Attention all craft beer evangelists, brewers, bloggers, and suds-savvy citizens! On Thursday, August 4th 2011, you are cordially invited to participate in the largest international craft beer celebration and virtual conversation the world has ever seen: The first ever International IPA Day!
International IPA Day is a grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social media. On Thursday August 4th, craft beer drinkers across the social sphere and across the globe will raise pints in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale. This celebrated style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.
While New Holland’s Mad Hatter IPA has become a staple beer for the company, IPA’s in general seem to be most popular among craft beer drinkers world-wide. Here’s Brewmaster, John Haggerty’s take on IPA, “Personally, I believe that Pale Ales of all sorts (IPA is among that family) are really the base style for the craft brewing movement. Like what light lager is for the big brewers. Everyone makes one and it is the biggest selling segment in the market. I think part of the success of IPA is that it is polar opposite of light lager. It seems to me that once people get a taste for more full flavored beer that they go as far as they can away from light lager – meaning, in a lot of cases, hoppy-er and hoppy-er beer. It is almost reactionary. I think that after time people tend to come off that knee-jerk reaction and move back into more balanced beer but you always will hit hoppy beer periodically.”
First brewed in 1998, New Holland’s Mad Hatter IPA is dry hopped it at the end of fermentation and sits on the hops for about 10 days. This year, NHB introduced four new members to the Mad Hatter family: Oak, Rye, Farmhouse and Black Hatter. “I really like the beers that we put out in the new line-up,” says Haggerty. “Particularly the Farmhouse- I think it is really unique among IPA’s. We did some cool stuff with the yeast and the flavor profile of the yeast really paired well with the base beer style. Lots of fun!”
“I think IPA is an interesting style and it is rooted in some very practical brewing techniques (i.e. more hops and alcohol for extension of microbiological stability of the beer). For that you have to really appreciate the history of the style and the brewers that originated it. I think as Americans we also go over the top with it – the English would never brew beer that tastes like this! But that is ok and I think it speaks to the fact that we have a healthy hop growing industry in this country and we are going to highlight that industry via the production of beers that have a healthy dose of hops in them for both flavor and aroma,” says Haggerty.
We asked NHB President, Brett Vanderkamp what he thinks makes IPA style brews so popular among craft beer drinkers: “In an artistic sense, the brewer is able to express themselves by coming up with different variations of the style. Adding different hop varieties creates a unique flavor profile and shows the brewer’s personality. Centennial hops are the common thread among our Hatter’s. The new Hatter’s released this year feature things like Oak aging and Rye, which can open up a new avenue for for an IPA lover to try a Rye beer, for example.”
IPA Day is opportunity for breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. Getting involved is easy; the only requirements are an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag (Twitter) and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend!
Track down your favorite IPA’s, ones you’ve been meaning to try, and ones you’ve never heard of; share them with friends and share your thoughts with the world. Have a good time and know that by sharing your experiences online, you’re strengthening the craft beer community at large.
In honor of this prestigious occasion, New Holland and Barcade (Jersey City, NJ) will be teaming up for a night of thrills and excitement including oysters, the Mayor of Jersey City, and 12 special New Holland brews including their Hatter Day Hatter IPA Series.
