What is an IPA?

[@XcaliburReborn]

Just call it craft beer. IPA makes it sound too fancy. Ale man myself, prefer top yeast beers. They always seem smoother, more palatable and almost always non fizzy. Probably why I’ve taken a liking to mead too. IPAs and lagers are overrated imo

[@fellowshipofbeer]

IPA is an ale, made with top-cropping yeast, and a lot of craft beer isn't IPA!

[@davidtorres8834]

This video explains nothing what an IPA really is.

[@fellowshipofbeer]

@davidtorres8834 what "an IPA really is" then?

[@dragonlordblazer13]

Huh, had no idea IPA originated in UK, part of me thought it was a Native American thing. The more you know

[@fellowshipofbeer]

Yeah, it's got a rich history that spawned a lot of other styles of beer, including English Bitters, American Pale Ales, and then all the modern iterations too!

[@chimpodyssey]

@@fellowshipofbeerso which came first pale ale or ipa? And if pale ale came first was the American pale ale only thought of after IPA’s became popular in America? If so were they not aware of the pale ale before finding out about IPA’s?

[@fellowshipofbeer]

@@chimpodyssey the terms are interchangeable depending upon the era. Specifically regarding the American Pale Ale - Fritz Maytag (sp?), founder of Anchor Brewing, based the first American Pale Ale 'Liberty Pale Ale' on British Pale Ales (aka Bitters, which was just a slang term for IPAs in Victorians times), but using American hops. These days a lot of people inspired by arbitrary American homebrewing guidelines will tell you a pale ale is weaker and less hopped than an IPA, but it's much of a muchness really...

[@chimpodyssey]

@@fellowshipofbeer thanks for the info!