Where did the india in india pale ale originate, or ipa?

Question

Where did the india in india pale ale originate, or ipa?

Answer 1

Dates back to the early 1700s. British brewers were trying to sell and transport beer to troops in India after The British East India Company was started.  Back then they had to ship it by boat and they had to sail all the way around Africa and across the Indian Ocean in hot weather to get there which would spoil the beer. India Ale was created from Pale Ale with higher hops and alcohol to preserve it during shipping.

Wow I know way too much about booze.....

Answer 2

Betty has it absolutely correct.  The higher alcohol and hop content in an IPA ensures that it is a well-preserved beer.  The Brits discovered that this beer could survive the long ocean voyage to the Indies.  The higher alcohol (6.5% to 7.5% ABV) ensured that the beer wouldn't go sour.  The high alcohol level makes it very difficult for wild yeast or bacteria to survive.  In addition, the hops has a preservative quality that still isn't well understood scientifically.  But is noticeable in taste tests.

An interesting side-note.  The officers on these ships often drank the IPA beer straight from the cask.  Crew-men, however, weren't allowed this luxury and received a watered-down version.

IPA, as a style, almost died out until American micro and craft brewers brought it out of retirement.  British brewers still made beers called IPA, but they no longer resembled the actual high alcohol, high hop historical versions of this style.  The American brewers gave this beer a decidedly U.S. slant, by using American hop strains like: cascade, centennial and columbus (the three C's of the American hop world.)  Currently, some British brewers have re-discovered their great great grandfathers IPA and have become brewing accurate versions of this style.

Answer 3

It originated years ago when wind powered sailing ships were importing beer to the East Indies.  Sometimes the beer would go bad on the long voyages.  Stronger beer with a higher alcohol content would not go bad; hence IPA.  I found this on wikipedia:

"The creation of India Pale Ale (IPA) during the 18th century was the result of tremendous efforts by British brewers to overcome a difficult problem: during the early 1700s beer did not keep well on long ocean voyages, especially into hot climates. These hot environments resulted in the arrival of flat, sour beer. Before refrigeration and pasteurization, the brewer's only weapons against spoilage were alcohol and hops. Alcohol and hops provide an unfriendly environment for microbes, preventing the growth of the bacteria that cause sourness. Therefore high alcohol content and high hopping rates could protect beer from the souring associated with long storage times.

The East Indies market was a very tempting but difficult one to enter for English brewers. After the British East India Company had established itself in India by the early 1700s, it had a large number of troops and civilians demanding beer. However, the long hot journey proved a difficult one for the dark ales and porters of England. Ships typically left London, cruised south past the equator along the coast of Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and then crossed the Indian Ocean to reach Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. The temperature fluctuations were huge, it was a very long trip (about 6 months) and the rough waters of southern Africa resulted in an extremely violent voyage".

Answer 4

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