Indian Pale Ales or IPA are the STANDARD for the summer beer, especially in the warm climates of the south. Thanks to the cool site I learned that IPAs were invented by Englishmen George Hodgson at the Bow Brewery in East London. Hodgson’s goal was to make a beer that could reach all corners of the British Empire in the 1700’s and still be fresh enough to actually enjoy when it arrived in port. On a hot summer day these hoppy beers force you to slow down and take your time then you can really enjoy the beer.
'Ole Winnie liked an IPA
Recently I attended a beer tasting that featured IPAs and came away with mixed emotions. The tasting featured eleven different IPAs, of which I had nine previously, and the event was severely over packed. The propensity of people made me think about both the organization of the tasting and the attractiveness of Indian Pale Ales. As for the beer tasting I have come to one simple conclusion, take reservations; as for the IPA, I know that people just like them so much!
Also what was of interest was the different regions covered by the eleven beers at the tasting. In general IPAs are the domain of micro breweries and as a corollary many of these beer hail from the Pacific Northwest, California, Colorado, New England and Delaware. Noticeably absent from the prominent IPA breweries are ones located in the south and Midwest. Some of you may be able to add some insight to this discrepancy. As for me, it has been a long day at the grind and I’m ready for a cold IPA!
-THG
