India Pale Ale (IPA) is a style that was designed by an English brewer in the 1700's. Brewers were having trouble with beer spoiling on the long sea voyage from England to the colonies in India. One brewer realized that there were two things in beer with preservative effects: alcohol and hops. He created a beer that was strong in alcohol and high in hop content -- a Super Pale Ale. It survived the voyage in reasonable good condition and became popular in the colonies and at home.
Our Inspiration Ale is copper colored, strong in alcohol content (approximately 7.0% ABV) with a bitter and powerful hop flavor and aroma. The bitterness is somewhat masked by a slight malt sweetness (it requires a lot of malt to make a strong beer). We call it an old-world IPA because many American versions of the style lack the strength, color and maltiness that we believe the original beers contained.
