Beer Infinity Beer, Brewing & Beyond
| If you really want to know why IPA was supposedly so strong and hoppy, look not to the breweries, but to India… Today is apparently International Let’s Argue About The Mythology Of IPA Day. One of the main points of contention about this much-mythologised style is whether or not it really was strong and hoppy, and if it was, why it was. Wherever I’ve seen this point argued, it’s been exclusively to do with the nature of the beer itself: did it have to be strong and/or hoppy to survive the journey? What do the brewing records say? Some eminent brewing historians have found evidence of low strength, relatively low-hopped IPAs making the journey, which is fascinating. But some commentators have then taken this as evidence that disproves the ‘myth’ that IPA was strong and hoppy. But the logic of that is flawed: evidence of weaker, less hoppy proves that IPA did not have to be strong and hoppy. It does not disprove that strong, hoppy beers went to India. In my research for my book Hops & Glo … |
Source: Pete Brown
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