They say bitterness is the most sensitive of the tastes, and many perceive it as unpleasant. So this style of beer doesn’t often make the best first impression on a palate. However, once you have that “magical moment,” you’ll fall head over heals for this drink. There’s just something irresistible about the piney, herbal, floral, fruity, citric notes of the hops, balanced by the malt backbone. There’s just something irresistible about an IPA. So let’s fill up our pint glasses with these hoppy beers known as India Pale Ales, and celebrate International IPA Day! Vancouver BC International IPA Day.
That’s right everyone. Today is International IPA Day. And if you know Beerthirst, or take a look at our portfolio, you know we’re hopheads, and we love IPAs. We love the way it looks, smells, tastes, and the way it pairs with food. Whether it’s English IPAs, American IPAs, Imperial IPAs, or Belgian IPAs, we love it all. The India Pale Ale is definitely what kick-started our obsession with craft beer. IPA DAy Vancouver BC. Vancouver BC IPA Day.
The history of particular beer-styles can be very complicated, and the origin of the origin of the IPA is no exception. The story we’ve heard all our lives is that it was a style that originated for exporting purposes from England to India, because the beers they would ship would spoil by the time it made the long journey. So being that hops are a natural preservative, a beer with twice the amount of hops was brewed specially to ship out to India. And Hogsdon of Bow Brewery is often credited for “inventing” the IPA for exporting purposes. Last but not least, they say that barrels of these IPAs were recovered from a shipwreck and auctioned, and that’s how IPAs eventually became popular in England. Well, according to many die-hard historians that story is a bunch of horse crap. We at Beerthirst don’t know the real story because we’re not historians, nor do we give a $#%@. We just know that sometime in history, this beer became style, became popular in England, United States, and now it’s a style that’s popular all over the world.
So what will be drinking today for International IPA Day? We’ll be drinking our favorite IPAs by our North American craft breweries we represent here in BC. So if you want to celebrate with some fantastic IPAs, here are the beers we recommend.
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA:A Day in BC. Vancouver, Lower Mainland.
The Racer 5 IPA is a fantastic IPA brewed by Bear Republic. They are a family run brewery/brewpub based out of Healdsburg California. This beer is brewed with Chinook, Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial hops. The result is a very aromatic IPA with floral, piney, citrusy, passion fruit notes. It’s 7% ABV, and it’s balanced so well it’s almost hard to believe that it’s 75 IBUs. The Racer 5 IPA is a great, aromatic showcase of PNW hops. For food pairings, it’s great beer to have with Thai noodles and a bit of sriracha sauce. Vancouver craft beer IPA. BC craft beer IPA day.
Green Flash West Coast IPA:
The Green Flash West Coast IPA is simply a classic. They are based out of San Diego California, and this beer has been a long time favorite of ours (especially on draft). This beer is brewed with Simcoe hops for a unique fruitness and grapefruit zest, Columbus hops for a strong hop pungency, Centennial hops for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade hops for that wonderful, floral aroma. It’s 7.3% ABV and 95 IBUs. Pairs great with a grilled chicken sandwich with a mild blue cheese and Asian dishes with lemon grass and cilantro. The West Coast IPA is definitely a classic and their Imperial IPA and Le Freak Belgian IPA are fantastic as well.
Elysian The Immortal IPA:
The Immortal IPA by Elysian Brewing is definitely our go to beer for some good old fashion session drinking. Elysian is based out of Seattle Washington, and they have 3 brewpubs, as well as a production brewery. It’s a very balanced, and extremely drinkable, Northwest IPA brewed with Chinook, Amarillo, and Centennial hops. It’s 6.3% ABV, and 54 IBUs. This is a great beer to pair with butternut squash ravioli with prawns and cilantro. Elysian also released 2 special beers from the “Manic IPA” series this year. So if you can still find the Idiot Sauvin or Prometheus IPA, we definitely recommend that you give them a try as well.
Alameda Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA:
The Alameda Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA has quickly become one of our favorites. They started off as a brewpub in North East Portland but now they have a production brewery, and boy are we happy to import their beers. The Yellow Wolf is an Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV and 100+ IBUs, but it’s not overly malty, and the alcohol is hidden well. The Columbus and Symcoe hops, provides this beer with some great piney, tropical fruit notes. As far as food pairings go, the Yellow Wolf pairs well with fruits. So whether it’s ceviche with mangos and pineapples, or a lemon mousse with raspberry sauce, you want to pair this beer with some fruits.
So if you’re planning to have a beer today, make sure it’s an IPA!
Cheers!
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