IPAs currently account for about half of all craft beers sold in the United States. Their bold flavors and shapeshifting personalities, plus the fun of terroir and varietal characteristics, make them endlessly fascinating. Like most beers, they’re mostly malt, hops, water, and yeast—but hops are obviously the starring attraction.
Yet no matter how hoppy the beer, more than 98 percent of the dry ingredients are typically malt or other grains. It’s crucial to have that malty counterbalance to the bitter, herbal character of hops. Together, they’re perfect—as we’ve generally agreed for the past thousand years or so.
First, Don’t Overlook the Malt
To understand IPA today requires a review of the past four decades of its evolution. Early craft ales—IPAs included—employed plenty of crystal or caramel malt, transplanted from early homebrews, in which it compensated for the diminished aroma of malt extracts. Flavors range from a light kettle-corn caramelization to toffee and burnt-sugar notes. Those used in IPAs stick to the lighter half of the spectrum and typically show caramel or toffee notes, which can make the beer a bit heavy on the palate. Taste Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and you’ll get the picture.