The British beer consumer lobby group CAMRA has an acronym that stands for the Campaign for Real Ale. More correctly it should stand for the Campaign for Running Ales, for in truth all the so called ‘real ales’ of today are descended from the running ales that were developed during the nineteenth century and these in turn were developed from the pale ales that emerged from Burton on Trent when it took over the mantle of brewing capital of the world from London.
Burton did not build its reputation on these pale running ales, however. It built its name on a mighty ale that was shipped to every corner of the British Empire. India Pale Ale.
If you are visiting this site from anywhere other than the USA, you have probably never tasted an India Pale Ale or IPA. If you are visiting from the UK you almost certainly never have. This is because, the Meantime Brewing Company apart – no one brews one. True a number of beers are called IPA but, in the words of Britain’s leading beer writer Roger Protz, they may be decent enough beers, but to call them IPA is ‘an abuse of history’.
This is because, by and large, they are fairly low in alcohol and consequently fail the first test of what it means to be an IPA. In essence IPA is the world’s first ‘export’ beer, and understanding what that means for a beer is the key to understanding IPA and the influence of Burton-on-Trent on British beer since the nineteenth century.