New England Is Now Influencing Old England to Make Hazy IPAs
A style of beer that’s traveled the world returns home with a new sensibility.
Source: Vendors
India Pale Ale (now known by the colloquial acronym, I.P.A.) began in the era of British colonialism, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Designed for export to occupied India, it was a style brewed to higher strength, more generously hopped than England’s standard Pale Ales of the time (alcohol and hops both have strong preservative qualities, which kept the beer from spoiling when handed off to East India Company traders).
The fruitily bitter flavors yielded from these hoppier recipes, born out of pragmatism, quickly became quite popular. A century later, they were taken to the next level by West Coast American craft brewers in the 1990s. As with so many things American, the addition of hops became competitive bloodsport in beer making, with a super-sizing of IBUs (International Bittering Units, a scale that was developed to measure a beer’s perceived bitterness).