful hobby.  Shit.  Maybe it is.

Alright now to the informative stuff.  What is an      IPA?????

History
IPA stands for Indian Pale Ale, but the style originated far from India.  Like the Russian Imperial Stout, the IPA originated in England and was given its name with regards to the geographic location it was originally produced for.  The malt background of an IPA originates from the English pale ale style, but IPAs are known for high bitterness and hop content.  Originally, hops were added to beer as preservatives, and the trip to India was a long one.  This long trip called for increased hop additions during brewing, creating a hoppier version of the popular English Pale Ale style.  While the style was first brewed in the 1800s, it actually became popular within England during the 1840s, but by that time it had already been labeled Indian Pale Ale

Today
The IPA is a style that is readily adopted by American microbreweries for many reasons.  The IPA itself is a complete contrast to the tasteless, watered down brews of the American giants, and seems to be a style that serves to protest the commercialization of the beer industry.  The key to understanding the label of "IPA" lies in the history of the style.  Any highly hopped brew that isn't black can be considered an IPA.  In today's beer industry, IPAs don't necessarily have to be "pale" in color.  Some IPAs approach a color that is closer to red, while others are more amber in color.  IPA is more of an indicator of hoppiness than color today.

I highly recommend the IPA style, but be warned that these brews are very bitter, and may taste bad to drinkers who are unaccustomed to darker/hoppier beer styles




Excellent Contemporary Examples

-Stone Brewery of San Diego almost solely brews IPAs (although they recently released a Pale Ale).  Arrogant Bastard is the popular version, a reddish brown ale that is very strongly hopped.  Buy a bottle and be prepared for any other beer you taste that night to be without flavor

-Sierra Nevada brews several seasonal beers that are considered IPAs.  Torpedo IPA is the most indicative of the style, but Celebration Ale could also be considered an IPA

-Dogfish Head Brewing Company brews a 60 minute IPA, a 90 min IPA, and an 120 min IPA.  The minutes refer to the length of the boil.  Essentially, the longer the boil, the more alcoholic the beer and the hoppier the IPA.  I've only tried the 60 minute and it was excellent.

Always sippin' a homebrew when posting
Todd