Article written in collaboration with Alexandra Berry.
An article has already been dedicated to hopping techniques to guide you through Dry Hopped IPAs, Double Dry Hopped IPAs, but the notable differences within this same style family go much further. Depending on the malt base, hop varieties and of course the yeast used, two IPAs can be radically different.
From the historical recipe (whose long journey is described here) came variants that have become classics adopted and re-adapted across three historically brewing countries: England, the United States and Belgium.
English IPA
The British IPA of the 20th century is a hoppy beer with a pronounced bitterness and a predominantly herbaceous or floral character. The malt has a long finish, with "English" nuances of caramel or toffee, biscuit or brioche. It should serve as a support to balance the bitterness of the hops. Fruity notes due to the esters may appear but the bitterness dominates and extends in length. With an alcohol content of generally 5 to 6°, it is a beer that leaves a rounded impression in the mouth. In the 90s in the UK, the style survives but with often lower bitterness levels. They range in colour from golden amber to copper, and are generally clear with a persistent off-white head.
Examples of English IPAs: Fuller's IPA, Shepherd Neame IPA
American IPA: East Coast VS West Coast
After the Second World War and Prohibition, American brewers had a blank slate to reinvent their brewing culture. The Second World War having led to Germanophobic reactions coupled with industrialisation and the massive production of rather bland lagers, they turned to Anglo-Saxon culture and the famous IPA for its powerful character. The United States is one of the world's largest hop producers, so it's not surprising that IPA has come to the fore. Just like New Zealand, the Americans are also at the origin of the creation of very aromatic hop varieties designed for this style of beer.
The American style IPA, also called AIPA, will focus on the local hops, often with citrus and exotic fruit notes. The hop character dominates with citrus, floral and resinous notes. Its bitterness is marked, even intense, and frankly underlines the tasting. There is some malty sweetness, but generally less than in its British counterparts. Fruity notes are present, either thanks to the hops or to the esters. Its colour varies from golden to almost reddish copper, sometimes orange with a slight haze. Its foam varies between white and off-white, often quite persistent.
This style of American IPA will then have two influences: West Coast IPAs, in a hop rich region, will generally be what are known as Hop Bombs, with an explosion of bitterness (often with Cascade, Columbus, Centennial or Chinook hops) and fruit. West Coast IPAs are considered to be good reflections of the characteristics of each hop. East Coast IPAs, on the other hand, will be more similar to their British inspiration with rounder, biscuity beers, especially with the use of Crystal malt.
Examples of West Coast IPA: Great Divide Titan IPA, Stone IPA:
Examples of East Coast IPA: Goose Island IPA, Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA:
Belgian IPA
A resolutely brewing land, Belgium has been putting hops in its beer for over a thousand years! With hop gardens in Picardy and the south of Belgium, traditional Belgian brews were lightly hopped and not very bitter. Known primarily for its culture of strong, round, malty beers, Belgium has been leaning towards the bitter side since 2005. Although still a very vague style, Belgian IPA refers to a rather spicy character beer with Belgian yeast and a high hop bitterness. Some brewers experimented with hops before the big IPA craze, for example Van Eecke's Poperings Hommel, brewed with four hop varieties in 1981. With a UBI between 30 and 40, this IPA is rather light with the hops expressing their Aromatic rather than bittering properties.
Generally more sparkling and high in alcohol, it reveals aromas of banana and clove with the citrus notes given by the hops. It has a golden colour that can be light amber, and can be either clear or cloudy. On the other hand, its off-white foam is opulent and persistent with notes of cereals, candy sugar and fruity hops. If the hops used are European, the aromas will be rather herbaceous and spicy, especially if hopped raw. Notes of apple, banana or pear can be detected depending on the yeast used. On the palate, its rather high carbonation balances the roundness given by the malt and the yeast.
Example of Belgian IPA: De Ranke XX Bitter, Stone Cali-Belgium, De la Senne Taras Boulba :
Double IPA and Imperial IPA (or DIPA, IIPA, I2PA...)
