Meer over IPA
Which IPA are you looking for?
- Hazy or New England IPA: cloudy, soft and full, with an intense fruity hop aroma and less bitterness. Heavily dry hopped, partly already during fermentation.
- West Coast IPA: clear, top-fermented and dry, with a lot of hop, little malt and a medium to very high bitterness.
- English IPA: less hop and more malt (bread, biscuit, toffee), and usually fruitier because of the British yeast.
- Session IPA up to 5%, double IPA (also imperial IPA) of 7.5–10% and triple IPA. That last one is not an official style: look mainly at the alcohol percentage.
Hoppy but less bitter? Try a pale ale. You can read how the styles differ in the Beer School on IPA.
Choosing by hop
The aroma comes from the hop oil, and the yeast plays a part too: it converts hop compounds and can release fruity-smelling thiols. If a hop variety is on the label, you can read in the Beer School how it is described, for example Citra (grapefruit, lime, tropical fruit), Mosaic (tropical fruit, citrus, berry), Simcoe (pine, citrus), Nelson Sauvin (white grape, gooseberry) and Riwaka (citrus, grapefruit).
What you'll find at Hoptimaal
Hundreds of IPAs, from hazy to clear and from session to triple. Breweries you often come across here: Brasserie du Bas-Canada, Badlands, Messorem, BreWskey, Factory Brewing, FrauGruber, Fine Balance, Lolev, Rock City and Pentrich. With every beer you see the current Untappd score.
Fresher is better
Hop aroma is fragile. In research at Oregon State University, storage temperature had the biggest effect: with heat and more oxygen, tropical, citrus and hoppy aromas disappeared, and cardboard and dried-fruit notes took their place. So store IPA cool and drink it fresh. A can lets no light through, and light causes the skunky smell ('skunky') in beer. A good starting point for serving is 7–10 °C. Drink it from a glass, because much of what you taste is smell.
Buy IPA at Hoptimaal
At Hoptimaal you buy IPA online or in our shop at Leeghwater 5 in Amersfoort. You order IPA per piece, so a hazy, a West Coast and a double IPA can simply go together in one order. Order before 3 pm on working days and we ship the same day. Shipping within the Netherlands is free from €75.
Would you rather not choose every time yourself? With the Beer Club, our beer subscription, you get a box at home every month that we fill.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an IPA stay good?
Drink it as fresh as possible. The hop aroma fades as you store it, especially when it is warm. In research, oxygen too had a demonstrable effect after just two weeks. After the best-before date an IPA is usually not spoiled, but often less fresh.
What is the difference between a hazy and a West Coast IPA?
A hazy IPA is cloudy, full and soft, with a lot of fruit and a low to medium bitterness. A West Coast IPA is clear, dry and quite bitter, with, for example, pine, citrus or resin. According to the style guides, the West Coast IPA is clearly the more bitter of the two.
Is IPA always a strong beer?
No. The BJCP recognises IPA in three strengths: session (3.0–5.0%), standard (5.0–7.5%) and double (7.5–10.0%). The historical IPA, too, was not an exceptionally strong beer for its time. More on this in the Beer School.
How do you find IPAs from Dutch brewers?
Use the country filter and tick the Netherlands. With the brewery filter you then see everything from one brewer together, for example from Frontaal or VAT'33.
