Welcome to macro month in which we are going to explore, critique, and debate the contributions of the macrobrewing industry. Before we dive into those potentially controversial topics we are going to take a small pause and celebrate for today, August 2nd, is
IPA day.
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The most famous of the original IPAs.
(Found here) |
What a choice you can have too, double, white, black, American, English...IPAs have thrived during the craft revolution, enjoying more popularity now than even in their heyday as the beer of the British Raj. They are a style that has truly been embraced by both brewers and beer lovers. If there is a benchmark style for craft beer then
India Pale Ale is that beer.
It started with an incredibly long boat ride and very thirsty Englishmen but that is a story we will dive into when we get to IPA month in September. In the meantime crack open a bottle of hopped goodness and enjoy. (If you are on Untappd don't forget to check in!)
Tell us about your favorite IPA in the comments. Cheers!
last year I really liked what Terrapin had to offer..
ReplyDeleteother than that, only local. A lot of Mikkeller Green Gold also
I can't find a single reference (other than the blog link above) to Bass being called an IPA in the 20th century. I think the original author was mistaken.
ReplyDeleteYes, historically this was an IPA, but West Coast IPAs aren't responsible for changing this name. The BJCP guidelines mark a difference between English and American IPA (see: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style14.php ) and Bass Ale is listed as a commercial example of an Extra Special Bitter. All of the clone recipes put Bass at around 35-40 IBU to 1.050-1.055 O.G. and 5%ABV.
Many of the breweries in England in the 19th and early 20th century had different beers for export than were enjoyed domestically. More hop bitterness was used for preservative reasons. This was likely also true of Bass brewery.
I hate to say it, but the beerappreciation blog linked here is probably just wrong. I'd appreciate it if someone could explain why they were correct, though (or how they became mistaken). If there's a Bass IPA out there I'd love to know about it!