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The meaning of IPA
The initials, IPA, are an abbreviation of the term; India Pale Ale. India pale ale got this name because the beer was a solution to the transportation problem of refreshing beer for British settlers in the British East Indies.
Here at Uiltje Brewing Company, brewing IPAs is our specialty. We love IPA beer and we love adding our own twist to it. The beer style IPA is quite popular as we know it, but there is a tantalizingly rich history when it comes to this great hoppy beer we all know and love today.
The history of IPA beer
The history of IPA goes all the way back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The British Empire had troops, emigrants and sailors stationed all over the world. India used to be one of the most indispensable colonies because of its climate and spices, not to mention its strategic location. But there was one drawback the British probably didn't take into account. The long journey caused the taste of beer to deteriorate rapidly!
The British soon realized that the climate in India made brewing a fine beer impossible. So the British were faced with the only beer suitable for import; Heavy, Lukewarm, Stout and Porters. Formerly a popular choice among Londoners to warm yourself up on a chilly day but these were definitely not beers you needed in tropical India.
The India Pale Ale was the solution!
The East India Regiment became all the more frustrated by the poor quality of the beers. The solution to still shipping refreshing beer to India was eventually to add large quantities of hops to the beer. The strength and flavor this gave the beer ensured it survived the trip to India without becoming contaminated or old.
On a January day in the year 1822, the India Pale Ale made its appearance. Superior to any beer that ever reached the distant Indies. The India pale ale was a huge success. The British colonists had longed for such a beer for years! A bright and strong beer, full of hops. A true taste of home, as well as antibiotics for infamous diseases such as scurvy!
Modern IPAs as we know them
Coinciding with the growth of the British Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century, the popularity of the IPA also increased. The beer was also increasingly served in English pubs. Exports also increased and especially towards the United States where the beer was also very popular. However, the total alcohol prohibition, the Prohibition, in the 1920s caused the beer to become more and more forgotten in the U.S. The beer became more and more popular.
Long after the abolition of Prohibition, the IPA was rediscovered by New Albion Brewing in the 1970s. The brewery was not long-lived, but the company did spark a brewing revolution.
More and more American breweries began experimenting with hop varieties, flavors and fruits. This resulted in a huge assortment of different IPAs. Not inhibited by traditionalists, the U.S. became the IPA country. Regardless of the fact that Lagers were hugely popular in Europe at the time, the Hoppy beer style had completely taken over in America.
After the "American beer revolution," IPA's former glory was restored, along with many new and diverse flavors. Now to move forward a few decades, until today, IPAs are immensely popular all over the world. Not only those made in America, but also many Dutch and British IPAs. It has become very easy to get your hands on an honest IPA now that the Internet is playing a role. You can order IPA online and have it delivered in no time.
What does an IPA taste like?
A typical IPA usually tastes fruity and bitter, but can also taste spicy and toasty. It is a lot more flavorful than lager, for example. Today, there are many different IPAs on the market, all with unique flavors. For example, by adding various fruits.
IPA combined with food (Foodpairing)
Beer and food. Food and beer. It goes hand in hand. Whether it's a bitterball drowned in mustard with lager or a lemon-covered salmon steak on a bed of asparagus with white beer, excellent choice, sir.
IPAs are often a popular companion to spicy or fatty dishes. The beauty of pairing with IPA is that there are so many different types of IPAs that you can go either way. However, the basic rule always remains: always pair a dish and a beer based on the intensity of the dish. So don't go pairing a pounding 9% with a light salad. No pot luck! We need to throw a hearty pork chop against that!
It's especially interesting to play with the bitterness of an IPA. Do you want to bring it forward, smooth it out or balance out the oiliness of a dish? Bit of a vague story? Here are a few examples:
Emphasize bitterness (spiciness)
Beers with a pronounced bitter character, such as our Bird of Prey, are great for pairing with spicy food. This is because hop bitterness does nothing to counter capsaicin, the substance that makes food taste spicy. When combined with alcohol, the capsaicin is better distributed through the mouth and thus the food tastes spicier.
Balancing bitterness (salty & sweet)
Bitterness can also be balanced precisely by eating something sweet or salty. Carrot cake with a Dr. Raptor or everyday plain potato chips with a FF Lekker met je Bek in het Zonnetje are great for this.
