India Ales Have Never Tasted Better

This may be the best time in history for lovers of India pale ale.

OK, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, considering that the hoppy, bitter British beer style (my personal favorite) dates back to the early 1800s.

But there’s plenty of reason for Northwest hopheads to celebrate these days. Two excellent new bottled IPAs from California’s Anderson Valley and Seattle-based Pyramid have hit the shelves, accompanied by the return of Full Sail’s always-welcome seasonal offering.

India pale ale is something of a summer beer, with its refreshing, palate-tingling taste. But it was originally brewed not only to suit India’s hot climate, but because hops acted as a preservative while the beer was being shipped by boat from England to British troops overseas.

The classic IPAs also tended to have higher alcohol contents, to both balance the hops and provide more staying power on the way to their destination.

Anderson Valley’s Hop Ottin’ IPA scores big on both counts. Its impressive 7 percent alcohol by volume (compared to between 5 percent and 6 percent for most micros) is paired with a whopping 89 International Bitterness Units (IBU), the standard measure of hop content. (Micros are typically in the 20s and 30s.)

The result is like a mouthful of fresh, flowery, piney, herbal hops, which can be a bit overwhelming to the uninitiated. If you’re up to it, look for the beer at such specialty stores as Jim’s Home Brew and Huckleberry’s.

Spicy, tangy Columbus hops are the signature of Pyramid’s similarly sturdy IPA (6.7 percent ABV, 65 IBU), which has been available before on tap but never in bottles. It should be showing up in supermarkets any day now.

Full Sail’s IPA, brewed with traditional British hops (Challenger and East Kent Golding), seems a little on the lighter side by comparison. But it’s still a big beer, at 6.5 percent ABV and 55 IBU, with a fairly soft, malty body and a lingering hop bitterness.

Of course, what qualifies as an IPA in these post-colonial times is somewhat a matter of semantics. Some hoppy pale ales, like Widmer’s new Hop Jack, could easily wear the label. And some beers billed as IPAs are rather tame for the tag, such as Pend Oreille’s smoother, cleverly named Idaho Pale Ale.

Yakima Brewing’s Bert Grant, generally credited with reviving the IPA style in the United States, produces a version that’s relatively light in color and low in alcohol (4.2 percent ABV) - which makes its 50 IBU of bitter, resiny hops stand out even more.

Redhook’s golden IPA (nee Ballard Bitter, which still appears in small print on the label) has a somewhat sharp, one-dimensional bitterness. Bridgeport’s rounder rendition isn’t overly bitter, but displays a nicely developing, complex hop character.

The amber-colored offerings from Fish and Pike have rich, malty mouth feels, with Fish going heavier on the hops. It’s one of my favorite beers with salmon, a point worth noting with the Copper River run returning soon.

Among area brewpubs, Birkebeiner produces a quite credible, full-bodied IPA, while the Ram’s Big Red was hopped up into a “medium IPA” last summer.

The style also shows up on occasion at Solicitor’s Corner, and Casey’s in Post Falls is bringing back its Squirrel Spit IPA (actually, a hoppy lager) for Memorial Day - bigger and bolder than ever, according to owner Kent Roberts. “It’s going to surprise some people that it’s actually from us,” he says.

Daily double

Speaking of hoppy lagers, a duo of “double hopped” Black Star beers from The Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish, Mont., (founded by a great-great-grandson of Henry Weinhard) have become available in bottles over our way.

The flagship Golden Lager has a surprisingly full body for a lighter beer and a crisp, pleasant hop finish. There’s more malt sweetness and plenty of grapefruity Cascade hop character in the accompanying Amber Export, balanced by some earthier notes.

Summer stock

Summer seasonals from the major microbrewers are starting to roll in, including a pair of pilsners from Pyramid and its sister Seattle brewery, Thomas Kemper. Pyramid’s Sun Fest and Kemper’s SummerBrau are virtual twins, with identical color, ingredients and alcohol content (4.7 percent ABV), but Sun Fest has a slightly fuller, hoppier flavor from dry-hopping (having hops added during the final conditioning).

Two seasonals from Sierra Nevada have arrived in the Spokane area for the first time, an unfiltered wheat beer (hefeweizen, for those who prefer Teutonic terms) and a pale bock (aka Maibock). Both are fine examples of their styles, with the extra hoppiness typical of the California brewery’s products.

Coming soon is Portland’s Summer Pale Ale, replacing that brewery’s spring seasonal IPA.

Master plans

Closer to home, Pend Oreille Brewing, which recently took a successful plunge into bottling, has hired a new brewmaster with some solid California credentials.

Jon Paxman previously worked at such Golden State stalwarts as Buffalo Bill’s in the Bay Area and Berkeley’s Triple Rock Brewery. Look for him to brew some specialty styles, such as barley wine and Imperial stout, for tasting at the Sandpoint pub.

Sale talk Coeur d’Alene’s Hollister Mountain, meanwhile, is looking for investors to buy part or all of the two-year-old brewery.

None of the present partners can afford to quit their regular jobs and devote full attention to the business, says co-owner Paul McGowan.

“To be competitive in the microbrew industry these days, you have to work it a lot,” he says. “Ten years ago, if you had a product out there that was good, it would sell. It’s not that way any more.”

For more information, call (208) 667-1918.