IPA

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May 26, 2004 ALES OF THE TIMES A Soldier's Ration for a Summer Day By ERIC ASIMOV

ACK when the legal drinking age was not taken as seriously as it is now, I wrote beer reviews for my high school newspaper. I didn't have much to choose from: a selection of imports gathering dust on warm grocery shelves or a thoroughly insipid group of domestic beers. You will get the sense of the times if you recall that in the mid-1970's Coors was a cult beer on the East Coast.

But one domestic brew rose far above the pallid norm. It was Ballantine India Pale Ale, and I can still taste its robust flavor with its snap of bitterness. I couldn't always find this ale (and couldn't always buy it), but when I could I savored every drop.

Alas, the Ballantine company doesn't exist anymore, except perhaps as an orphaned brand name. But 30 years after I first tasted I.P.A., the United States is awash in this lively, strong and clear style.

Credit goes to the craft-brewing revolution of the 1980's and 90's, which prodded the American beer industry out of its midcentury torpor. Small brewers, eager to recreate what they had tasted overseas or had merely read about, resuscitated styles like I.P.A. that had been forgotten or left for dead.

With an eager nod to the Memorial Day weekend, which some regard as the official beginning of the summer beer-drinking season, and in memory of those dark days when Ballantine I.P.A. seemed the sole torchbearer for real beer, the Dining section's tasting panel decided to sample 21 India pale ales.

Such ales make good seasonal sense and good storytelling, too. Few beers can conjure so much romance and salty seagoing adventure as they do. The India pale ale style was developed in Britain in the 18th century, as a way to provide the empire's colonial troops in steamy India with rations of their beloved brew. Beer did not often survive the marked changes of climate on long trips to tropical destinations. Efforts to brew it aboard ship failed, and India lacked the moderate climate necessary, in those days before refrigeration, for successful brewing.

The solution came in the 1790's. A brewer named George Hodgson realized that a higher alcohol content would inhibit spoilage, and that bacterial action could be slowed by adding extra doses of hops, which impart bitterness, liveliness and aromatic complexity. The strong ale that resulted had a distinctive backbone of aggressive bitterness that could withstand the journey and still refresh the troops.

The necessity for the techniques of producing India pale ale eventually died out, but the taste for it did not, and British and American brewers continued making it through the early 20th century. With the brewing revival, it seems as if every good deli has at least a couple of India pale ales, though the selection is now dominated by American labels.

Joined by Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery and author of "The Brewmaster's Table" (Ecco, 2003), my colleagues Florence Fabricant and Amanda Hesser and I tasted 18 ales from the United States, 2 from England and 1 from Scotland. Ale, by the way, is a broad subcategory of beer brewed with yeasts that convert sugar to alcohol at moderate temperatures and float to the top of the vat after fermentation is complete. Lager is the other major subcategory. Its yeasts stay at the bottom of the vat and work at cooler temperatures.

How true are these modern I.P.A.'s to the original style? It's hard to say, but given the wide range of aromas, flavors and alcohol contents, it is clear that the style is open to considerable interpretation. Typically, India pale ales are 6 to 7 percent alcohol, as against the 4 to 5.5 percent in most other beers. Yet we tasted, and very much liked, versions with alcohol levels of 9 percent.

Brewers of these extra-strong beers have even given them a new name, imperial India pale ale. Perhaps they should be in a different category, as well. Our third-ranked beer, the Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial, impressed us all with its complexity, balance and liveliness, but at 9 percent alcohol, it is far too much for a sunny summer afternoon. We gave it three stars, but it is better suited for after-dinner sipping, maybe with cheese.

By day, I would try one of our top selections, like the Smutty Nose Big A, which has plenty of personality, a core of refreshing bitterness and surprisingly fruity flavors. The Stone ale, too, is focused and fresh, with intriguing aromas and flavors. We gave three stars to the Harpoon, which is spicy and harmonious, and two to Samuel Smith's mellow, minerally India Ale, the only non-American ale to make our list.

Our tasting did not find much middle ground. Stylistic differences were one thing, but I divided the ales into two major groups: those that tasted fresh and alive, and those that were dead on arrival, most likely because of poor storage conditions. I expect that if any beer could survive the rigors of heat and age, it would be India pale ale, but apparently even this class has its limits.

Among the ales that didn't make the cut in our blind tasting was Brooklyn Brewery's East India Pale Ale, which had grapefruit and floral flavors but, to me, smelled old. Perhaps Mr. Oliver unconsciously identified it as one of his own, because among the four of us he liked it best.

I was surprised when we learned which beer was which, because I have always liked the East India Pale Ale. As an experiment the next night, I bought a cold bottle and thoroughly enjoyed it. Variations from bottle to bottle are common in both wine and beer, which can be discouraging to the consumer, but no more so than to the producer, who might not get a second chance to impress you with a product.

That's especially true nowadays. If you don't like one India pale ale, you can always find another.

Tasting Report: Refreshing as a Breaker at the Beach, and Nearly as Foamy

Smutty Nose Big A India Pale Ale Portsmouth, N.H.

22 ounces $4 *** 1/2 Beautiful cloudy amber; a big, lively beer with complex aromas, fruit flavors and lots of bitterness. The consensus favorite.

Stone I.P.A. San Diego

22 ounces $4 *** Balanced and harmonious, with plenty of hop aromas; lively, complex and persistent flavors.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial I.P.A. Milton, Del.

12 ounces $2 *** At 9 percent alcohol by volume, this untraditional beer is not something you would drink a lot of. It is well balanced, with great complexity and hoppy bitterness; excellent after dinner or for sipping.

Harpoon I.P.A. Boston

12 ounces $2 *** Spicy, complex flavors with aromas of citrus, anise and cinnamon; well balanced in the British style, rather than bold and brassy.

Weyerbacher Hops Infusion Easton, Pa.

12 ounces $1.25 ** 1/2 Dark amber, with clean, piney smell of American hops and aromas of grapefruit and lemon grass; pleasantly bitter.

Victory HopDevil Ale Downingtown, Pa.

12 ounces $2 ** 1/2 Distinctive aromas of American hops; bright and citrusy with tropical fruit flavors. Nicely bitter, but a little unfocused.

Samuel Smith's India Ale Tadcaster, England

18.7 ounces $4 ** Mild and mellow, with pleasing bitterness and mineral flavors.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute I.P.A. Milton, Del.

12 ounces $2 ** Classic style with piney aromas, marred only by a slight charred quality.

Rogue XS Imperial I.P.A. Newport, Ore.

22 ounces $4.79 ** Potent, powerful and intense, very hoppy and bitter; a lot going on, but not as focused as the Dogfish Head 90 Minute.

Anchor Liberty Ale San Francisco

12 ounces $2 ** Smaller and more timid than some of the others, but with pleasing bitterness.