IBU – Leonberger Life

The India Pale Ale, or IPA, is a very popular beer style, at least among beer connoisseurs. It is the beer style that I drink the most. The IPA is a type of Ale (fermented at warm temperatures, unlike, for example, lagers). It is typically a Pale Ale (exceptions are black IPAs). It was invented in England in the early 1800’s and became popular for exportation to India. It is characterized by its higher content of hops and the level of alcohol is often higher as well. More hops and more alcohol made it easier to preserve the beer for the trip to India.

A can of double Yellow Rose on the left. A can of Yellow Rose on the right. Both cans feature two ladies and a yellow theme. There are two IPA glasses in the middle containing each beer and two yellow lucia saffron buns. — Double Yellow Rose ABV 10.0%, IBU 90 (left) and Yellow Rose, ABV 6.8%, IBU 62 (right) both from Lone Pint, Magnolia, Texas. The flavor of both beers is mango, pineapple, orange, blueberry and then there is a grapefruit rind and pine resin like bitterness. The Double Yellow Rose has more pine resin like bitterness at the end. They are both delicious and so are the saffron/St.Lucia buns.

The aroma of the IPA is often floral, piney, and fruity, and it is less malty. If the flavor has fruity notes, it comes from the hops. The color can be light yellow, pale golden, reddish amber, brown or black. Just like lagers can be pale golden as well as black, so can IPAs, which combined with the fact that the beer advocate count 120 beer styles, is a good reminder that a broad classification of beers based on only color is not very helpful.

A glass filled with hazy pale golden beer on the left with a can of King Sue on the right. There is a grill in the background. — King Sue is a New England style IPA from Toppling Goliath, ABV 7.80%. New England style means that is hazy and the flavor is fruitier with less bitterness than other IPAs (but certainly a lot more bitterness than lagers). The flavor is fruity plus some bitterness. I can taste mango, orange, pineapple, grapefruit and a grapefruit rind bitterness at the end. It is thirst quenching.

I tried to find out what share of the beer market IPAs have in the United States. I could not find that number, but I found out that in 2021 craft beer share of the American beer market was 26.8% and out of that IPAs share of the craft beer market was at least 40% (these two numbers according to statista), or 46% according to one source, which make the IPAs share of the American beer market at least 12.3%. It is probably closer to 20% since craft breweries aren’t the only ones brewing IPAs. I can add that craft beer is beer that is not mass produced, or not owned by large conglomerates. Examples are microbreweries and brewpubs.

A Scarborough Faire glass filled with Heady Topper IPA and the can to the right. — Heady Topper from the Alchemist, ABV 8.0%, IBU 100. It is the Imperial IPA that is ranked the highest in the world according to the beer advocate. If you like IPAs it is to die for. I can taste grapefruit and mango, citrus, and then a pine resin like hoppy bitterness. It is juicy, dank, bitter, in a good way, and thirst quenching.

Perhaps those among you who are Americans and were around in the 80’s remember the bitter beer face commercials. At that time beer was supposed to taste as little as possible. Bitter beer was to be avoided according to many. The IPAs have reversed that trend by making IPAs intentionally bitter, more bitter, and oh my golly super bitter having 100+ IBU. IBU stands for International Bitterness Units and brewers of IPAs often brag about the IBU, the more bitter the better. A public poll showed that more people prefer bitter beer over non-bitter beer. Jabberwocky an IPA from Lone Pint below feature 117 IBU. Beyond 100-120 IBU the IBU scale begins to lose its meaning according to Wikipedia.

An IPA glass filled with Jabberwock IPA on the left and a Jabberwocky can on the right. — Jabberwocky from Lone Pint, Magnolia, Texas, ABV 8.5%, a very bitter beer that I love. The flavor is white bread, honey, it’s fruity with tart grapefruit, orange, and a dry tart bitterness like grapefruit rind and pine resin. Jabberwocky is quite bitter at the same time as it is fruity, juicy and dank. I think it is a delicious IPA.

The beer advocate divides the IPA style into American IPA (or Westcoast), Imperial IPA, New England IPA, Black IPA, Belgian IPA, English IPA, Brut IPA, and Milkshake IPA. The American IPA or Westcoast IPA is the most popular of the substyles and the most bitter. Imperial IPA is not really a substyle but just an indicator that it has more of everything including alcohol. The 120 minute IPA from Dogfish Head Brewery, is a very popular Imperial IPA with an ABV of 18%, IBU is 120. It is a bit sweet, very bitter in a good way, and this hides the alcohol, which is a bit dangerous.