Generally speaking, these two terms mean the same thing: a powerful IPA, either in hops, alcohol or both, with the idea of pushing the limits of the style. These beers are all for those who want roundness, bitterness, in two words: a slap!
While an IPA will have an alcohol content of between 4 and 6° and a standard IBU of between 40 and 60, a DIPA has an ABV of 7 to 10° and an IBU of between 60 and 120. They will therefore be more complex than their little sister, with a rounder and maltier body despite a stronger bitterness.
The history of DIPAs and IIPAs certainly dates back to 1994, when Vinnie Cilurzo, then brewer at Blind Pig Brewery in California, produced Inaugural Ale, a beer he classified as a Double IPA. Aged for nine months on oak chips, it was 7 proof and boasted a UBI of 100. Cilurzo then moved to Russian River and continued to produce brews bursting with hops but pioneered an innovation that was later named the " great IPA experiment ". Two years later Rogue Brewery produced the I2PA and Stone followed suit in 1998 with their 2nd Anniversary IPA. The Double IPA category was first added to the Great American Beer Festival in 2003 and is now listed as a style by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).
A DIPA or IIPA has a colour that can vary from golden yellow to coppery amber. Its clarity will depend on the amount of raw hopping, most being quite clear but some may adopt a slight haze. The foam will be off-white with a rather long shelf life. On the nose, of course, hops: floral, citrus, resinous, tropical fruit or yellow fruit depending on the variety chosen. Some malty notes can also be noted and sometimes nuances of fruity esters. On the palate, the carbonation is medium to strong but with a rather soft roundness, sometimes slightly liquorish. The presence of hops is dominant with either a powerful and resinous bitterness if the hops are noble - that is to say, European - or an explosion of fruit for American or New Zealand hops. The rather dry finish is persistent. The DIPA may have a touch of liquor, but it should not be too strong.
As with IPAs, there is a notable difference between English and American DIPAs. English DIPAs will emphasise the malty character while underlining it with a big, rather hoppy and resinous bitterness. American DIPAs, like IPAs, will be hop bombs and will reflect the aromatic properties of the hops: foral, citrus, piney, spicy, tropical fruit... The American DIPA will bring out less of the alcoholic notes to stay on a strong bitterness Aromatic even with a final ABV between 8 and 10°.
Some examples of DIPA: Page 24 Double IPA, Russian River Pliny the Elde :
Some examples of IIPA: Page 24, Ska Brewing Decadent IPA :
The Micro and IPA Session
With the trend towards lower alcohol and lower calorie products, micro and session IPAs are in vogue. Unlike IIPAs and DIPAs, these two styles should be less than 5 proof, designed to quench thirst while maintaining a nice Aromatic, the aim being to be sessionable so that it is possible to drink several in one session.
The BJCP requires both styles to have a UBI between 30 and 50. For micro IPA, the alcohol content must be between 0 and 3° and for Session and ABV between 3 and 5°. Brewers experiment a lot with very aromatic hops, also with cryo hops, which are more concentrated, and a lot of raw hopping to produce very aromatic beers despite their low density.
Examples of Micro IPAs: Garden Brewery Micro IPA, Whiplash Northern Lights:
Examples of Session IPAs: La Débauche Alma, Ad Lib de Hoppy Road:
Black IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale
Black IPA, also known as Cascadian Dark Ale, India Black Ale or American Black Ale, is an IPA with roasted malts. The result is a surprisingly pleasant fusion of hoppy bitterness and strong roasted notes. Cascadian Dark Ale is perhaps the most historically and etymologically appropriate name for the recipe. It refers to the hops used, Cascade, grown in the Northwestern United States where the first Black IPAs were traced. When the style was recognised by the Brewers Association, many wanted to keep the name Cascadian Dark Ale, but the consensus was to call it American-Style Black Ale and then Black IPA for ease of understanding.
