American IPA
AMERICAN IPA
Everybody thinks they know the origin of the IPA. The legend states that the East India Tea Company, England's famous colonizers and import/export firm in South Asia, wanted fresher beer, so brewers in Northern England dumped a bunch of extra hops in their pale ales because the oils and acids in the hop cones provided stabilization and preservative qualities to beer. The resulting hop forward beer was then called the India Pale Ale, or as we have shortened it to, the IPA.
This is wrong.
The truth of the matter is slightly more hazy. The IPA began in London by a brewer named George Hodgson, owner of the Bow Brewery, in the 1780's. The Bow Brewery was located a couple miles upriver from the piers where ships exported beer to the British colonies in Asia. The supply ships would simply take beer, regardless of style, over the seas to their customers across the globe. Many porter brewers included their beers on these ships, along with the paler ales from Bow, who was a relatively small brewery for the time.
Bow's beers were slightly lighter in body and much lighter in color than the porters they were paired with. There were no reports of extra spoilage from the trip because of lack of hop preservation, no more than should be expected on such a voyage anyway, and certainly not more than the porters were experiencing. Porters were the more popular style of beer at the time in general, so the pale ales that Bow was sending east were available to the settlers due to the lack of demand on the home front.
Hodgson's, and Bow's, records do not indicate, or at least no record has been found to date (the brewery closed in the 1920's) of any extra hops being added for these beers. Of course there were hops involved in the ales, but nothing out of the ordinary as we would see it today. It wasn't until 1821, when the exports were well underway that any mention of extra hops was ever recorded. The first mention of the India Pale Ale as a unique style came about the following year, when Bow's beer was described as a "Pale Ale prepared for the East and West Indian Climate." By this time, Bow's pale ale had overtake porter as the most popular style of beer in Calcutta, a major importer for the East India Company.
The name began to stick in the 1830's when the Liverpool Mercury printed an ad for Hodgson's "East India Pale Ale," and then the legend of the IPA finally got its name. Bow got competition at this time as well. As it turns out, the area surrounding Burton-On-Trent in the English Midlands, had designs to make IPA as well. Their water is filtered through natural limestone aquifers, and the gypsum that leached into the brewing liquor (water) was high in sulfates, which accentuate hop bitterness.
The Burton breweries were also helped by a new rail line that created a direct line to the London ports. The increased distribution and different, naturally occurring characteristics of the beer, not to mention the larger production volumes, eventually led to the Burton breweries, such as Bass and Allsopp, taking IPA dominance from Bow's, and creating the template for the beer that we know today.
Hops are the most important part of the American IPA. Alpha Acids became elements of the hops that brewers looked for, as they would be determining factors in how bitter the beer would become. As brewers got more experimental, hops became one of the most malleable ingredients. Late additions provided more aroma, and pelleted hops allowed even more possibilities. More and more varieties became available, and specific characteristics are now being targeted by breeders across the planet.
The American IPA is hop forward, for sure. It is bitter and very aromatic with notes of citrus, pine, and resin being the most powerful scents. Golden to light Amber in color, the American IPA is generally pretty easy drinking, with mid range ABV, It's a beer that represents hops, and in a way, the region in which it was born. The powerful earth notes of Northern California blend with the citrus flavors and bright sunshine of Southern California, all the while looking like a ray of late day sunshine in a glass.
OUR RECIPE
10 lb 2-Row Pale Ale Malt
1 lb Caramalt
1 oz Cluster Hops
1 oz Cascade Hops
I oz Simcoe Hops
WLP-002 English Ale Yeast with Starter
1 tsp Irish Moss
Malts We Used
2-Row Pale Ale Malt: A basic base malt, this won’t impart too much color and very little flavor. It is a pretty clean, crisp malt that works well with specialty grains and pretty much any style of beer. American varieties are generally less starchy and lighter than English breeds.
Caramalt: Caramalt is a light colored specialty malt that not only adds a golden hue but also the sweetness of other caramel malts without the nutty qualities. It also improves the body and head retention of any beer, but is very valuable for lighter ales such as this one.
Hops We Used
Cluster: Cluster is one of the oldest and most popular hop breeds in America. Balanced, aromatic, and flavorful, we are using it as a bittering hop for our American IPA, but it is versatile enough to be incorporated anywhere during a brew.
Cascade: Accounting for about 10% of all hop growth in the United States, Cascade has become the quintessential American hop variety. It's pine and resinous notes with sweet citrus aromas make it perfect for most domestic craft beers, especially pale ales.
Simcoe: Since it was introduced in 2000, Simcoe has exploded in popularity. It works well as a bittering hop due to its high Alpha Acid percentage, and is well regarded as an aromatic addition due to its fragrant earthy and fruity tones.
Yeast We Used
WLP-002: A classic English Ale yeast, WLP-002 accents the bitterness of the hops as well as malty sweetness to create a balanced pale ale. High flocculation rates means this yeast will yield a clean crisp beer, making it perfect for any pale ale.
Irish Moss: We use Irish Moss as a clarifying agent. These negatively charged seaweed particles attract proteins and other free radicals in your boil kettle and drag them to the bottom once cooled, thereby removing haze from your final product. Whirlfloc tablets are another option for this process. Regardless of your preferred methods of clarity, it is important that beers of this style are clear. Lagering can do this as well, but most home brewers don't have that capability, so adding Irish Moss (or something similar) can work wonders for cleaning up the beer.
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