Balancing the dish (greasiness)
Not into salads, whitefish or spicy food? No worries!!! Fire up the BBQ and grill/smoke quite a bit of meat. In fact, mighty fatty cuts of meat also pair well with an IPA. Just make sure the intensity of the dish matches that of the beer. For example, a Double IPA is a better combo with a quarter pounder than with a Session IPA.
Different types of IPAs
The original India Pale Ale comes from England but today this beer is also one of the biggest in America. Today there are many variations of the original IPA. For example, the following styles are very popular:
- English IPA: This traditional English IPA style is characterized by its malty character which brings sweet notes of toffee, cookie and caramel. The hops in this beer provide a spiciness which ensures a nice balance between sweet and spicy.
- West Coast IPA: This is an IPA style with American origins. A characteristic of this style is the significant amounts of hops added to the beer. This creates a strong bitter taste to the beer that is accompanied by many aromas.
- East Coast IPA: This is also an IPA with American origins but with many European influences. This style has a nice combination of bitterness from the hops and sweetness from the malts. The fruit aromas added to this make it a nice smooth beer.
- New England IPA: Fruitiness is where the emphasis is with this beer. This IPA has a smooth fruity taste with a slightly bitter finish.
- Session IPA: This is a type of IPA with a lower alcohol percentage than other IPA types. The ABV is usually between 2.5% and 4.5%. The focus here is to create a flavorful beer with a low alcohol content.
- Black IPA: This beer has the characteristic amounts of hops of a normal IPA along with roasted malts which provides a black color to the beer.
- Double IPA: This type of IPA is an extra hoppy beer. Adding more hops and malt not only raises the alcohol percentage a lot (8 to 12%) but also increases the bitterness of the beer.
- Brut IPA: Champagne yeast combined with large amounts of hops. That's a Brut IPA. A dry yet flavorful IPA.
Can I buy IPA from Uiltje Brewing Company?
You certainly can! Unlike the Belgian or German beer market, the Dutch beer market experiments a lot with different ingredients without catering to traditionalists. There are many Dutch craft breweries making delicious IPAs. Here at Uiltje Brewing, we pay tribute to the recovery of IPA by using only the best hops. Most of them actually grow in the Pacific Northwest! Many of our India Pale Ales are packed with hops, and sometimes from multiple varieties. This makes our IPAs extremely hoppy and bursting with unique flavors.
Straight from the brewery into your refrigerator
Order the tastiest India pale ales online from Uiltje Brewing. Our offerings range from more or less traditional IPAs to frenzied, futuristic hop creations. But whichever variety you choose, this beer tastes best when it's fresh. When you buy your IPA beer online at Uiltje, your beer takes the shortest possible route from the brewery to your refrigerator. That way you are guaranteed super fresh beer and your IPA tastes its best! Click here to learn more about our Fresh & Fast range!
Shop our award-winning IPAs
At Uiltje , we love IPA. We give our own twist to the traditional India pale ale and experiment non-stop with new hop varieties and combinations. We also like to play with special additions and flavors, and don't be surprised if you taste ginger or lemongrass, for example. The result of our passion for experimentation is unique beer bursting with flavor; unlike your average supermarket IPA. That we brew delicious IPAs, fortunately we don't only think so ourselves. Our IPA beer is appreciated at home and abroad, and has already won several prestigious awards. So when you order an IPA from Uiltje , you know you're getting quality!
Discover our wide range of IPA beers
You'll find not one, but a whole range of distinctive IPA beers at Uiltje . Besides 'standard' India pale ales like our popular Bird of Prey, we brew, for example, a heavy but super hoppy Double IPA, and a light, fruity session IPA. But really, you can come to us for just about any IPA variety imaginable. For example, we also make Black IPAs, White IPAs, West Coast IPAs, New England IPAs and Double New England IPAs. Taste and discover your favorites!
Buying beers other than India Pale Ale?
Do you like other beers besides IPAs? Then feel free to browse further in our online beer shop. For example, are you looking for even more hoppy beers? Check out our pale ales, which are generally more accessible and less bitter than IPAs. If you're looking for something completely different, try our bocks or complex barrel aged beers.