IPA

We would really like to interview Pete Brown, who in 2009, set out to set the record straight on his favorite beer style...you guessed it, IPA. Pete wanted to write the definitive history of IPA and was willing to go to great lengths to set the record straight. Here is a partial list of commonly reported 'facts' which Pete explains a different angle.

IPA was invented by London brewer George Hodgson in 1785.

IPA became popular in England following a shipwreck in 1827, when an India-bound cargo was washed ashore near Liverpool.

IPA was remarkable because the grueling journey to India meant other beers, such as porter, were undrinkable by the time they arrived.

IPA was cask conditioned, with live yeast undergoing a vigorous fermentation in the cask during the journey to India.

Modern American IPAs are different from traditional Burton IPA because of American hops—which the Burton beer didn’t have.

IPA was often sent to India and back before being consumed in England.

IPA was killed by the rise of lager.

IPA was a very tightly defined style. Imperial IPAs, double IPAs etc. are quite different from the original beer that inspired them.