What makes ipa bitter

Many naturally occurring toxins taste bitter to us, so our instinctive aversion to the flavor may have saved the lives of our foraging ancestors. Which, given the state of craft beer world, might cause you to question the sanity of the average palate. But why? The origins of bitterness in beer started in , A. The East India Company, tasked with supplying British troops and colonists in the Indian subcontinent with the comforts of home, was getting complaints that porters arriving in Calcutta were not drinkable.

This higher gravity, generously hopped pale ale normally took two years to mature. But thanks to six months in the steamy hold of a ship on the high seas — the very conditions that had destroyed porters — the beer was ready for drinking when it arrived in India. You can get lost in there, with the bonus of fruity hop flavors. With a low carbonation, these usually end up drinking like a fruity milkshake, super smooth like a milk stout but much lighter in flavor and color.

The driving flavor in a Belgian IPA comes Belgian yeast, which provides sweet, bready, warm notes to the beer. These get better and better the closer you get to a fireplace. Pouring IPAs in a glass, instead of drinking them from a can, release all those lovely hop aromas. Adding fruit to beer is a risky procedure, but IPAs handle it pretty well. In a perfect world, a sour IPA would be equal parts tart, juicy, and fruity, but the sour IPA is still largely uncharted territory.

So hot right now, Brettanomyces. This yeast strain also seen in winemaking , added in the primary fermentation of the beer, gives a funky, melon-y quality to beer. Brett is showing up in IPAs more and more frequently, adding an underlying aroma of musty fruit salad and boosting ripe fruit flavors.

And you say it like this: Brett. They have so much alcohol in them. Science is certainly a major player in the IPA discussion, from hop variety development, all the way to personal flavor perception. Each of us has a unique set of tastes, both inherited and learned. Some will never like the bitterness of an IPA, and some will decide they do. Luckily, there are plenty of IPAs out there to test and train your taste buds. Thanks to Dan for allowing me to expound on his post! He lives in Westminster, Colorado where he is an avid craft beer enthusiast.

On occasion, Andy is inspired to write on his experiences with craft beer, and if they are not too ridiculous, you might see the results here on CraftBeer.

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