IPA Myths

Originally posted by Martyartie

Originally posted by NobleSquirrel
Don’t they understand that while the history is good to know, no one really gives a shit anymore? Today an American-style IPA is a dry hop bomb, 6-7%, high ibus. Simple as that.

What you say about what American IPA is like today may be perfectly true, but that’s still no excuse for people to peddle inaccurate information about what IPA USED to be like. Which they do.

I think your work is important and interesting, Marty. Keep it up.

Biggest myth: the style of IPA was "invented" out of a need to get dry pale ale to expats and troops living abroad in in the subcontinent of India.

Fact: hoppy, relatively strong but not always, pale ales had been popular for years before the first IPA was coined and exported as such. The use of the term "India Pale Ale" was invented as a marketing tool to capitalize on the beers already growing popularity in England, so that trading companies could sell it to their own citizens as a "special product".

Some of those other myths in the link, must have been made up by the links author...

Yeah, myth spreading and rumor mongering at it’s finest.

Must consult Wikipedia.

The watering back myth always seemed plausible. The way it was explained to me was that the beer was brewed stronger to save space on the ship transporting it. A barrel of 4.0% Pale takes up X amount of room on the ship. A barrel of 8.0% Pale takes up the same X amount of room, but could be watered back to 4.0% and provide twice as much beer. Economically that seems to make sense.

Originally posted by 17thfloor
Must consult Wikipedia.

The watering back myth always seemed plausible. The way it was explained to me was that the beer was brewed stronger to save space on the ship transporting it. A barrel of 4.0% Pale takes up X amount of room on the ship. A barrel of 8.0% Pale takes up the same X amount of room, but could be watered back to 4.0% and provide twice as much beer. Economically that seems to make sense.

see the beer myths...no evidence that beer was watered back...

fackwittery ??

Originally posted by TheBeerSommelier

The odd thing is, I’ve never heard even one of those myths.

Let me Google that for you.

Ooh look, the first hit’s from Beer Advocate. And there are another 115 just like it. You’ve been leading a sheltered life. And that’s just one of the myths. Try Googling the rest as well ...

Originally posted by spacecoyote
Biggest myth: the style of IPA was "invented" out of a need to get dry pale ale to expats and troops living abroad in in the subcontinent of India.

Fact: hoppy, relatively strong but not always, pale ales had been popular for years before the first IPA was coined and exported as such. The use of the term "India Pale Ale" was invented as a marketing tool to capitalize on the beers already growing popularity in England, so that trading companies could sell it to their own citizens as a "special product".

Some of those other myths in the link, must have been made up by the links author...

Yeah, myth spreading and rumor mongering at it’s finest.

As I said, "All the myths below are genuine statements culled in the past few weeks from websites that claim to be experts on beer." Before you accuse me of being a liar, why don’t you bother to do some research yourself. I’ve already given the links for the second myth - here are the rest:

Myth 1

Myth 3

Myth 4

Myth 5

That enough proof for you that I’m not making this stuff up?

I used it in the sense that a lot of the ideas that arose from the myths actually did become things that occurred far after the time in which it is a falsely attributed to...

Originally posted by PhillyBeer2112

Originally posted by NobleSquirrel
I’m guessing the point of my post was lost... Without the myths that were bandied about, I don’t think that American IPA would be what it is (or at least called what it is). I’m personally as interested in the anachronisms and why they developed as I am in the real "true" history. A lot of times those anachronisms can tell you far more than the actual history can. It can give a sense of humanity that you can’t get from combing through a brewery’s records to disprove them. Just a thought.

And I’ll agree that there are plenty of American IPAs that aren’t dry, unfortunately. I just call those overhopped ambers ;)

You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.

Originally posted by Martyartie

Originally posted by spacecoyote
Biggest myth: the style of IPA was "invented" out of a need to get dry pale ale to expats and troops living abroad in in the subcontinent of India.

Fact: hoppy, relatively strong but not always, pale ales had been popular for years before the first IPA was coined and exported as such. The use of the term "India Pale Ale" was invented as a marketing tool to capitalize on the beers already growing popularity in England, so that trading companies could sell it to their own citizens as a "special product".

Some of those other myths in the link, must have been made up by the links author...

Yeah, myth spreading and rumor mongering at it’s finest.

As I said, "All the myths below are genuine statements culled in the past few weeks from websites that claim to be experts on beer." Before you accuse me of being a liar, why don’t you bother to do some research yourself. I’ve already given the links for the second myth - here are the rest:

Myth 1

Myth 3

Myth 4

Myth 5

That enough proof for you that I’m not making this stuff up?

Hey, that’s great.

So, to be clear, you made none of it up, you just cut-and-pasted it from those who did?

Originally posted by Martyartie

Originally posted by TheBeerSommelier

The odd thing is, I’ve never heard even one of those myths.

Let me Google that for you.

Ooh look, the first hit’s from Beer Advocate. And there are another 115 just like it. You’ve been leading a sheltered life. And that’s just one of the myths. Try Googling the rest as well ...

Message sent.