Dundee IPA – Bold & Bitter Makes it Better

In today’s craft beer market it seems like every brewery has an IPA in their lineup. The reputation of a brewery is often determined by the quality of their IPA because it is the one style that everybody makes. It’s like a resume for the craft brewer. With Dundee IPA representing our craft lineup, it is safe to say we give this particular brew the extra attention it deserves.

There are many stories that describe the origins of the India Pale Ale style. In the 1840s, demand to export the popular English Pale Ale to India led to the development of the India Pale Ale (also referred to at the time as "pale export India ale" or "pale ale as prepared for India"). The one common thread among all the stories is that this particular export style was well-suited to survive the long journey from England to India. With more hops and higher alcohol content, the exported India Pale Ale was better suited for the trip. High alcohol, coupled with the antiseptic effect from the hops, made this beer an inhospitable environment for microorganisms to grow in. There were a number of other beer styles at the time that were also well suited for the long journey, so why did the hoppier and heavier version of pale ale get the reputation as the beer of choice for the East Indian market? It turns out an English brewery producing the amped up pale ale was located near the docks frequented by the East Indian ships. The lesser known anecdote was that the same brewery offered 18 months of credit to the ship’s captains. Apparently taste wasn’t everything.

The IPA revolution in our country is distinctly American. Our IPA’s tend to be bigger and bolder than their English counterparts. Most American IPA’s have a prominent citrusy/piney hop aroma that is characteristic of American-grown hops. American IPA’s are generally higher in alcohol and the balance between malt and hop tends to lean to the bitter side. English IPA’s have a moderate hop aroma with more floral and earthy notes. The flavor offers a better balance of malt character, hop flavor and hop bitterness.

Dundee IPA falls somewhere in the middle. Our reluctance to choose which side of the pond we associate ourselves with wasn’t a mistake: we chose to make an ale with the aroma characteristics of the American style with the easy drinking, more balanced feel of the English style. We add Columbus hops early in the boil to develop a clean bitterness, and a blend of Willamette and Chinook hops later in the boil to achieve the citrusy, grapefruit notes in the flavor and aroma. We also dry hop this brew with a blend of Golding and Chinook hops to really push the hop aroma. It’s an IPA that you can drink more than one of without fear of tingling taste buds due to excessive hop exposure.
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