There was a momentus occasion in beer culture last week, and your humble narrator certainly made the most of it.
Yes gentle reader, August 7 was the fourth International IPA Day, which brought hop-filled happiness to craft beer fans the world over. The blogosphere was all abuzz, and the twits were tweeting it up on #IPAday.
Unlike some of the other Hallmark Holidays, this one was not dreamed up by the marketing goons at some megabrewery. Rather, International IPA day is a brand-neutral celebration of fine IPA beers, and appreciation for those who brew them.
For those not in the know, IPA (India Pale Ale) is a particularly bitter and hoppy beer, first brewed in 18th century England.
As the name implies, India Pale Ale is an offshoot of the Pale Ale style of beer. Back when India was part of the British Empire, all their beer was imported from England or other British Colonies.
Tragically, in those days before pasteurization and refrigeration, a significant amount of the beer would spoil during the long and hot voyage by sea to India.
English brewers found that hops were a natural antibacterial agent, so cranking up the level of hops in a brew would help prevent spoilage. The sharp and bitter taste provided by extra hops are either an added bonus or a nasty side effect, depending on your particular palate.
The IPA beer style, and indeed the Pale Ale beer style from which it is descended, are so named because they are brewed using pale malt. This means that the malted barley is dried at a lower temperature than for other beer styles, and produces a pale coloured beer. Due to the low temperature the barley is dried at, very little of the enzymes in the barley are lost in the kiln.
Different beer styles will use different types of malted barley as their base ingredient. While Pale Ales use almost exclusively pale malt, something like a Guinness would use a combination of several malts, including pale malt as a base, and others such as chocolate, dark, and stout malts in different ratios.
Over the past decade, the IPA style has diverged into two distinct varieties, namely the old British style, and the new American style, championed by craft brewers in the United States.
Normally, your beer snob of a liquor reporter is the last one to say anything nice about an American beer, but the American IPA is a notable exception. These beers have more hop bitterness and floral aroma than their British counterparts, and are generally a bit higher in alcohol content as well.
The biggest difference is from the use of native American hop varietals such as Cascade and Amarillo, which are more aromatic than their European cousins. This results in a clean and light bodied beer with a sharp and tangy mouthfeel, and lots of bitterness and citrusy aromas.
Luckily, our fair province is blessed with an abundance of craft brewers that are churning out IPA by the hectolitre, so you can whet your whistle on more fine local brews than you can drink in a week!
The newest IPA on the block comes from Last Best Brewing, the latest venture from the beer demigods behind the Jasper Brewery, Banff Brewery, and Wood Buffalo Brewery in Fort Mac. Last Best Brewing recently opened in downtown Calgary, in the space vacated by the now-defunct Brew Brothers.
Looking north along the QEII highway, a new brewery just west of Edmonton called Hog’s Head Brewing makes the Hop Slayer IPA, weighing in at a hefty 7.5% ABV, so beware of the hangover monster if you have too many of these. Made with hops from the Pacific Northwest, the aroma is strong with citrus and pine, with a lingering bitterness on the palate that is balanced by a sweet bready malt structure. Definitely a beer for IPA fans!
Calgary’s famous Big Rock Brewery has revived their IPA style after a long hiatus, which can be found at pretty much any booze merchant in Alberta. This one is not nearly as bitter as some of the other IPAs listed here, so it is certainly a good starting point if you are new to the IPA scene.
So, put aside that bland and tasteless macrobrew, and try an IPA today. You’ll be hoppy that you did!
