India Pale Ale: Explained

I had someone ask me where the "India" in "India Pale Ale" comes from.  Well, the IPA dates back to 17th century pale ales; which were made with pale malt (naturally).  The East India Company, which got its start in 1600 and came to prominence by the 1800s as India's most powerful political and economic force had a bit of a taste for beer.  English sailors/exporters found that the water they took on the long trips to India would go bad, so beer was the drink of choice on their ships.  It just so happened that the duration of their voyages was the optimal 'conditioning' time for the beer.  Upon getting word of this "English beer" the powerful East India Company made sure that their "factories" (think trading post) were well stocked with this beer.  It is said that in July of 1716, the civil servants/workers at the Company's base consumed a total of 74 dozen bottles of wine, 24 dozen bottles of beer, 42 gallons of Madeira, 164 gallons of toddy, and a bunch of arrack (distilled alcoholic drink made from either coconut flowers, sugar cane, grain, or fruit).  By 1750, it is said that almost 1500 barrels of beer were being exported from England (to "Asia"), and by 1800, that number had jumped to 9000 barrels.

So where did this beer come from?

The Bow Brewery (brewer George Hodgson) was lucky enough to be located close to the docks where these voyages commenced.  He was sending both porters and "October" beer on the trips, and it was this "October beer" that the East India Company liked so much.  Typical for the times/ingredients/style, this beer needed roughly 2 years to cask and bottle condition, but (as I mentioned before) the rocking motion and gradual temperature changes during the 4-6 month trips decreased the amount of time needed for proper 'maturation'.  Apparently this was like candy to a child!  They couldn't get enough of the stuff, and as it turns out, by 1900, the British expat running the "factories" as well as commanding the 3 private armies had basically made this the primary beer in India.

In an effort to keep this entry somewhat short, basically at this point some shifting of brewery locations went down, and some realizations on how water chemistry affected the beer made with it.  Not one to miss out on a good ole time, Samuel Allsopp, a brewer from Burton upon Trent decided to try his hand at the pale ale from the Bow Brewery.  To his surprise, his beer took off like wild-fire (water rich in calcium sulfate makes GREAT pale ales).  This beer took the place of the Bow Brewery's success in India, and after more Burton breweries jumped on board, the "India Pale Ale" found solid ground in the 1800's beer industry.  Now that you've had your history lesson, your homework is to go to your local beer cooler and buy up a 6-pack of IPA!