The British IPA

My two favorite UK brewed English style IPAs are: Meantime IPA and Thornbridge Jaipur IPA. I have had these beers on draft at my local (US) craft beer bars. I have no idea how widely available these two beers are in the US.

As a homebrewer of over 20 years I have thought about homebrewing an English style IPA a number of times but I have never done so since I am a bigger fan of American style IPAs. I brew 4-5 batches of American style IPAs a year.

I will be brewing my annual English Bitter Ale in a few days using Maris Otter malt, Simpsons Crystal Malt, Challenger & East Kent Goldings hops and the Timothy Taylor yeast strain. That beer will be generously hopped with EKG hops for flavor and aroma (akin to an IPA) but will be of moderate alcohol level.

Cheers!

 

This past weekend Circle Brewing (Austin, TX) won a Gold Medal at the WBC in the Historical Beer category for their beer of Archetype Historical IPA (7.5% ABV).

“The 5th Anniversary Party will also serve as the beer release celebration for their brand new Historical IPA. Archetype Historical IPA is a beer 300 years in the making. Adhering to historical accuracy throughout its creation, this unique beer is the result of brewery owners’ passion for the historical roots of beer and the brewery’s mission of respecting the purity of where beer started.”

So, Circle Brewing seems to have done a nice job brewing a beer intended to be a reconstruction of an 18th Century British Pale Ale (IPA)?

Cheers!

 

How would you define a British IPA? Like the 18th century drink or a US IPA hopped with English varieties? Would it be like a hoppy bitter?

 

There aren't many like you describe, you are right. The one I see the most is probably on draught is Marstons Old Empire IPA, which is often seen in spoons. It's not particularly hoppy, being made by marstons of course and i think it uses some cascade too. Most IPAs you get here are modern-british like Jaipur, it has chinook and ahtanum hops.

I suspect it is because to most traditional brewers, a british IPA is more like GK IPA, ie a weakish bitter and not what the BJCP feel it is. And in terms of hoppy pale ales, golden ales still rule at the moment which tend to be a bit shorter in abv than what you are looking for . Something like summer lightning might fit the bill I suppose

 

In modern times, I think kit would indeed be like a hoppy bitter/pale ale. Of course, an 18th century IPA would be essentially the the bog standard pale ale of the day, perhaps with a bit more hops added and almost certainly a good amount of age on it.
That's my understanding of it, but I think @patto1ro would have a better handle on this. I certainly wouldn't seriously put much stock in whatever the BJCP defines it as.
It's all open to wide interpretation anyway.

 

FWIW it seems to me that the BJCP did a reasonable job in defining an English style IPA. Some snippets from the 2015 BJCP style guidelines for this style:

Overall Impression: A hoppy, moderately-strong, very well attenuated pale British ale with a dry finish and a hoppy aroma and flavor. Classic British ingredients provide the best flavor profile.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.050 – 1.075
IBUs: 40 – 60
FG: 1.010 – 1.018
SRM: 6 – 14
ABV: 5.0 – 7.5%


Cheers!

 

Which excludes most of the beers called IPA between 1900 and 2000.

 

No-

No-one really knows what an 18th-century IPA was like. I don't think there's any hard data until the 1820's at the earliest. IPA's from the 1830's and 1840's mostly had an OG of 1056 to 1065, though there were ones weaker than that. And they had a shitload of hops in them. They were Stock Ales and would have been aged a minimum of 9 months, even for sale in the UK.

 

Agreed.

It is not an easy task to define an beer style that has evolved over many centuries. I suppose they could have defined a number of English style IPAs (e.g., circa 1800 era English IPA. circa 1900 English IPA, circa 2000 English IPA, ...) but this is something the BJCP would likely prefer to not do.

Did you provide inputs/comments to Gordon on the category of English IPA? If so, what did you discuss? Did you suggest multiple sub-styles?

I am not a member of the BJCP so I have little purview here.

Cheers!

 

John Rebus always orders IPA at the Oxford Bar in Edinburgh, looking at a menu it appears Caledonian Deuchars IPA is the only one on draught. Any opinion on this one as far as "traditional" may go?

 

If Deuchars is a traditional IPA then it must have been a diacetyl fest back then. Utter muck whenever I've been unfortunate enough to have it and I'm taking into account the Caley house characteristics too. I skipped the Deucharsin the Oxford Bar which to my chagrin WASNT the pub used in the series.

 

Me da used to drink IPA in the early seventies but it was keg. McEwans possibly?

 

Deuchars was once a wonderful beer. At some point the hop bill was cut massively and it's never been the same since. When it was good, though, it was a decent example of 20th century British IPA – low gravity, moderately hoppy.

Tryst in Falkirk, Scotland make a nice revivalist effort called Raj IPA. It’s 5.5% and very well hopped, so more like a 19th century IPA.

 

Whatever sentiment-filled beers there were, I have to say I am loving these new American hopped efforts of late. Axe Edge, DIPA v3, Human Cannonball, Domino Topple and most Kernel IPAs, even if some ignorami think they taste of nothing more than grapefruit juice (come on, there's mango too). Historic IPAs would be cool if we had them, but I don't think we do, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I'd also agree with Deuchars not being the beer it once was. They also messed around with the malt bill, they used to use Golden Promise but stopped using it due to "supply issues" - if they really wanted to use it they are easily big enough to have contract grown it, but I guess when you want your beer in every spoons in scotland at £1.30 a pint then saving a penny a pint on the malt is worth it to your bottom line

It's great having all those new world hop laden beers around I agree, but having made a few good beers myself with loads of british hops, I'd like to see some more well made commercial ones like that

 

Stupid question but- are beers like Greene King IPA still seen as IPAs in the UK? Or are they now thought of as "bitters"?......