Breakside What Rough Beast

What is IPA? India Pale Ale, in its multiple variations, is one of the most popular beer styles among craft beer drinkers. It’s a brew that has evolved over time since modern pale ale originated in England in the 1600s, though some form of the drink quite likely dates back to the ancient Sumerians.

Burton, on England’s River Trent, is most often considered the birthplace of English Pale Ale – its naturally hard water, high in mineral content, contributed to the beer’s pronounced clarity and bitter character, which later became very popular – yet pale ale wasn’t brewed there until the early 1700s.

It was farther north, in Derbyshire, England, where the coal byproduct coke was first used to make brewing malt in the 1640s. Coke is a relatively smokeless heat source that, unlike wood and other fuels, dries malts without adding color and smoky character to beer. Other towns followed Derby and began brewing pale ales from coke-dried malt.