Hey there! I see you’re drinking an IPA! Good, right? Yeah, they’re my fave too. Nothing better than a nice, hoppy IPA to whet the whistle. It’s always the first thing I reach for when someone looks bored, like they want to spend some marketing campaign money on organic traffic.

You know why they’re called IPAs right? YOU DON’T?! Oh man, you’re going to be so happy you clicked on this helpful article. Actually, this is good for both of us.

Let’s start with the name: IPA. “IPA” is just an acronym for India Pale Ale. So it’s a type of pale ale that’s associated with the country of India. I know, pretty wild. Speaking of India… they are expected to be the world’s most populated country as of next year. I should look into getting big over there with some targeted promotions. Could really increase my unique impressions, or at least sell a banner ad or two.

Believe it or not, the story goes that the beers ORIGINATED in England. Yeah, crazy right? See, the voyage by boat from Great Britain to India was so long that on the way, the beer the men stowed on the ships would go bad. Old, outdated content that needed a refresh, if you will. Really brought down their ranks. 

So what these brewing pioneers did was, they LOADED up these beers with hops to make them stronger. Kind of like shoving as many beer keywords into your opinion piece copy as possible. That way, they could last the entire trip to India and not go bad. These extra hops added a lot of bitterness and alcohol content. The sailors decided they liked the bitterness if it got them more drunk. Same, amirite?!

How do I know so much? I’m glad you asked, fellow hop head! I actually run this craft beer satire site, so unfortunately it’s my job to know all these minutiae details about the latest beer craze. Especially haze. 

HA! That rhymed! By any chance do you know if Google takes rhyming into consideration when making its rankings?

Anyway, thus, the “India Pale Ale” or “IPA” was born! So now if someone asks you “What does IPA stand for?” or “How did IPAs get so hoppy?” or “Who makes the best IPA?” or “Do IPAs give you man boobs?” or “IPAs near me,” you have an answer for them!