An IPA by Any Other Name...

Strength and honor.

…if you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, and you’re reading an inspiration from inside of a mash tun on a Friday instead of a Saturday, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium.  And you’re already dead!

Other than that, I have no explanation as to why this week’s blog post is coming to you on Friday instead of Saturday. Or do I? [cue sinister music]

Okay, seriously though, last week, I unintentionally left many of you faithful readers (and myself to be perfectly honest) on a delightful cliffhanger, head-scratcher, nail-biter, non-deliberate foreshadowing moment when I started babbling about possibilities - specifically as it pertained to the Red IPA idea. Many of you have approached me in the aftermath wanting to talk about Red IPA, Black IPA, White IPA, and all the other variants of everyone’s favorite style of craft beer – the India Pale Ale. Hopheads rejoice – I am right there with you.

Hops, ah, they'll save everyone of us

The IPA is one of the most manipulated styles of beer, mostly because brewers are naturally creative people (why thank you) and everyone loves hops. But even with all this innovation, the Brewers Association style guidelines only recognize three official categories of IPA (four if you include the American black ale, often referred to as a black IPA):

- English-style India pale ale

- American-style India pale ale

- Imperial (double) India pale ale

Although those are the only styles of IPA that are defined and judged, the spectrum of IPA sub-categories is not limited to three. Essentially, outside of changing its color, there are two ways that brewers manipulate the style:

1.      Take an IPA base recipe and ferment it with an atypical yeast strand

2.      Take a different style of beer and hop it as if it were an IPA.

In this edition of the mash tun, I will attempt to name, describe, and categorize some of the not-yet defined sub-categories of IPA emerging in the marketplace. This list is not sanctioned by anyone, and it is not designed to be comprehensive. PS – Somewhere, Dr. Ian Malcolm is going berserk.

God help us, we're in the hands of engineers

Belgian-style IPA

A Belgian-style IPA, also known as a Belgo-IPA, is an IPA base recipe fermented with Belgian yeast. It has a similar appearance, malt content, hop aroma and flavor profile as an IPA, but with the noticeable fruity esters and flavor characteristics of Belgian yeast.

India Session Ale

India Session Ales, also known as lawnmower IPAs, provide all of the hop goodness of an IPA, but at a more sessionable ABV level. Sessionable just means one can drink more of them in one session (due to lower ABV) without being bombed out in the process.

No, they don't come from white hops

White IPA

This one often gets confused with Belgian-style IPA, and for good reason. The only difference between the two is that a White IPA is specifically a Belgian witbier hopped like an IPA. You may ask why make this distinction – and the answer is as always because this is my blog and I do what I want. A White IPA has similar color, body and esters as a witbier with noticeable hop aroma, flavor and bitterness.

Brettanomyces/Wild IPA

Now we’re going full on grizzly bear mode. This sub-style IPA is an IPA or IPA sub-category that goes through primary, secondary or other fermentation with wild yeast. This one requires some serious brewers with serious issues in order to dream up. Science, yo!

Red IPA

Red IPA, like I described last week, is an American red ale brewed at a higher strength and hopped like an IPA. They are typically redder in color than an IPA with deep ruby hues.

Rye IPA

A Rye IPA (or RIPA) is an IPA brewed with the addition of rye as an ingredient. They are generally tangier than ordinary.

Spiced/ Herbed IPA

These IPAs are brewed with the addition of spices, herbs or flowers. When properly balanced across the flavor profile, they can do amazing things to your palate.

Only some of the awesomeness you'll find in a black IPA

Black IPA

The black IPA is one of the most discussed beer sub-categories in the beer world. Technically, the style has already been named and defined by the Brewers Association as the American-style black ale. It is essentially an IPA brewed with the addition of dark specialty malts, resulting in a dark brown to black colored IPA with a hint of roasted malt flavor.

Clearly, brewers are experimenting with IPAs, as this list indicates. The reality is, this is not an all-inclusive list, and the potential for sub-categories of sub-categories becomes exponential when these styles are combined. As more and more brewers step outside of the traditional style guidelines, expect to see more variations of the IPA style to appear near you, wherever fine craft beers are sold. You think you’re excited? You have no idea.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!