So too, the discerning beer drinker has elevated to aficionado.   But, there are more beers available on the American market than any other place in all of human history (4000+ with more added every week).  How can one obtain the coveted “Beer Geek” title without a constant cycle of drunk to hungover?  Uncover the histories.

Each style’s origin was born from some necessity and, therefore, has a unique story. If there were a ‘Beer History 101’ class, Chapter One of the text book would teach about the 4000 year old Hymn to Ninkasi, to the ancient Sumerian Beer goddess, which reveals the oldest known beer recipe.  Chapter One would discuss the strict beer parlor rules outlined in Hammurabi’s Code, humanity’s oldest set of laws, circa the eighteenth century B.C.  In fact, beer history is so deep that social scientists have been debating the anthropological theory of  “Beer before Bread” for over 50 years.  (I’ll elaborate on that one later.)

Therefore, this new Beer Geek status is a rugged sophistication.  On one hand the artisan craft, on the other, the most commonly drunk alcoholic beverage on the planet (third most popular overall behind water and tea).

Lesson One:
Let’s jump ahead by a few thousand years to the 17th century and the British colonization of India.  Those poor, beer loving Englishmen, who’d been deposited half a world away, were lonely for the brews of their Motherland.  India’s agricultural conditions weren’t conducive for producing the proper crops and attempts at shipping the ingredients all that way, spoiled the barley and the hop flowers.

Nevertheless, the crafty British brew masters knew that hops are a natural preservative.  The wort (pre-fermented beer) would be loaded onto the ship with generous quantities of hops into a traditional English Pale Ale style.  The long voyage from England, down and around the Cape of Good Hope, then up to India favored the new style allowing a longer fermentation and providing the novel balance between the sweeter English malts and the bittering oils of the hop.  Hence, Indian Pale Ales.

Recently, American IPAs have become a staple release for our craft breweries, benefitting from a horde of State-Side hop strains, exaggerated brewer personalities, and good ol’ fashion American-over-doing-it-ness.  The new market is a hop-head’s dream.

When finding your go-to IPA, remember that traditional English IPAs won’t have the super-hopped qualities of their American counterparts and may not possess the same alcohol by volume (ABV).

In your new favorite IPA, look for these notes:
Most IPAs will have a golden to bronzy color, mostly likely with a foam of white head on top of the glass.  You should be able to smell the grassy fragrance from the hops.  And, will begin with a significant sweat-malty backbone cascading into a crisp, dry hop finish.

Old school English styles are harder to find on the American market, but there is a flood to sample that are “Made in the USA.”  For a bit more subdued, make-a-session-out-of-it style, I highly recommend the Bell’s Two Hearted out of Comstock, Michigan.  It weighs in at 7% ABV and 47 IBUs, (International Bittering Units).  Or go crazy with Colorado’s Avery brewery and a pint of their Maharaja IPA at 10.54% ABV and 102 IBUs.

The most fun part about becoming a beer geek is the research.

Drink respectively.