6. After being tested for quality, substandard beer was poured away on the Calcutta dockside.
OK this did happen―there are occasional eyewitness accounts―but it was extremely rare. True, beer was rigorously tested for quality at the dockside, but ‘rejected beer’ was auctioned off cheap. The buyer would simply put up with it, or reseed it with molasses and herbs to disguise off-flavors. If it was really too bad to drink, there were all sorts of other things it was used for: cooking, the basis for ketchup, even boot polish. Good IPA was as expensive as fine French claret. It cost a great deal to get anything to India. Even the bad stuff needed to recoup some value.
7. Modern American IPAs are different from traditional Burton IPA because of American hops—which the Burton beer didn’t have.
By IPA’s peak in the 1870s, Britain couldn’t grow enough hops to supply the incredible amounts of beer being brewed in Burton, and was a net importer of hops. Many of these came from Europe, but a significant quantity originated in North America. Hops were simply classified by their origin, or perhaps the name of the grower, so we can’t tell what varieties were used. But one complaint from Bass that their American hops tasted of ‘blackcurrant leaf’ suggests that at least some were the pungent, aromatic varieties we know today―suggesting that at least some ‘traditional’ IPA resembled modern American versions.
8. IPA was often sent to India and back before being consumed in England.
When it arrived in India, IPA was described as ‘well up,’ ‘ripe’ and ready to drink―or nearly thereabouts. By chance, trial and error, the journey brought it to perfect condition on its arrival in India, and a return leg would have been too much even for this robust beer. Also, it was a bulky cargo. It was useful ballast on the way out, but homebound ships were laden with cargoes of fabric and tea, or were bound for China full of opium. It simply would not have been economic to take beer any further even if it could have survived.
9. IPA was killed by the rise of lager.
Not so much a myth as a myopic version of the truth. Around 1900, the Indian beer market was completely overwhelmed by Pilsner lagers such as Becks, which were even more ideally suited to the climate than IPA had been. But by this time the demand for any beer was a fraction of what it had been, and IPA was already a pale shadow of its former glory. Gin and tonic or long, weak whisky and sodas were far more fashionable than beer by this time, and brewing had also been mastered in India itself, making the need for the long, conditioning ocean journey obsolete. But more importantly than all this, it had become deeply unfashionable to drink any alcohol at all. Drunkenness went from being socially obligatory in IPA’s formative decades to being completely unacceptable. If any drink can be accused of killing off IPA, it would be more accurate to blame the scalding hot cup of tea.
10. IPA was a very tightly defined style. Imperial IPAs, double IPAs etc. are quite different from the original beer that inspired them.
Not so much a myth, more a ‘How do you know’? Beer aficionados get very passionate when discussing what constitutes a ‘proper’ IPA, what malts and hops were used, how strong it was and how it was conditioned. But the truth is, pale ale was evolved and adapted for the Indian market for at least fifty years before anyone started referring to it as India Pale Ale. No one knows what the original recipe was―or even if there was a beer that can be considered to be the original recipe. IPA, brown ale, porter and small beer were easily distinguishable from each other. Beyond that, there was enormous variety within each style, and these styles varied markedly over time. So is there a lesson to all this, beyond the fact that too much historical research turns one into an irritating pedant? I think so. Beer is a living, organic creation that cannot be pinned to the page. It will always have a core of mystery to it―and that only adds to its allure.
Pete Brown
Pete Brown was born in 1968 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Since 1991 he has worked in advertising, specializing in marketing beer. He has appeared regularly on television as a beer expert, writes on beer for a variety of publications and is the author of Man Walks into a Pub, the award-winning travel book Three Sheets to the Wind and Hops and Glory. He lives in London.
Excellent article! Very informative and it made the history fairl exciting. You also don’t need to play down the fact that you know a lot more than nearly everyone about IPAs. You did the research and were smart enough to work everything out. Be proud of it. You don’t have to be arrogant, but you also don’t need to put yourself down as you did in at least two places!
Good article but I have seen it written (I’m at work right now and don’t have access to references) that, at least by volume, the largest portion of IPA shipped to India was actually brewed in Vancouver and sent by Clipper ship across the Pacific. This is because it was both cheaper to brew there and faster to transport it from there to India. I believe that this was a later development, probably from the 1870s on. The writer of this article doesn’t address whether this is true and if so what effect this would have had on the recipes. I’d be interested if he’s heard of this claim and his thoughts on it.
Haven’t heard that at all. If it was after the 1870s then that may well be why – Burton’s dominance was on the wane by then, and brewers in other parts for the world could Burtonise their water, and brewers in Vancouver would certainly have had access to some good hops. I’m sceptical though because after 1870 it certainly wouldn’t have been faster to transport to India. By that time we had steam ships going through the Med and down the Suez canal, and it only took three weeks from the UK too India on that route. It would have been longer and more dangerous to cross the Pacific and then go through south east Asia to India.
I’d seen a piece (Beer Advocate, maybe?) speaking to IPA and porters. The gist of the story was that the IPA was for the other ranks and the porter was for the officers.
That being the case, should anything have to go overboard it would be the IPA.
Regardless, thanks for the article – and Happy IPA Day!
A well-written, entertaining and informative piece. Novice IPA nipper that I am, I’ll be glad to share it with my IPA-quaffing colleagues.
The original so called was like Budshite. Dead before it hit the bottle or in those days oak cask. A Brit thousands of miles will drink any old rubbish so long as it tastes somat like he remembers. Does not mean to us now its any good. The British soldier in India would have drunk Budshite.
Hi Andrew,
How do you know that? Were you in India in the early 19th century? I’d love to hear more about your memories.
Note only porter and perry are mentioned in a RN ancestor’s disapproving 1808 note on his Calcutta hosts: “at 7 … they sit down in half an hour to a great dinner where little or nothing is eaten – Everything is English – the Table Service – Porter, Perry, Hams &c procured at an enormous price – after dinner, the Hookhar [pipe] is introduced for a short hour – when the Gentlemen repair to the Ladies, who give coffee… which does not prevent the Smoking – and frequently but not always a great supper finishes the Eating of the day.” At ‘tiffin’ (lunch), they had had wine. IPA would have been so much more refreshing…