We’ll get this day declared a national holiday one day…
It was with great joy and delight that we looked in our big calendar of slightly spurious holidays and discovered that today was International Indian Pale Ale day. As one of our favourite types of craft beer it gave us an excuse to dust off the old drinking goblet (a plastic sippy cup we found in a bin to be truthful) and tell you about our favourite IPAs.
IPA was created in the 19th century and its distinctive name comes from two very good reasons. Firstly, the malt used is called pale malt, so that explains one part. As for the Indian bit, it comes from an ale made for export to the East India Company that was strongly hopped and one that improved over the course of the long trip by sea from England to India. That style was copied by others and soon became popular all over the globe.
So, without further ado, here’s some quality IPA for you to enjoy tonight.
O’Hara’s Irish Pale Ale
The Carlow brewery is one of the best in the country and you’ll find this all over the country, in pubs and off licences. They claim it is a mix of European and American styles but all we know is that it is bloody tasty, and really refreshing after a long day at the office.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Oh boy do we love this fella. Ridiculously tasty and easy to drink. Thankfully now fairly widely available in pubs and even in some supermarkets, this Californian Pale Ale is probably the leading American style of the brew. At 5.6 %, take it handy though, ’tis powerful stuff.
Metalman Pale Ale
A brew from Waterford, this is another American style IPA, and while it may be harder to find than a few others on this list, it is well worth it. Mulligans in Stoneybatter in Dublin have it on draft right now and it is well worth the trip, as this one has lots of fruit to really hammer home how refreshing a tipple it is.
Other places that should be able to quench your thirst tonight with Metalman include The Salthouse in Galway, Brewery Corner in Kilkenny and loads of boozers in its native Waterford.
Galway Hooker
This one should easy to get your hands on and if you haven’t tried a pint of this yet, fill that hole in your life tonight. Twice named Ireland’s best beer, Galway Hooker is now a fixture in all sorts of venues, and typical of an IPA it is fruity, hoppy and super refreshing. It’s pretty good with food too, especially spicy stuff.
Punk IPA
Another one you should be able to find somewhere on your travels this evening, the Scottish IPA is similar to Sierra Nevada, if perhaps not quite as refined. They call it a ‘post-modern classic pale ale’ and we have no idea what that means. However, coming in at 5.6% we recommend you give it a spin if you have never tried it. It packs a subtle and delicious punch.
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