If you’ve spent any time exploring the craft beer scene, chances are your palate has collided with an IPA. Maybe it was a juicy haze bomb bursting with tropical fruit. Maybe it was a crisp, bitter West Coast bruiser that dried out your tongue and made you crave tacos. Or maybe it was your first time drinking something labeled “triple dry-hopped,” and you had no idea what it meant, but you liked the punch it packed. However it happened, the IPA (India Pale Ale) is hard to avoid, and even harder to ignore.
But this beer style wasn’t born in a trendy taproom. Its roots run deep, tangled in centuries of global trade, colonial ambition, and brewing ingenuity. The IPA has gone from a British export for colonial outposts to the darling of modern craft brewers. So let’s take a time-traveling sip through the hoppy history of the IPA, spanning empires, revolutions, science, and serious experimentation.
So, What Even Is an IPA?
At its simplest, an IPA is a pale ale with extra hops. Those hops add bitterness, aroma, and character that set IPAs apart from maltier styles like ambers or brown ales. The added hops can introduce a wide range of flavors, from pine and grapefruit to mango, papaya, or even cannabis-like dankness. And in case you’re wondering, no, the IPA didn’t start as a “hazy juice bomb.”
What makes IPAs so compelling (and sometimes divisive) is their range. They can be bitter or soft, dry or sweet, crystal clear or murky as orange juice. You’ll find some that clock in at under 4% ABV and others pushing past 10%. From Session IPAs to Triple IPAs, there’s truly something for every kind of hop lover. Some showcase cutting-edge hops with exotic names like Galaxy or Nelson Sauvin, while others embrace time-honored varieties like Fuggles or East Kent Goldings.
IPAs are also a playground for process. Brewers might dry hop three times, add hops during fermentation, or use hop extracts and cryo-hops to push aroma and flavor boundaries. Each tweak brings out new layers in the beer, which keeps IPA fans always chasing the next mind-blowing pint.
But if you’re picturing bearded hipsters in flannel conjuring up hazy brews in a garage, think again. The IPA’s story starts long before that.
The British Beginnings: Empire, Exports, and Extra Hops
Back in the 1700s, British soldiers, sailors, and traders stationed in India were thirsty. Beer was part of their rations, but it didn’t travel well. The long sea voyage from England to India, often lasting four to six months, turned many beers into undrinkable sludge by the time they arrived. Porters, the dominant beer style of the day, simply didn’t hold up to the heat and agitation.
Enter George Hodgson and his Bow Brewery in East London. Around the 1780s, he figured out that a strong, heavily hopped pale ale had a better chance of surviving the journey intact. Hops, it turns out, are natural preservatives. So is alcohol. The combo helped the beer hold up on the long, warm trip around the Cape of Good Hope.
Hodgson’s ale wasn’t just a fluke, it was calculated. Higher gravity meant more fermentable sugar and more alcohol, which slowed spoilage. More hops acted as microbial inhibitors and protected the beer in barrels sloshing around in hot hulls. These early India Pale Ales arrived in decent shape and quickly developed a following among colonial officers and settlers.
Hodgson also had great timing and business sense. He offered extended credit to the East India Company and its traders, helping his hoppy ale become the beer of choice for those heading to Bombay and Calcutta. His success inspired other brewers, most notably those in Burton-on-Trent, whose mineral-rich water turned out to be perfect for pale ales. This water profile enhanced hop bitterness and clarity, making Burton a key hub for India Pale Ales.
By the 1820s, IPA was a recognized category. British beer exports increased, and the IPA made its mark not only in India but in distant ports from Australia to South Africa. It symbolized quality, resilience, and a taste of home for British expatriates.
From Empire to Obscurity: The IPA Fizzles Out
Ironically, once refrigeration, steamships, and improved brewing logistics kicked in, the need for shelf-stable, ultra-hoppy beer faded. Lagers from Central Europe were making inroads, offering a crisp, easy-drinking alternative to the hoppy British ales. IPA’s popularity began to wane in England by the late 1800s.
Back home, the beer-drinking public had shifted their preferences toward milds and bitters. These styles were lower in alcohol, more affordable, and more suited to large-scale industrial production. By the mid-20th century, many of the original English IPAs were either extinct or diluted into something barely recognizable as the bold, hoppy ales they once were. The style became more of a historical curiosity, something referenced in old brewing logs rather than poured into pints.
Still, a few traditional breweries kept the embers glowing. Names like Worthington, Bass, and Samuel Smith preserved some version of the IPA legacy, albeit far removed from their colonial-era counterparts. These beers were often maltier, more balanced, and closer to what we’d now call a pale ale.
American Resurrection: Craft Brewers Revive the Legend
Fast forward to the 1970s and 80s. In the U.S., big beer reigned supreme, think light lagers with mass-market appeal. But below the surface, a grassroots movement was bubbling. Homebrewing had just been legalized, and beer geeks across the country were dusting off old recipes and brewing up experimental batches in their kitchens and garages.
