どこかが違うIPA

物体や事象に名前をつけると必ず「名前がついていない部分」が生まれます。しかし、多くの人間が「名前がついていない部分」を気にするようになるとそこに新しく名前をつけてまた区別するようになります。だんだん細分化されていくわけです。人間の認識って本当に面白いなぁと思います。

クラフトビールの代名詞のようにも語られる、IPA。今の日本だとアメリカンIPAのことをデフォルトで単にIPAと呼んでいると思ってまず間違いないと思うのですが、IPAにも色々と亜種が現れています。品評会の審査カテゴリーになっているか、つまりガイドラインにおいてサブカテゴリーとして明文化されているかはとりあえず置いておいて、世間ではすでに「アメリカンIPAとはどこかが違うIPA」に関する言葉がたくさんあるのです。IPAが好きだから「アメリカンIPAとはどこかが違うIPA」が気になって仕方ない人が多いという証拠ですね。

さて、「アメリカンIPAとはどこかが違うIPA」は今どんなものがあるのでしょうか?craftbeer.comの10 Sub-Styles of IPA You Can’t Missによるとこんな感じ、だそうです。

①American East Coast-Style IPA(東海岸IPA)
These IPAs showcase the citrus and pine flavors that America has grown to love—the flavors that have consistently made IPA the most entered category at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. Like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or The Princess Bride, these are the go-to classics that yield new twists every time they’re enjoyed.
柑橘や松の風味を持つ、アメリカで人気の高まっているIPA。

②West Coast-Syle IPA(西海岸IPA)
This is the style traditionally suited to California and the West Coast that eschew the traditions of IPAs. Brewers of these hop bombs back down on the malt and go full throttle on the hop flavor. These IPAs are the seductive and outgoing sisters of the traditional IPA.
カリフォルニアや西海岸に合わせたIPA。ホップフレーバーがどかんと効いている。

③Session IPA(セッションIPA)
Session IPAs are the current craze–mixing the high-octane flavors of an IPA with the low gravity of a session beer. Imagine a Toyota Camry that blasts off like a full-throttle Ferrari. These IPAs have massive flavor but the alcohol content that allows a drinker to enjoy several and not feel the adverse effects. Sometimes these blur the line between pale ale and IPA, but the style is taking hold and looking for new faithful followers.
セッションビールの持つ低比重であることを備えたIPA。

④Fruit IPA(フルーツIPA)
These IPAs bring together what on the surface may seem like an unlikely combination: fruit and IPA. Depending on the fruit, sometimes the combination can seem natural, like grapefruit and IPA, and other times it can seemed forced like strawberry jalapeño. Occasionally these are not every drinker’s favorite, but sometimes the combination ends up being a cult hit. It could be the beer version of Rocky Horror Picture Show or Rocky 5, but no one knows until it winds up in an IPA glass.
果物入りIPA。グレープフルーツのように自然な感じになるものや、いちごやハラペーニョを合わせたものまで。

⑤Imperial or Double IPA(インペリアルIPA・ダブルIPA)
The big brother of all the previous styles that has been around the block. These brash and braggadocious IPAs have no problem expressing machisimo in the form of lupulin. A double IPA is an IPA that has read the warning signs and has decided to run with scissors, climb to the top rung or pull the tag off the mattress while still in the store. These beers have and ABV from seven percent and up and probably a few tattoos as well.
前述のIPAのお兄さん的存在。ルプリンがっつり。度数7%もしくはそれ以上。

⑥Wet Hop IPA(ウェットホップIPA)
For someone who enjoys IPAs, forget Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year is wet hop beer season. Since hops are usually pelletized, a purist would argue that something is lost when hops go from flowers to pellets. Well, purists have been answered: hops are trucked or overnighted from field to brewery and a narrow window of hours exists to get the hops into the beer-making process.
農場で取れたホップを生のまま使って仕込むIPA。

⑦Wood-Aged IPA(ウッドエイジIPA)
In the brewer’s hands, this style can be a marriage made in Valhalla. Like barbecue or chainsaw whittling, different woods can change the finished product in flavor and appearance. Many brewers have tried their hands with an IPA and an unlikely wood and come out with a new favorite beer to show for it.
樽や木材を使用し、風味をつけたIPA

⑧Black IPA(ブラックIPA)
Why should IPAs be limited to those showcasing colors in the lower SRM scale? For several years now, the Great American Beer Festival has judged black IPAs, those hoppy dark beers that join stout roastiness with IPA hoppiness like a hero who is both tender and steel-hearted. The spirit of #IPAday is going beyond the comfort zone, trying something new—why not expand horizons with this style-bending Pacific Northwest favorite?
SRMが高く、スタウト的焦げ感とホッピーさを兼ね備えた黒いIPA。

⑨Coffee IPA(コーヒーIPA)
This one sounds like it would be a barista’s nightmare, but lovers of this style swear that opposites attract. The smelting of coffee and hops is one invention that may seem unusual, but the style is growing in popularity. Many brewers have even teamed up with local artisan coffee roasters to ensure that the coffee chosen is perfect for the brew.
コーヒーを使ったIPA。豆のロースターとコラボしたものも多い。

⑩Eclectic IPA(エクレクティックIPA)
These are the IPAs that don’t really fit into a specific subcategory categories. These beers showcase ingredients of many and varied origins, and embody the spirit of experimentation that so many craft brewers embrace. Get out there and try something new, especially on #IPA
直訳すると、「折衷IPA」。醸造家の思いに応じ、様々なものが組み合わされる。

ここにはありませんが、”Brett IPA”(ブレットIPA、ブレタノマイセス酵母を使用したもの)や”white IPA”(ホワイトIPA、小麦を使用したもの)も最近ちょくちょく聞くようになりましたね。ベルギーのスタイルを取り入れたベルジャンIPAも増えています。細分化が必要なほど、みなさんIPAが好きで好きで仕方ないということなのでしょうね。シーンのスピードが早いので追いかけていくのは大変ですが、これからも楽しみながらやりたいと思います。