Style: Imperial IPA

• The Imperial India Pale Ale, also known as the Double Imperial Pale Ale (DIPA) is an invention that only an American brewer would dream of - an extreme version of an existing and already extreme beer style, the India Pale Ale. In many cases, the words "Imperial" and "Double" have become interchangeable when it comes to beer styles.
  
  Like the standard India Pale Ale, either English or American hop varieties can be used in this higher alcohol, highly hopped brew, but American hops are most commonly used and people have come to expect the citrus or pine character of American hops in Imperial India Pale Ales. No matter their country of origin, a very liberal use of hops is the key to a successful version of this style and most of them contain a lot of malt as well in order to allow for higher alcohol content.
  
  The origin of the Imperial India Pale Ale is somewhat controversial, but many credit Vinnie Cilurzo, now owner of Russian River Brewing (CA), with the creation of the style while he was brewing at Blind Pig Brewing Company, also in California.
• Browse Imperial IPA