Out of all the beer styles, IPA is the most contested. It’s well known as a hoppy beer, with pronounced fruity, earthy and floral aromas, with a biscuity, cloying mouthfeel and a touch of sweetness from the dry hopping that gives IPA it’s iconic flavour. It is effectively a pale ale, yet it tends to have a higher ABV, yet not all beers are equal. According to Perfect Draft, there are three basic strength categories, these are: Session – ABV: 3.0 – 5.0%; Standard – ABV: 5.0 – 7.5%; Double – ABV: 7.5 – 10.0%.[1] For a beer style such as IPA there are dizzying range of substyles ranging from the likes of East Coast IPA, Hazy IPA, Double IPA, Triple IPA, Black IPA, White IPA, New Zealand IPA, Bohemian IPA, Rye IPA, Brut IPA, Fruit IPA, Sour IPA, DDH IPA, Farmhouse IPA, New England IPA, Belgian IPA and the Session IPA. In today’s market the Session IPA is by far the most universally popular, it is widely sold on draught in pubs, readily available in bottle at Supermarkets and have become quite popular with drinkers as they are more accessible, have a lower ABV (under 5%) and can drunk several times over a session. Chris Colby notes “a session IPA supposedly combines the hoppiness of an IPA with the lower alcohol content of a session beer.”[2] Upon the rebranding of Greene King IPA (3.7%) in 2015, they specifically targeted the drink for younger drinkers. Dom South, marketing director at Greene King proclaimed “it’s the first drink I would recommend to someone if it’s their first time drinking cask ale, because it won’t let them down and it’s not too challenging.”[3] Greene King IPA has been around since 1928, it has been always advertised as a IPA and has remained at a consistent strength since it's inception. This beer has become the flagship for the Session IPA movement, yet it has met contention from connoisseurs of IPA who claim that the drink tarnishes it’s reputation. Pete Brown, a well-known aficionado and expert in IPA argued “this reveals that as far as Greene King is concerned, IPA is a brand name and not a beer style.”[4] Matthew Curtis added “a session IPA is not an IPA. It is a marketing term designed to sell you lower strength beer on the premise of it being as intensely hoppy as it’s stronger cousins. In reality, these beers are pale, or golden ales.”[5] These purists claim that IPA needs to be strong, hoppy with a rich body of flavour, indeed the BJCP guidelines state that IPA’s must be at least 5.5%. In defence, Martyn Cornell shot back at the detractors whom he described as having a lack of understanding about the evolving nature of IPA as a beer style, which changed in strength over time as it became more popular with drinkers in the UK. He notes “what Greene King IPA is, is a perfect example of a mid-20th century IPA, just like those once brewed by Charrington, Palmers, Eldridge Pope, Wadworths, Wethered’s, Youngers and others in the 1960s and 1970s, all 1035 to 1043 OG.” To get to the bottom of this conundrum, we need to find out how Session IPA came about in the first place, and whether it could be considered true IPA.
The development of IPA came about
through the commerce of beer towards the British colonies in India which began
as far back as 1711. During the 1780’s, the merchants from the ship The East
Indiamen exported a number of beers from the Hodgson & Co brewery (ran by
Henry Hodgson) based in Bow, London, for the India market. One of these beers
was an October Stock Ale, which was a strong pale originally derived from the
gentry, which was brewed in October then matured in cask for a year, before
being bottled for a further year. They found that this particular beer
travelled better than other types of beers on the four-month voyage to India,
this beer arrived in good condition and was able to mature more during the
journey. Hodgson didn’t invent the IPA, although he was one of the first to
capitalise on exporting strong pale ales to India. Soon other brewers based in
London, Burton and Edinburgh were also brewing strong pale ales for the India
market, eventually gaining it’s iconic moniker India Pale Ale around 1829. The
writer, Jonathan Pereira writing in 1843 described the process “it is carefully
fermented, so as to be devoid all sweetness, or, in other words, to be dry; and
it contains double the usual quantity of hops.”[6]
By the mid 19th century, IPA began to be sold domestically in UK and
became quite popular. Even at this early point, brewers were developing IPA’s
with lower strengths for the domestic market, for example an 1855 Truman EI
Contract IPA was only 5.42% ABV, whilst an 1868 WM Younger XXP (Home Trade) was
only 4.76% ABV, considerably lower than the export versions produced at the
time.[7]
[8]
Ron Pattison states that IPA along with other beer styles like Best Bitter,
Bitter and Mild reduced in ABV between the 19th-20th
centuries, so the development of Session IPA came about naturally due to
changes in brewing practises and popular tastes. Even a century ago, there were
a number of Session IPA’s available on the market including Vaux (1925 – 3.74%
ABV), Cannon (1930 – 2.84 ABV), Hammerton (1936 – 4.69%) and Barclay Perkins
(1936 – 4.55% ABV) for example.[9]
Even Greene King IPA in 1937, was 3.73% ABV, similar to what it is today.[10]
On the subject of the authenticity of Greene King IPA, Pattison notes “in my
opinion it is. It’s true to the style as it has been brewed in Britain for
about 100 years. It’s not an authentic 19th-century style IPA.”[11]
This helps clarify that Session IPA is legitimate style of IPA that has been
long established, not some crude marketing ploy developed recently by breweries
to attract younger drinkers.
Looking back at the history of
IPA, it has continuously evolved and adapted over time. From it’s origins in
the late 18th century when it was brewed specifically to a high
strength for the India market, to it’s increasing popularity on the domestic
front and it’s gradual reduction in strength, to it’s revival in the 1990’s
when breweries in the UK and the US began to capitalise on producing stronger
IPA’s and adapting them to various substyles. The Session IPA gets a lot of
stick from connoisseurs, industry and awards organisations for it’s
authenticity, yet it is legitimate style of IPA that deserves more respect that
it currently receives. A vast number of breweries around the UK still brew
Session IPA, including the likes of Adnams, Black Sheep, Bowland, Harvey’s,
Ringwood, Robinsons and Thornbridge, these beers are targeted towards the
draught sales trade as they generate a higher turnover than bottled beer, which
is better business for the breweries. For those purists who claim that a genuine
IPA needs to be over 5.5%, brewed to a strength that was common in the 1850’s, their
argument looks baseless as they have a lack of knowledge of the history of IPA.
It has continuously adapted over the years and developed a whole range of
styles of varying strengths, ingredients and flavours, which makes no different
to other beers like Stout, Golden Ale, Mild or Bitter, which are also quite
adaptable. Session IPA deserves more industry recognition and awards. For
breweries that currently brew these types of beers, following Greene King’s
lead they should make more noise and promotion that they sell Session IPA,
rather than hide from condescending ‘experts’. Indeed, the Quebec based brewery
Boreal had the audacity to rename their Session IPA as India Session Ale.[12]
This is not the direction we should be heading down, we should be proud of
Session IPA, it’s long-established heritage and importance to the brewing
industry, we should be shouting it’s name from the rooftops, right down to the
pub.
[3] “Why
Greene King doesn’t care that the haters hate it’s IPA” by Martyn Cornell,
Zythophile, 25th February 2015
[7] “Let's
Brew Wednesday - 1855 Truman EI Contract IPA” by Ron Pattison, Shut About
Barclay Perkins, 8th January 2020
[9]
“Strong and Weak IPA’s between the Wars” by Ron Pattison, Shut Up About Barclay
Perkins, 15th July 2021
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