National IPA Day

The History Behind IPA: A Bittersweet Brew

The first Thursday in August marks National IPA Day—this year, it lands on August 7th. We have beer writer Ashley Routson, author of The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer, to thank for establishing this hoppy holiday back in 2011.

We’ve all heard of IPAs—they’re bold, bitter, and beloved by craft beer fans. But have you ever wondered where this iconic style actually came from?

To get there, we have to take a detour through a darker chapter of history.

From the mid-1700s to 1947, India was under British rule—first through the East India Company, and later as a formal colony of the British Empire. This wasn’t just a “foreign presence”; it was an exploitative system built on resource extraction, military occupation, and the subjugation of millions. It’s a history that deserves acknowledgment, even in conversations about something as seemingly light as beer.

So how does IPA fit into this picture?

Well, the British living in India—soldiers, civil servants, and colonists—still craved the comforts of home, including beer. But brewing in India’s hot climate, before refrigeration, wasn’t practical. Instead, British brewers shipped beer from England to the Indian subcontinent, a journey that could take up to six months by sea. Unfortunately, most beer didn’t survive the trip well—until brewers started experimenting with a simple solution: more hops!

Hops, with their natural antimicrobial properties, helped the beer endure the long voyage. Over time, brewers created more heavily hopped versions of pale ales specifically for export to India. Thus, the “India Pale Ale” was born.

Interestingly, there were also “East India Porters” made for export—less well known today—but it’s the IPA that stuck around, evolved, and eventually helped spark a craft beer revolution.

The popularity of the IPA faded during the 1900s as lighter, crisper lagers took center stage. But in the 1990s, American craft brewers began rediscovering and reinventing the style, helping it roar back into the spotlight. Since then, IPAs have evolved into a whole universe of their own—and we’re lucky enough to live in a time (and a city) where options abound.

Every now and then, you might come across a historical or English-style IPA that pays homage to 19th-century recipes (we recommend checking out Zebulon Artisan Ales in Weaverville for that kind of experience). But more commonly, you’ll see styles that reflect modern regional twists: West Coast IPAs—bright, clear, and packed with pine and citrus; East Coast IPAs—better known as the hazy ones, juicy and soft on the palate.

Then there’s the whole spectrum of creative riffs:

• Black IPAs, which challenge the name since they’re not pale at all.
• Rye IPAs, with a spicy kick.
• Belgian IPAs, brewed with traditional Belgian yeast strains.
• Cold IPAs, which blur the lines by using lager yeast—some even call them India Pale Lagers (IPLs).
• Session IPAs, for those who want the hops without the high ABV.
• Double and Triple IPAs, for those who do.
• And of course, the boundary-pushing styles—fruited, sour, milkshake IPAs—reminding us that creativity in beer is alive and well.

So, on this National IPA Day, we invite you to raise a glass with us—not to the circumstances that gave birth to the IPA, but to the way this style has been reclaimed, reimagined, and shared by brewers and beer lovers around the world.

To help you celebrate, we’ve brewed up a flight of IPAs just for the occasion:

• Coastin’ – Our flagship West Coast IPA, hopped with Simcoe, Idaho 7, and Amarillo Cryo. Bright, crisp, and deliciously grapefruity.
• Grapefruit Coastin’ – A citrus bomb built off our base IPA, amped up with fresh grapefruit juice.
• Night to Rewind – Coastin’ blended with pineapple for a tropical, laid-back twist.
• All Disco, No Panic – Our rotating-hop New England Hazy IPA. This batch features Mosaic hops for a fruit-forward, spicy, floral profile.
• Time Capsule – A throwback to 90s-era IPAs, where malt balance and hop bitterness take center stage.
• Too Cool for School – Is it a Cold Pale Ale? Cold IPA? IPL? Hoppy lager? Whatever the label, it’s clean, crisp, and downright delicious.

Come grab a flight or a few pints and celebrate the wide world of IPAs with us here at 12 Bones. We’ll bring the hops—you bring the good company.