India pale ale (IPA) is a hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale.

Single hop beers are an interesting newish trend which are in contrast to the standard practice of using multiple hops in a brew. Instead of using a range of different hops, one single hop is used throughout the various stages of the brewing process, providing the aroma, flavour and bitterness to the beer.

The “India Pale Ale” beer got its name dating back to the late 1700s, when exporters of beer from the British Isles to India would add hops to their brews to help preserve the beer in hotter, more tropical climates. The beers were at the time characterized by their lighter style and bitter, hoppy nature.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IPA BEER AND REGULAR BEER? IPA is a style of beer, which is popular enough these days to be called “regular” beer. It is a type of pale ale but is made with more hops, to give it a stronger flavour. There's no standardised threshold at which a pale ale becomes an IPA, though.