Now, I don't know about y'all, but I've been hearing a lot about the India Pale Ale, so I've done a little bit of research. If you've ever been curious about what made the IPA such a sought-after beverage, then this month has some interesting news in store for you...
New Beers
Ranger IPA
New Belgium Brewery
Ft. Collins, CO
A Brief History Lesson
India Pale Ale was not created by Indians, but for them. Let me splain. England already had a huge domestic demand for their claim to fame, Pale Ale. However, they discovered that their ales sold better overseas (in India, most particularly) when catered to a more bitter flavor palette. In response, the English took lessons from Belgium, threw them out the window, and made rules of their own. They added more and more hops to the brew at key intervals, greatly increasing the hop (and alcohol) content of the final product, thus creating a more bitter product, thus increasing sales. However, even today, there is still some debate as to whether the hop additions were intended to turn profits overseas, or if the increased hop and alcohol content allowed the beer to survive the long trip to India. I like to think that, necessity being the mother of invention, the English needed enough ale to keep their trusty sailors drunk for pretty much the entire trip through the Atlantic -- and the Indian Ocean, to India -- from fricking England -- and still make a profit in sales. Traditional British Pale Ales would get skunky after a few days, and molded after a week. This would make sea travel harder on the guys who did all the work, namely, the hardcore alcoholics. If an army moves on its belly, a navy moves on its buzz. Either way you look at it, the India Pale Ale was created, and we all are better people for it.
Now, what was I talking about?
Oh, yeah, the New Belgium Brewery's newest creation is the Ranger IPA, which I am enjoying tonight. I, being a HUGE IPA fan, have to immediately think of my first favorite IPA: Single Wide IPA, from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, MO. I would recommend putting them side-by-side, just to see what would happen. I imagine it would be magical. The Boulevard IPA is bright, crisp, and even citrussy (if even such a word exists). The Ranger IPA adds a whopping 3 lbs. of hops per barrel, sporting sassy snippets of Simcoe, colossal colonies of Cascade, and a shower of shimmering Chinook hops. Ranger clocks in at an industry standard 6.5% alcohol, by volume (70 IBUs, if you're keeping score, at home), and claims a more caramel colored clad than its Kansas City cousin. The Ranger IPA starts off bright, but develops into a rich nutty snap that you have to try and try again. Knowing that this beer was made in Ft. Collins, CO, living in Lawrence, (fricking) Kansas, I have to say: drinking this beer, you can't help but feel like you're number one (go Hawks!).
Bearing this in mind...
There is a beer from O'Fallon Brewery in St. Louis, MO, coming in tomorrow, that is a 5 Day IPA. I have no idea what this means. To me, what it means is that I'll wind up spending my Valentine's Day swooning over hop variants instead of appreciating my wonderful and unbelievable First Mate and life long love (Joni, I love you!). Rest assured that when I find out what this 5-day time frame means, you, my faithful readers, will be among the first to know. From what I've gathered, hops are added at a number of different times when brewing an IPA, and it's an industry secret as to when they add the respective hops to create the right flavor balance, thus the system of IBUs (click here to read more on the IBU).
In addition...
We have a number of new wines that will be featured soon. Keep reading friends, and remember what Oscar Wilde said. "Everything in moderation, especially moderation." Of course, Mr. Wilde also said, "Nothing succeeds like excess."
Stay thirsty, my friends...
