We received notice from the Iron Hill Brewery located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware that they were planning to celebrate National IPA Day on August 1st, all day long! IPA, also known as Indian Pale Ale in the world of craft beers, has come a long way according to our friend at Iron Hill Brewery. Their words exactly:

From the first batch brewed with extra hops to preserve ales on their way to India, to the bi-coastal battle of style in the USA, IPAs have come a long way to dominate the craft beer world. This National IPA day we’re celebrating the voyage of the pleasantly bitter beer style with a flight of 4 unique IPAs carefully crafted by your Iron Hill brewers.

So, naturally, we had to know more about this craft brew that has earned national notoriety…

  1. Apparently, beer was not made to withstand the journey from Britain to India in the 18th century and a solution to this problem was desperately needed. IPA was created in the 1780’s from a prototype called October ale, that would normally be aged like wine before being consumed.
  2. Hops were used to balance the brew, with the added bonus of their preservative properties warding off spoilage in beer – essential during a long sail from Britain to India!
  3. IPA was all the rage until the early 1900’s when modern refrigeration began to pop up in restaurants, bars, and homes. It was in the 1970s that IPA experienced it’s revival when Americans rediscovered their love of brewing.
  4. Beer connoisseurs credit San Fransisco’s Anchor Brewing Liberty Ale and Bert Grant’s Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. with being the basis of the American style of intensely hoppy, aromatic IPAs that we love and enjoy today.
  5. The Pacific Northwest region of the US grows a greater variety of hops than anywhere else.

Be sure to mark your calendars and join the millions of IPA fans around the world in celebrating this historic and timeless brew on the first Thursday in August. Feel free to take this little bit of history above to test your friends while celebrating #IPAday!

Blog Resources:
Punch Drink
The Guardian