On the first Thursday of August, which is August 3rd this year, join beer enthusiasts, breweries and bars across the globe and celebrate IPA Day, a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale.
Founded in 2011, IPA Day is a global celebration of craft beer. It is a universal movement that was created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers and brewers worldwide. IPA Day was originally developed as a social media-based holiday, but has since expanded into a worldwide party, boasting hundreds of IPA-themed events and celebrations all over the globe.
IPA Day is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. IPA Day is an opportunity for all breweries, bloggers, businesses and beer lovers to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the entire craft beer culture to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness. The website craftbeer.com breaks it down for you….
Why IPAs Are So Popular
When the craft brewing movement began in the United States, small craft brewers were rebelling against the monochromatic beer world which had been distilled down to very few breweries, most of whom were making very similar light colored, lightly hopped, industrialized lager beer.
These early Craft Brewers turned to old-world English, Belgian and German beer culture and researched historical beer recipes that were made with more malt and hops resulting in flavors which included heightened bitterness and spicy hop aroma and flavors.
Many of the hop-driven recipes these brewers turned to were of English Ale origins. The fact that these beers are made with top-fermenting yeast and fermented at warmer temperatures added additional fruity and estery flavors to the brew, which pairs well with hop character.
These bold flavors stood out when compared to popular lager beers and helped to differentiate and define them.
It’s all about the HOPS
Hops helped to define the movement and hoppy IPAs have become the most popular craft-brewed beers. When the national average bitterness level for common lager beer was 10-15 IBUS most Craft Beers were clocking in a 30-40 IBUs. When you use more hops, you don’t just get bitterness, you get the complex herbal, spicy, floral and fruity character of the hop that is held in the essential oils.
Pale Ales and IPA styles focus on these hop flavors and completely transform a water and malt sugar-based beverage into an enticingly aromatically and flavored beer, balanced by hop bitterness. Pale ales and IPAs have pulled out well ahead of all other craft brewed beers, largely because the flavor and aroma of hops found mass appeal among drinkers who were looking for more from beer.
Share the IPA Love
If you want to help this year’s National IPA Day get more viral, it’s easy to do! The only requirements are an appreciation for great craft beer and the willingness to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying an IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPAday hashtag and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend.
Once you develop a taste for these kinds of beers, it’s hard to turn back.
— Firestone Brewmaster Matt Brynildson
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Photo Credit: Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com