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I call this #1 of my Homebrewer Beer Challenge series. These are long term projects I'm working on that have not come to a conclusion. Maybe, you can try some of these to see what you think.
I don't have a ship available, but will substitute a closet in my basement to help my locally available IPA's simulate the ship's journey. Can I make them better? Time will tell me eventually.
While many love to drink IPA's or like to brew them, I'm not a fan of pineapple or grapefruit beer alongside a burst of bitterness. I'm also not a fan of extreme bitterness. I'd rather have a beer with a sweet fruit, like strawberry, countered equally by the bitter hops. Historically, England was probably using Fuggles or East Kent hops leading to an IPA that doesn't taste like bitter grapefruit juice. I've always wondered whether the first IPA's shipped out of England were made bitter in order to make the long journey by ship as one of the early export beers. I'm talking about aging existing bitter store brand beers in this blog article to see if they become better with time. So, we are really covering a subject on aging IPA's.
I have what's left of a six pack of Bell's Official India Pale Ale and an M-43 four-pack from Old Nation Brewing Company in the basement, slowly aging them. I'm going to sample one beer of each type after it has gone 7 months or more. It will try one bottle of beer after 7 months, then one after 8 months and so on. Some of the volunteers at the museum where I work, have said the journey from England to India probably took about 6-7 months by ship back then. Other sources show the journey was 7-8 months. The dates on the bottom of the beer cans or bottles give me a reference as to how old it is. The Bell's beer has just made 7 months and there is clear change in it's taste. It is a lot better with its toned down bitterness. After that beer made it to India, it probably did undergo a major change in taste after it left England. I forgot to mention that I tried one of each of the beers after I purchased them. The M-43 IPA has months to go yet before I tried the aged version.
This is an ongoing, long term test that you may want to consider trying. I have not come to any real conclusion other than to say the journey probably made those beers taste better in India. I know I certainly like what I've found out from the Bell's beer. I can put up with a little grapefruit or pineapple taste as long as the bitterness drops substantially.
I'll get off on a side note here to make a point: I don't like all the newer, improved ways of doing things. A lot of the old ways of doing things are better because it seems like the new or latest tech just doesn't work right. I need a car complaint website to solve my car's mystery problems the mechanic can't find. Not all apps are compatible with my phone. Smart phones can't seem to keep their settings. Coffee shops appear to be plagued with a WIFI that isn't working. You know what I'm talking about. Even the American IPA, that everyone seems to be copying these days, doesn't seem to be all that grand. Maybe, that's why I like history and the old ways of doing things. If only I could find Mister Peabody and the Wayback Machine to go back to the good old days!