Lallemand Brewing has recently partnered with Verdant Brewing Co on the commercial launch of the house strain from this leading brewery. Here, Robert Percival, regional sales manager for Europe at the global leader in yeast, bacteria and specialty ingredients, takes us on a journey of the evolution of IPA and explains more about the project with the Cornish brewery.

When we think of IPA in a historic sense, we often associate the heyday of this iconic beer style with Victorian Britain and the industrial powerhouse breweries of the 1830s. However, the start of the IPA journey goes some way back further in time.

The 1700s saw the start of what we could refer to as modern British brewing, the start of industrialization and commercialisation of beer.

The rise of cities is key in this respect. Large populations moved from the countryside to establish and populate cities, centres of industry and production.

This influenced brewing as well, and we see a shift in the nature and scale of production from smaller brew pubs and production on estates (farms and abbeys as two examples) to large commercial production in the cities.

The Industrial Revolution also brought technological advances which ultimately brought greater consistency and control over the brewing process – these included thermometers, hydrometers and steam production.

We often think about hops as the defining ingredient of IPA but we cannot overstate the importance of pale malt in the origins and development the style.

Malt production and specifically kilning was integral to the development of pale malt, specifically the move to coke fueled kilning (coal derived) resulting in lower temperatures and cleaner flavour.

So, this new malting technology allowed for new beer styles which would provide the basis of what became IPA in the 1800s

Exporting was a significant aspect of British brewing history and the shipping of IPA was central to its story. Beer on ships was nothing new, beer was commonly used as an alternative to water and was included in rationing for sailors.

Beer from Britain was shipped to colonies of the British Empire and exports grew as empire reached its peak.

Exports to North America were princi-pally supplied from London with other countries such as the West Indies and Australia being supplied via Bristol.

Export to India from London breweries had been commonplace in the mid- 1700s, while at a similar time Burton Breweries were exporting to the Baltics and Russia.

The strong growth in export saw the rapid expansion of breweries in London and Burton in particular.

Stronger beer survived long voyages and hops proved to be an excellent preservative, which was to become very important in the beers that eventually gained favour in India.

The trip to India took around 6 months and crossed the equator twice, beers making the journey needed to be robust. One measure taken by brewers to help preserve the beer on this punishing journey was to add somewhere in the region of 33% more hops, these were added dry and direct to the cask.

October beer and stock ale greatly influenced the beers that would later become known as IPA. They certainly had the characteristics that suited them to the long voyage well, being strong and highly hopped.

October beers were brewed using 100% pale malt using fresh harvest malt and hops. Alcohol content was high, typically around 9-10%.

Although relatively low attenuation was common; upon leaving primary fermentation these beers were aged in barrels and subject to secondary fermentation over time.

In many ways the October beers of this time could be considered a type of harvest beer, and it is certainly likely they influenced the recipe and brewing of early IPAs.

With trade and export being so critical to the story of IPA it would be impossible not to talk about the East India Company.

Based in East London and founded in 1600 it dominated trade between the UK and India at the height of the British Empire. At its peak it had a fleet of over 70 ships, a large private army and traded in silk, cotton, spices and tea.

Many historic brewers could lay a claim on the title of the worlds first IPA, but the story of George Hodgson’s Bow Brewery is certainly an import one.

Founded in 1752 in East London near to the headquarters of the East India Company the Bow Brewery focused primarily on the production of Porter.

Hodgson built up close ties with the East India Company and gained favour with its officers by offering favourable credit terms.

Ruthless business practice and price gouging gave Hodgson what was effectively a monopoly on the supply of beer to India in the late 1700s. Many styles were exported, including porter, but it was Hodgsons Pale Ale that gained favour.

This beer had a similar recipe and profile to stock and October beers, it was pale, strong and highly hopped.

The beer was aged for one year on site at the brewery before then being shipped and conditioned on the boat. It arrived after the long journey “clear, brilliant and straw coloured”.

The use of the word IPA was not coined until as late as 1829 so it is not accurate to say that Hodgson invented IPA.

What can be said for certain is that the Pale Ales produced at the Bow Brewery along with Hodgson’s ruthless commercial practices were very important contributors to the overall IPA story.

While early IPAs and their export to India was dominated by the London breweries it was the breweries of Burton-on-Trent in the Midlands of England that were to become primarily associated with the IPA boom.

There had been brewing in Burton as early as 1100AD and records show that beers were being shipped to London as early as the 1630s.

It was the Trent Canal Act of 1698 that opened up trade and export from the town. Early shipping and exports mainly consisted of porter and stout beers to the Baltics and Russia.

Later, following construction of the Mersey Canal in 1777, IPA shipping via Liverpool became the primary source of export.

Water composition was, and still is, key to the characteristics of Burton beers; high calcium and sulphate enhances fermentation and flocculation resulting in highly attenuated beers with good micro stability and a distinct flavour and character.

In the 1700s breweries in Burton flourished largely due to export of porters and stouts to Russia and the Baltics, via London.

This effectively ended after 1783 when high taxes increases of 300% were levied by Russian authorities to promote domestic production. As a result, in the 1800s Burton Brewers looked to new outlets for export.

More open trading practices caused the monopoly enjoyed by Hodgson and the East India Company to weaken, and Burton brewer Allsopp was asked to replicate Hodgsons famous pale ale.

