India Pale Ale (IPA) Has Its National Day

July 26, 2017 – IPA stalwarts will be delighted to know that Thursday, July 27 is National IPA Day.  For those who don’t know or love IPAs, a brief history is in order as its creation shows that there’s always a way to overcome adversity and serve the Empire as well.

The Empire was the vast British Empire, which was in full throttle in the 19^th century.  The Brits were fond of saying that the sun never sets on Queen Victoria’s Empire (she reigned from 1837 to 1901) but I digress.  India was the most important outpost of this empire with a large British population and an army all clamoring for beer.  The beer made in England was shipped to India via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa (technically it is on the Atlantic Ocean side but we won’t get into the geography here). It was a very long trip and with no refrigeration, it inevitably went bad.

The resourceful brewers in England eventually figured out that more hops and more alcohol would solve the problem and beer brewed in this style survived the trip and became known as India Pale Ale.  IPA was strong and bitter and went well with curry.  Win-win.

The Empire has gone but IPA lives on.  The innovative Sam Adams, long known for its lagers, introduced Rebel IPA in 2014 followed by Rebel Grapefruit IPA in 2015.  The latest version, Rebel Juiced IPA, was introduced earlier this year.  It is described a having more intense juicy, tropical and citrus flavor supported by a leaner body and a crisp, clean finish.  The Rebel line has proved extremely popular.

For those who care and understand such things, the company tells us that the original Rebel IPA was brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe and Chinook hops. For the 2017 release, the brewers added Mosaic hops together with HBC 566, a new hop proprietary to Sam Adams, and HBC 682, a new, experimental bittering hop. The caramel malt has also been removed, resulting in a cleaner, brighter IPA with more tropical, citrus and pine-forward notes. 

Staying on top of trends, Sam Adams Rebel is joining the cocktail craze and we have three recipes all of which look like something we’d like right now as the thermometer hits 96 degrees.  What a way to celebrate National IPA Day!

Juicy Fruit

3 oz Sam Adam’s Rebel Juiced IPA
2 oz Aperol
1 oz Grapefruit juice

Method: Build in wine glass, add ice, garnish with half Grapefruit wheel.

Rebel Rumba

¼ oz orgeat
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz Dry Curaçao
½ oz dark rum
½ oz white rum
3 oz Sam Adam’s Rebel Juiced IPA

Method: Combine all ingredients into a shaker and shake. Strain into wine glass, add ice and garnish with fresh mango or pineapple and mint.

Gin & Juiced

3 oz Sam Adams Rebel Juiced IPA
1 oz Bulldog gin
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz honey syrup (2:1)

Method: Add ingredients, except beer, to cocktail shaker. Shake with ice, strain into Collins glass and top with beer. Add ice, garnish with lemon wheel.