The changing face of IPA

The idea of the IPA was revolutionised by the craft beer movement years ago, spawning a whole range of different interpretations of the style. The New England IPA (NEIPA) is the latest in a long line of innovative approaches.

English IPA

This is the original format of the style, the one from which all others have evolved. Originally, the beer would have been heavily hopped to preserve it on the long sea trip from Great Britain to India. The English hops used give a grassy, earthy taste accompanied with occasional bursts of citrus, but this is mostly a malty, bitter beer.

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The Belgian IPA

Why would you not want to bring the Belgians to the IPA party? Usually, this style of IPA makes use of Belgian yeasts to add that spicy, stone fruit edge. Or you could put in brettanomyces to bring some zest to the beer.

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Double IPA

The IPA revolution centred around hops and the flavours that they could bring and, inevitably, brewers were soon competing to see who could put the most hops into their brews, not to mention dry hopping and double dry hopping. High alcohol and malt sweetness are balanced by the bitterness of a deluge of hops. For a while, this was as hoppy as beers got.

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Brut IPA

This beer shares characteristics of West Coast and New England IPAs, but enzymes are added in the cold stage of the brewing process, resulting a drier beer, as the name Brut suggests. You’ll probably see more and more Aussie craft brewers release a Brut in the coming months.

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New England IPA

Hazy, juicy and with a lower bitterness when compared to other IPAs, NEIPAs have taken the craft beer world by storm in the last 18 months. Aggressively hopped, this style is known for its juice bowl aromatics and mouthfeel.

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West Coast IPA

This was the beer that made the IPA world famous and set the ball rolling for ever greater usages of hops. It was invented in California by early exponents of the craft beer movement and uses large amounts of big American hops to bring lots of citrus and tropical fruits that balance significant bitterness. Cascade, Citra and Chinook were the original trio of hops used, but people have been bringing others to the party ever since.

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Black IPA

Who says that just because IPA features the word ‘pale’ that the beer should be pale? Not craft brewers, that’s for sure! You could argue that these aren’t true IPAs, but the aromas they offer would certainly beg to differ. Dark as any stout, Black IPAs offer a similar smelling experience to those old West Coast IPAs, but bring more body and roasted flavours to the palate.

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Session IPA

While there’s plenty to be said for the ambition of putting more hops and alcohol than you know what to do with into your beers to create these ‘hop bombs’, people are not always after a 12% or even a 7% beer of an afternoon. The Session IPA aims to get the fullest amount of flavour from a lower ABV to create a beer that you can sit and crush all afternoon. These beers are usually no more than 5%, with plenty of dryness and hop aroma.