Inspired by British ales and intrigued by hop-forward flavors, a new generation of American brewers began reviving the IPA. But they didn’t just copy the past, they made it bolder. Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale, released in 1980, leaned heavily on Cascade hops and helped pave the way for hop-forward beers in the U.S. Anchor Brewing’s Liberty Ale, brewed in 1975, was another trailblazer,dry-hopped and distinctly aromatic.
By the 1990s, breweries like Stone, Lagunitas, and Russian River were pushing the style into new territory, adding more hops, more bitterness, and more personality. This revival was also aided by emerging beer festivals and the rise of enthusiast culture through early internet forums and zines. The IPA was back, but this time, it had an American accent.
This period also introduced Double IPAs (also known as Imperial IPAs), pioneered by brewers who simply couldn’t stop upping the hop content. Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River is often credited with brewing the first DIPA in the mid-90s. These stronger, hoppier brews became cult favorites.
West Coast Domination and the Rise of Hops
West Coast IPAs became the flagship style of American craft beer. These beers were clear, crisp, dry, and unapologetically bitter. They flaunted aggressive notes of pine, citrus peel, and dank resin. They were the opposite of subtle, and people couldn’t get enough.
Hopheads rejoiced. Brewers bragged about sky-high IBU counts (that’s International Bitterness Units, for those keeping score). Beer labels turned into battles of hop bravado. It was a golden age of palate wreckers. You didn’t just drink a West Coast IPA, you survived it. Beer fests became testing grounds for how far you could push your taste buds.
The culture around hops exploded. New American hop varieties like Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Mosaic added layers of complexity. Experimental hop farms popped up across the Pacific Northwest. IPAs weren’t just a style, they were a movement.
Breweries designed whole hop-centric product lines. Stone’s “Enjoy By” series, for example, emphasized fresh hop character and short shelf life. Green Flash, Alpine, and Ballast Point each had signature IPAs that helped define the style.
Haze Craze and the Modern IPA Renaissance
Just when it seemed like IPAs couldn’t get any hoppier, the pendulum swung in a softer, juicier direction. Around the early 2010s, brewers in Vermont and the Northeast began experimenting with a new take: the Hazy IPA (also called New England IPA).
These beers were unfiltered, opaque, and exploded with juicy flavors. Think mango, orange juice, pineapple, and peach, without the harsh bitterness of traditional IPAs. A softer mouthfeel (thanks to oats and wheat) and the use of dry hopping post-fermentation helped capture hop aroma without adding bite.
Heady Topper from The Alchemist in Vermont became a cult sensation, and soon haze-chasing became its subculture. From there, things only got weirder,in a good way. Milkshake IPAs brewed with lactose and fruit purée. Brut IPAs crafted to mimic sparkling wine. Cold IPAs designed for a lager-crisp finish with hop-forward flair. The experimentation felt endless.
Love it or hate it, hazy IPAs made the style more accessible. They brought in new drinkers who were previously turned off by the bitterness of older IPAs, and they gave brewers even more room to innovate.
Meanwhile, critics of the haze craze lamented the loss of balance and tradition, turning the debate into something akin to a hop-fueled identity war. But love it or not, hazy beers had become part of the IPA lineage.
Global Takeover: IPA Goes International (Again)
Today, the IPA has completed its round-the-world journey once again. You’ll find breweries from Tokyo to São Paulo crafting their local spin on the style. New Zealand hops bring in notes of white grape and gooseberry. Scandinavian brewers experiment with wild yeasts and ancient grains. Australian brewers lean into tropical fruit and punchy bitterness.
In Europe, many traditional beer cultures that once resisted the American hop wave are now fully on board. Belgian brewers are blending farmhouse funk with citrus-heavy hop blends. Even German brewers, historically purist in their styles, are dipping into the IPA waters.
In Japan, brewers often combine IPA styles with rice-based malts and locally grown hops. In Mexico and South America, some breweries infuse IPAs with native fruits or spices. Indian brewers, full circle, are now reimagining IPAs with local grains and spices.
IPAs are now more than just a beer style; they’re a global platform for creativity. Wherever you go, you’ll find a local IPA infused with regional ingredients, climate, and personality.
Final Thoughts: Why IPA History Matters (and Tastes Great)
IPAs aren’t just a trend; they’re a window into the evolution of beer itself. From British exports designed to survive six-month journeys across oceans, to American reinventions that sparked a craft beer revolution, to international hybrids popping up in every corner of the globe, the IPA has worn many faces.
It’s a story of survival, reinvention, and innovation. And it’s still unfolding. Studying the history of IPA means understanding how styles adapt, how preferences shift, and how one humble beer became a global phenomenon.
So next time you sip a hazy double dry-hopped IPA with notes of mango, coconut, and bubblegum, take a moment to toast George Hodgson. Without his long-distance shipping problem, we might all still be drinking warm porters instead.
Cheers to the IPA, the beer that refuses to sit still and shows no sign of slowing down.