Damn Squirrels said:IPA's usually add at least a quarter teaspoon of curry powder into the secondary.
BrewDey said:Not sure if you guys have experienced this, but I've had a few experiences of inconsistency with commercial IPAs. Specifically the DFA 60 min, and Brownsville Hop Ottin'. Both times it was the same thing-the bitterness is there, but it lacks that initial explosion of semi-sweet fruitiness that it had on a previous occasion. Anyone else had that happen?
gonzoflick said:Dogfish Head 90 kicks arse!!
orfy said:Not talking about today's style but the history of it.
Pale ale is common or garden English bitter.
To send it over to India it made sense to brew it stronger to take less space and water it down at destination. The concentration of alcohol and hops actually increased the life of the beer as well. Some say the original was also flavoured by the barrels and possibly tar.
The Officers tended to drink the undiluted ale or not as diluted and the ranks got a weaker version.
Today's version is just a hoppier stronger version of a British beer.
Originally it was Predominately brewed in Burton on Trent then later in London.
orfy said:Originally it was Predominately brewed in Burton on Trent then later in London.
TheJadedDog said:I'd also recommend Harpoon IPA as a good starter IPA for someone who has never had one before.
Rudeboy said:OK heres 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 Donkeys 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 didnt become the main English beer until after the war) But when they tried to ship it to the troops in India (mid 1800s) 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 80s/90s, (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.)
Aaah!Not talking about today's style but the history of it.
Pale ale is common or garden English bitter.
To send it over to India it made sense to brew it stronger to take less space and water it down at destination. The concentration of alcohol and hops actually increased the life of the beer as well. Some say the original was also flavoured by the barrels and possibly tar.
The Officers tended to drink the undiluted ale or not as diluted and the ranks got a weaker version.
Today's version is just a hoppier stronger version of a British beer.
Originally it was Predominately brewed in Burton on Trent then later in London.
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.
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