Pale Ale export via Liverpool grew and by the 1830s Burton became the epicenter of IPA production in the UK. In the early 1830s Bass breweries supplied around 40% of all IPA exports to India from the UK this represented 60% of the total production of the brewery.
Export and international trade were at the very heart of the stratospheric success of IPA.

So where does yeast fit in to the IPA story?

There is little understanding of the nature of yeast until the mid to late 1800s, and certainly there will have been a great deal of diversity across UK brewers in terms of the strains and cultures used.

There is some information that can give us insight into the general character of yeasts used to ferment these beers.

For example, many historic recipes indicate they used yeasts with characteristics common to this day including; high attenuation, good alcohol tolerance, and a “clean” flavour and aroma.

This will have been brewery dependent and many beers of this time would have been fermented using complex multi-strain cultures.

In a similar fashion to the traditions of European farmhouse brewing, strains and cultures were shared between breweries.

As brewing became increasingly industrialized many of these historic cultures and their unique characters gradually died out. This can in part be explained by advances in microbiology.

In the mid-1800s, Louis Pasteur discovered that yeast was a living microorganism and as late as November 12, 1883, Emil Christian Hansen in the Carlsberg Laboratories developed pure culture techniques, isolating and purifying the first single cell brewing yeast culture. Today, most brewers use single strain pure culture yeast!

The production and popularity of IPA saw a significant decline towards the late 1800s and in to the early 1900s.

A variety of factors contributed this – social and political pressures such as the temperance movement, a general trend towards lower alcohol content and lower original gravity beers, WWI, which brought with it rationing and increased taxes, and the rise of lager breweries in India which displaced imported beers. IPA production continued in the UK, however there were notable changes in flavour, process and alcohol content.

In effect, the strong full flavoured beers that became so popular in the mid 19th century had been toned down as session ales.

Over the course of the 20th Century the brewing market was broadly consolidated, and beers were largely “homogenous”.

This prompted a backlash from consumers and brewers alike. In the 1970s and 80s a counter movement started in the US; Anchor, Sierra Nevada and Bert Grants being key pioneers in what would become the start of the craft beer revolution which we are still experiencing today.

These and other brewers sought to revive old beer styles and recipes, whilst experimenting with new raw materials.

The influence of the historic IPA style was clear, and combining new and bold US hops such as Cascade added an extra dimension to these beers.

Over time and leading up to the modern day this quest for flavour and diversity has led to an explosion in different interpretations of IPA. Now, far from being one single style we can experience IPA in many different forms:

• English IPA
• American IPA
• West Coast IPA
• East Coast IPA
• Black/Dark IPA
• Double IPA
• Triple IPA
• Belgian IPA
• White IPA
• Fruit IPA
• Sour IPA

With all this diversity and quest for flavour it is hardly surprising that yeast strain selection has become critical to modern IPA.

With so many yeast strains now available it is essential that a brewer considers some key characteristics when selecting which strain they want to use, including;

Flavour; will the flavour contributed by the yeast compliment the type of IPA being produced?

Aroma; Is a more neutral and cleaner aroma desired or would a fruity and aromatic yeast be preferable to combine with modern hop profiles?

Attenuation; which sugars will the yeast ferment and what subsequent effect will this have on ABV, body and mouthfeel?

Alcohol tolerance; Is the yeast capable of going to a higher ABV without any stress-related off flavours?

Flocculation; Does the beer being produced require a highly flocculant strain and how will the flocculence impact on the finished beer?

In addition to these key characteristics the fermentation temperature and profile will be factors in the overall character of the beer.

Also to be considered is the impact of dry hopping and yeast and hop interactions. Indeed, biotransformation and the impact that yeast has on potential hop aroma is an area of great interest and research at present.

With all this in mind Lallemand have highlighted 5 key brewing yeast strains in a range of “IPA Solutions” offering different characteristics and contributions to creating and fine-tuning different IPA styles.

The following two pages provide an overview and key data relating to selecting the right strain for producing an IPA.

What is clear is that brewing has come a long way since the 18th century and the inception of the first IPAs.

Key aspects of this iconic style remain, and influence modern IPA to this day, but the style has evolved into something with much diversity, with brewers free to explore new flavours and aromas. Yeast is now a central part of this conversation.

Whatever interpretation and type of IPA a brewer wishes to create they have all the tools and information to make informed and accurate decisions and to be creative.

Already centuries old, IPA has a bright and exciting future!

In the last edition of the Brewers Journal you will have read about the exciting developments happening at Verdant Brewing Co, including our recent launch of the house strain from this leading brewery renowned for its modern IPAs.

This new LalBrew® Verdant IPA strain represents a real first for Lallemand, a very close and direct collaboration with a leading brewer to produce and dry their house yeast and make it available for all brewers to use.

This exciting project has been three years in the making. Verdant Brewing Co. (Falmouth, UK) value this strain as being totally unique and suitable for a broad range of IPAs and other beer styles, contributing prominent notes of apricot and undertones of tropical fruit and citrus which merge seamlessly with hop aromas.

Moreover, dozens of breweries around the world have conducted very successful pilot brewing trials with LalBrew® Verdant IPA in recent months resulting in a hugely successful collaborative project.

Some of the key features and data from this exciting yeast strain can be seen below