In fact, the recipe is far from innovative, as hopped porters have been around since the 1800s. These porters sent to the Indian colonies were also generously hopped to survive the long boat trip. It was in the early 1990s that Greg Noonen and Glenn Walter, brewers at the Vermont Pub & Brewery in Burlington, revived the Black IPA with their Blackwatch. We can then mention Avery Brewery's New World Porter brewed in 1997, Rogue Ales' Skull Splitter in 2003 or Philips Brewing's Skookum Cascadian Dark in 2004.
The Black IPA is therefore brown or even black in colour, sometimes with caramelised highlights, and topped with a creamy or compact beige to light brown head. On the nose, coffee and resin aromas persist, with a dominant roasted nuance. On the palate, the malt is predominant with toasted, roasted coffee and biscuit aromas. A rather moderate bitterness in the attack but persistent in length underlines this toasted roundness with hoppy, herbaceous and fresh nuances. It is a beer that combines the roundness of a Dark Ale with the thirst-quenching characteristics and dryness of an IPA.
Examples of Black IPA: Beavertown Black Betty, Brussels Beer Project Dark Sister:
Red IPA
A Red IPA is a fusion between an IPA and an Irish Red Ale: an Ale with caramel notes and a long, fruity or resinous bitterness. With more malty notes than an American IPA, it still retains the same fruity, gourmet bitterness. Added to the BJCP in 2015, one of the first Red IPAs marketed as such dates back to the early 2000s: Sockeye Red from Midnight Sun Brewery in Alaska.
According to the BJCP, a Red IPA should be a coppery amber to ruby red or coppery in colour, generally quite clear. The head is moderate in size, rather compact, persistent and beige in colour. On the nose, the hop aromas are more fruity, citrusy or resinous. If the beer has been hopped raw, the hops will dominate the malty body. The malt can vary from caramel to dark fruit to toasted notes. A high alcohol Red IPA can reveal liquorish nuances, but these must remain rather discreet so as not to be confused with a Barley Wine. Rather round and soft on the palate with moderate carbonation, it can reveal spices and a resinous bitterness.
Examples of Red IPA: White Hag , Mont Salève Red IPA :
White IPA
A fusion between an explosive American IPA and a sweet and spicy Belgian Wheat, White IPA is a wheat beer using American hops in an intense way. It is more hoppy and alcoholic than an American Wheat Ale.
It was created in 2010 as a collaboration between Larry Sidor, the brewer of Deschutes Brewery, and Steven Pauwels, the Belgian brewer of Boulevard Brewing. They wanted to create a style that would represent both of their cultures: the powerful hops of Deschutes with the use of Boulevard's wheat. They took elements from the wheat beer with lemongrass, sage, coriander and orange peel, punctuating it with an IPA-like hoppiness. Often cloudy pale yellow in colour, it has a thick, stable head with spicy aromas of coriander and pepper. Notes of banana and yellow fruit balance the powerful bitterness of American hops. A White IPA can also be raw hopped for an even more powerful Aromatic . The whole should coat the palate quite smoothly thanks to the wheat, but with a bright and fruity Aromatic palette.
Some examples of White IPA: Bendorf A l'Ombre des Pensées, Blue Moon :
Rye IPA
Rye IPAs developed particularly in Central Europe, where barley production was less abundant than rye, which was much more resistant to cold. Rye has indeed found its place in modern brewing thanks to its complexity, giving notes of grain, spice and a certain dryness on the finish. A little more complicated to work with than barley malt, it is often added as a complement but allows the balance in the mouth of a beer to be sublimated, particularly in English styles, which are conducive to hops and drier, more resinous beers.
This is how the grain found its place in the world of IPAs, helping to reinforce the expected bitterness of the hops by adding a spicy and biscuity character. More amber in colour and often cloudy, a Rye IPA will have a creamy beige head. The malt aromas are rather discreet with hints of spice, to bring out theAromatic hops which may vary from citrus, resin, or stone fruit. The astringency on the finish is generally more pronounced than with a classic barley malt IPA, which reinforces the drinkability of this style.
