Insane brews

[steve_flack]

The thing is that there's the old fashioned IPAs that used to be made pre-World War I - they were strong and bitter. Nowadays we have bland, insipid, 1.037 beers calling themselves IPA's. Greene King IPA - I'm looking at you. Sadly it's Britain's biggest selling real ale.

[BigEd]

Ok, since we are discussing hopping levels and gravity, I have a question for you folks. I have noticed in the competitions here that English IPA's don't seem to have as many entries as some of the American inspired hop monster categories. I would like to try and take advantage of that situation and formulate an authentic English IPA (mostly because I like the English style better).

I have noticed that some posts on here refer to English IPA's having starting gravities as low as 1.045. The BJCP guidelines we use over here for that style pretty much force the brewer to have a starting gravity of about 1.060 and a bitterness of about 60 IBU. What's the real deal guys, are we just nuts over here and don't really understand the style or has something changed on your side of the pond?

Once I get that question answered, I would also love to hear your take on a good, very British, formulation so I can do it correctly. I am partial to a good bit of malt to back up any bitterness so if you have something that will work and lean in that direction I would for sure be in you debt.

To expand on what steve_flack posted and perhaps rant a bit the BJCP style guidelines for English IPA correspond to modern ales in the UK. These beers are really just pale ales with an IPA moniker and do not reflect the original OG/IBU of the beer. Some of them are excellent beers but it is a misuse of the IPA term, not unlike the crap known as Miller Lite calling itself a pilsner on the label. There is at least one IPA brewed in the UK that strives for originality. If the Meantime IPA is available in your area, BW, you should really give it a try. Here is a previous thread with links: viewtopic.php?t=3012


The English IPAs of the 19th Century had numbers of ABV and IBU rivaling any of the IPAs made today by US microbreweries. If you want to make a beer resembling the historical style I would enter it in category 23 (experimental). The BJCP guidelines are such BS and basically pander to the vast unwashed among the American homebrewing community.

I brewed what I called a "semi-historical" IPA and it won category 23 in a regional contest recently. The recipe did use some modern hops so it is by no means 100% accurate but it sure did taste good. Here it is:



10 Gallon/All-grain (Sorry about the measurements chaps. I cut and pasted from a US forum)

19 lbs Pale malt (Munton Pearl)
2 lbs Flaked barley
.5 lb CaraFoam
2 lbs light brown sugar

90 min: 3 oz Challenger
60 min: 3 oz Challenger
45 min: 2 oz Challenger
30 min: 4 oz East Kent Goldings
15 min: 2 oz East Kent Goldings
5 min: 2 oz East Kent Goldings

Brew water was Burtonised. OG was 1.078 and the IBUs were 100+. Fermented with Wyeast 1028 London Ale yeast.

[Vossy1]

As a relative newbie to AG brewing I find this topic a bit confusing...I'll explain.

The original British IPA's designed for export to India were just that.
They faced months on the seas, all sorts of temps, and the original formulations bared no resemblence to the ales that landed on the dock IMO...I would imagine

Why has no - one tried to recreate this scenario...it wouldn't be that hard afterall

Any gesticulation with regards to a true IPA is just that....surely

[Vossy1]

To brew a true IPA, simply brew a pale ale with 3 times the hops, stick the keg in the back of your car and drive up and down the M1 for 3 months

[Ross]

To brew a true IPA, simply brew a pale ale with 3 times the hops, stick the keg in the back of your car and drive up and down the M1 for 3 months

classic - ROFLMAO

cheers Ross