What the hell is an IPA?

    So you're at the bar with you buddy drinking your generic boring light beer when he orders an IPA. You wonder what the hell is an IPA, but you don't ask him to explain, because you don't want to sound ignorant. Not asking is your first mistake, always ask whether its beer, wine, cigars, cheese, fellatio, ASK QUESTIONS!!! and you'll learn more than any blog visit or  book you can find. First hand experience and discussions has taught me more about the world than any other form of education, Experience is a cruel teacher, but a good one. So back to the question at hand what is an IPA? Well Lets Break it down, IPA is an acronym for India Pale Ale.

Let's start with the Pale Ale part all beer can be classified into either an Ale or a Lager depending on how it is brewed. Typically Ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeast which allows for rapid fermentation at warmer temperatures; Lagers are brewed with bottom-fermenting yeast which ferments more slowly and at colder temperatures.It's not called pale because it needs a tan but because of the malt used in this style gives it a lighter color than say a Porter (another Ale). Ale's are typically higher in alcohol content, and the short brew allows for more of the flavors from the ingredients to hang around making for a more complex taste than lagers. 

So whats with the India part? Well they all come from India and are brought to market on elephants. OK OK you caught me in a lie....its actually a cool story about how the name came about. Basically in the early 18th century East India Trading Co. out of Europe had opened up the trading market with India, the voyages could take months at a time and because of the conditions mostly heat and time...the beer would turn...but our brewers were smart they knew that hops and alcohol were natural preservatives. Low and behold along comes an October beer Brewed by Bow Brewing out of Middle-sex but because of their business practices the isolated a lot of the markets for export,  about this same time Burton Breweries lost theirs export market to Russia so the picked up Bows slack and introduced Burton India Pale Ale which was preferred by the clients in India, and out of this Our strong little Hoppy Baby was born.