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ICYMI: The Economist Tells the Early History of IPA Beer

Source: Economist.com
Source: Economist.com

The Economist’s December 24, 2016 copy carries an enjoyable short history of the India Pale Ale:

Beer is for drinking. But beer is also an occasion for conversation—and, if good enough, a subject for it, too. That is where India Pale Ales, or IPAs, come into their own. Few beers incite and enrich conversation as much. Their distinctive character—the “firm bitterness [that] lingers long and clean” in one, the “complex aromatic notes of citrus, berry, tropical fruit and pine” in another—spur discussions that spill over from tap rooms to websites with ease. The plethora of craft brewers that has sprung up over the past few decades provides ample scope for arguments about the relative merits of local brews and far-flung ones—with far-flung, these days, meaning from more or less anywhere on Earth.

And then there is the beer itself. A child of Britain’s industrial revolution and imperial expansion that rose to world-straddling greatness, IPA went on to be humbled by its upstart rival, lager. It had all but vanished when plucky supporters restored it to life and once more put the world at its feet. Here is a beer with a back story.

Read more at http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21712029-lagers-may-be-ubiquitous-india-pale-ales-are-beers-backstory-history

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