India Pale Ale vs. Pale Ale - Page 3

cclloyd · 08-18-2007, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJadedDog

I'd also recommend Harpoon IPA as a good starter IPA for someone who has never had one before.

Absolutely - I was recently in CT. on a business trip and had a couple of draft Harpoons from a fresh keg and it was fantastic. Great color, aroma and mighty tasty.

**BierMuncher** · 08-18-2007, 03:33 AM

Beware. Once you go to the world of IPA's, your other kegs (or bottles) of beer will sit in the corner...unloved...unwanted and forgotten.

I just brewed a light ABV (I know, I know) IPA and nothing tastes good to me except this beer.

Anyone need some Bass? Or Redhook ESB? or Guiness?

Rudeboy · 08-19-2007, 06:28 AM

OK here’s my little history. (Warning entirely subjective opinion follows)

Beer had been brewed in Europe, and England for centuries. What you drank was, like what you ate, brewed within walking distance of your house. (Or at least your Donkey’s walking distance.)

One of the important innovations of the Industrial Revolution was the ability to have large scale industrial brewers and effective distribution networks. Although we look down on it now, actually industrialization was a big step forward as it led to a great increase in the science (and the hygiene) of brewing. The big winner of styles in England was the Pale Ale. (Bitters didn’t become the main English beer until after the war) But when they tried to ship it to the troops in India (mid 1800’s) it usually went off. Some smart guy (some smart guy here will fill in the blank for me) realized that if you “over hopped” the beer it would last until India. The troops came back with a taste for that beer and the rest is history.

recently, IPA became a big American varietal with the advent of MicroBrews in the 80’s/90’s, (Much bigger than it ever was, or is, in England) In America the bully brewers made minimally hopped slop, so a significantly hopped beer was immediately distinguishable. Thus IPA became the big varietal. When I say hopped I mean Alpha Acid hopped.

So to sum. IPA a beer in the English Pale Ale tradition but with slightly more alcohol and significantly higher hopping. The American variation of it has even more hopping than the English.

To further sum You like hops, you like IPA.

Rudeboy

(Personally I like hops but I find, as of late, some people/breweries can take it too far.)

Got Trub? · 08-19-2007, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudeboy

OK here’s my little history. (Warning entirely subjective opinion follows)

Beer had been brewed in Europe, and England for centuries. What you drank was, like what you ate, brewed within walking distance of your house. (Or at least your Donkey’s walking distance.)

One of the important innovations of the Industrial Revolution was the ability to have large scale industrial brewers and effective distribution networks. Although we look down on it now, actually industrialization was a big step forward as it led to a great increase in the science (and the hygiene) of brewing. The big winner of styles in England was the Pale Ale. (Bitters didn’t become the main English beer until after the war) But when they tried to ship it to the troops in India (mid 1800’s) it usually went off. Some smart guy (some smart guy here will fill in the blank for me) realized that if you “over hopped” the beer it would last until India. The troops came back with a taste for that beer and the rest is history.

recently, IPA became a big American varietal with the advent of MicroBrews in the 80’s/90’s, (Much bigger than it ever was, or is, in England) In America the bully brewers made minimally hopped slop, so a significantly hopped beer was immediately distinguishable. Thus IPA became the big varietal. When I say hopped I mean Alpha Acid hopped.

So to sum. IPA a beer in the English Pale Ale tradition but with slightly more alcohol and significantly higher hopping. The American variation of it has even more hopping than the English.

To further sum You like hops, you like IPA.

Rudeboy

(Personally I like hops but I find, as of late, some people/breweries can take it too far.)

According to Ray Daniels book it was Hodgson's at Bow Brewery that first started extra hopping the beer in the late 1700's/early 1800's. In addition they reduced the gravity, this was to leave less residual sugars in the beer available for spoilage. The resulting dry (less sweet) and hoppy beer was considered a better "restorative" and became popular both in England and abroad. Hodgsons tried to corner the export market but failed, the Burton brewers figured out how to make IPA's and with their water profile got it right and the rest is history...

PaulTheGhost · 05-08-2011, 10:32 PM

Coming from a hop-head: once you get into the hoppy beers, you'll start craving more and more hops. Russian River Brewing (Pliny the Elder) has what they call a "lupulin threshold shift:" 1. When a once extraordinarily hoppy beer now seems pedestrian. 2. The phenomenon a person has when craving more bitterness in beer.
3. The long-term exposure to extremely hoppy beers; if excessive or prolonged, a habitual dependence on hops will occur. 4. When a "Double IPA" just is not enough.

**iijakii** · 05-09-2011, 12:48 AM

I find myself only in the mood for two styles of beer anymore: bitter IPAs or big sweet RIS'.

PaulTheGhost · 05-09-2011, 04:13 AM

What about balanced IIPA's? Not balanced in terms of hops and malt, but balanced in between hop bitterness and hop aroma?

Two of my favorite beers are from Lagunitas. One is their Hop Stoopid (made with hop extract) and the other is Maximus (a double IPA or imperial IPA). Hop Stoopid definitely leans towards more bitter while Maximus definitely leans towards more aroma.

But back to the original discussion: when talking about American pale ales and American inda pale ales, it really comes down to strength and amount of hops.
For instance, some of my friends consider Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale an IPA even though it's only at 5.6% ABV and about 37 IBUs just because of how much hop aroma it has.

Hell, it just about fits into the BJCP guidelines.

rexbanner · 05-09-2011, 04:24 AM

Consistency issues with commercial APAs and IPAs are due to the fact that hop flavor fades over time. That's why I don't buy them, ever. Homebrewed hoppy beers are simply much better.

Also, if you've ever brewed a hoppy beer you might have noticed that hop flavor fades if you don't drink it fast enough. For any hoppy beer I brew, it gets at least an ounce's worth of hop tea added right before kegging. On my last batch, I'm experimenting with zero aroma hops additions during the boil. I made an imperial wheat with 1 oz of warrior at 60, and 4 ounces of cascade/citra hop tea before kegging. I'll post how it turns out.