Some examples of Rye IPAs: Kinnegar Rustbucket, Big Mountain Rye IPA:
New England IPA, an alcoholic smoothie
New England IPA has been all the rage for a few years and remains a popular derivative of the style, especially for those new to IPAs. Indeed, its juicy, tropical smoothness balances out the bitterness for a rather gourmet tasting experience.
This style was born, as the name suggests, in New England, and more specifically in Vermont, in the vats of The Alchemist brewery. Indeed, when brewing the current famous Heady Topper, legend has it that the brewer added yeast from a nearby orchard - perhaps even by accident! - This gave the beer a fruity flavour. To enhance the roundness, the beer is unfiltered, which was still a rarity on the brewing scene at the time.
The result is an IPA with a very cloudy dark yellow or orange colour and aromas of yellow fruit, pineapple and tropical fruit with a nice bitterness over a biscuit malt length. After the obsession with citrus-laden American hop bombs , there is now a wave of tropical IPAs, with New World hops like Nelson Sauvin Waiiti and Motueka.
In order to get that cloudy colour and roundness in the mouth, some brewers are playing with cereals, adding a little oats to their recipes. The key to NEIPA is the fruit and its smoothie-like taste, which will delight fans of the style!
Examples of NEIPAs: Fauve and Popihn are two breweries that produce a lot of NEIPAs, experimenting with new hop blends in each brew
Brut IPA: a glass of Champagne please
The Brut IPA came to us from San Francisco in 2018, invented by Social Kitchen and Brewery brewer Kim Sturdavant to contrast with the fashion for round, juicy NEIPAs. In contrast to these, Brut IPAs aim to emphasise the bitterness of the hops with a very pronounced fizz and an almost winey, dry character.
This is achieved by using amyloglucosidase enzymes, often added at the beginning of the mashing process, which break down the complex sugars into fermentable sugars to reach a specific gravity close to or equal to 0. This will result in a transformation of all the sugars and thus a very dry beer, a characteristic that is rather found in champagne.
Generally clear golden in colour, its white foam will offer notes of yellow fruit, sometimes apple with hints of rustic cider. The very fine bubbles offer lightness to the style, enhanced by hops with relatively low levels ofalpha acids, floral and yellow fruit aromas such as Hallertau Blanc, Nelson Sauvin or Huell Melon.
Examples of Brut IPAs: Stu Mostow Brut IPA, Outland Extra Brut IPA:
Milk Shake IPA, a liquid dessert
The Milkshake IPA appeared in 2015 in the US, a reinterpretation of a NEIPA to which the brewer adds lactose. This sugar contained in the milk will give the beer even more sweetness for a dessert effect in the mouth. Thus, even during fermentation, the beer will keep this soft roundness and sweetness for a very greedy beer. In addition, the lactose will promote cloudiness to give a very "smoothie" appearance that is found in oatmeal beers or NEIPAs. Some brewers will add vanilla to their recipe to create a dessert beer.
The aromas are generally of exotic fruits, mango and sometimes vanilla. On the palate, its roundness fills the mouth and reinforces the smoothness and richness of the fruit. The bitterness of the hops balances this richness for a beer that is certainly greedy, but complex in length.
Some examples of Milkshake IPAs: Omnipollo, Merlin Lazy Mango:
To conclude this rich overview...
As brewing allows for great flexibility in styles and interpretations, there will surely be other interpretations and variations of the IPA that will emerge. With new hopping techniques, different varieties of hops being created, experimentation with yeast, we are never far from a new recipe invading the shelves and the minds of brewers!
The important thing to remember is that an IPA can have a wide range of colours, tastes and body. So feel free to try different interpretations of the style to find your own!
SOURCES :
- The New IPA: Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor, Scott Janish
- Radical Brewing, Andy Mosher
- The Secrets of Master Brewers: Techniques, Traditions, and Homebrew Recipes for 26 of the World's Classic Beer Styles, from Czech Pilsner to English Old Ale, Jeff Alworth
- https://www.happybeertime.com/
- https://brewnation.fr/
- https://bieromatique.fr/
- https://www.bjcp.org/beer-styles/beer-style-guidelines/