We’ve spilled countless words over the wherefores, the whys, and the meanings of the IPA. Lamentations on its rise, its demise, its history, and more could fuel an everlasting fire to keep us warm through a long, discontented winter. But America’s long love affair with the IPA in all its evolutions continues unabated, and it’s been amazing to see new traditions born right before our pint glasses—new traditions, such as the triple IPA.
First, a little backstory: The American IPA is older than most present-day enthusiasts would imagine. The last standing example of an earlier tradition was Ballantine IPA, which survived not only Prohibition but also multiple ownership changes. This is a beer that would confound and comfort modern IPA drinkers: It was big (1.074 OG), it was bitter (about 60 IBUs), but it was also a darkish amber color, and it aged in oak barrels for a year. (For more about Ballantine IPA, see ]“Ballantine IPA Returns, Perfected by Homebrewing,” beerandbrewing.com.](https://beerandbrewing.com/ballantine-ipa-returns-perfected-by-homebrewing/)) As time went on and the owners kept trying to squeeze extra pennies from the brand, the aging time became shorter.
As Ballantine waned, other brewers picked up the torch—namely, Anchor (San Francisco) and Bert Grant with the launches of Liberty IPA and Bert Grant’s IPA in 1983. Both beers heavily featured a newfangled hype-hop named Cascade, which was first grown commercially in 1968 but took a while to catch on.