American-Style Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

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Location:North American
Category:Ale
BJCP Comparable Category:22A - Double IPA

Beer Style Description

This is the description of how the American-Style Imperial or Double India Pale Ale style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the American-Style Imperial or Double India Pale Ale beer style.

This style of beer should exhibit the fresh character of hops. Oxidized or aged character should not be present. Versions of this style brewed with darker malts, non-traditional ale yeasts, fruits, spices or other flavorings are categorized as Experimental India Pale Ales.

  • Color: Straw to medium amber
  • Body: Medium to full
  • Malt Flavors & Aromas: Low to medium pale malt character is typical. Low pale caramel malt character may be present.
  • Hop Flavors & Aromas: Hop aroma and flavor is very high. Hop character should be fresh and evident, derived from any variety of hops. Hop flavor should not be harsh.
  • IBUs/Bitterness: Very high but not harsh
  • Fermentation Characteristics: Alcohol content is medium-high to high and evident. Fruity esters are medium to high. Diacetyl should not be present.
  • Common Ingredients: Clean 2-row malt is typical as a base grain; an excessively complex grist can be distracting. Crystal-type malts often muddy the hop flavors, and are generally considered undesirable in significant quantities. Sugar or other highly fermentable adjuncts are often used to increase attenuation, as are lower-temperature mash rests. Can use a complex variety of hops, typically American or New World, often with cutting-edge profiles providing distinctive differences. Modern hops with unusual characteristics are not out of style. American yeast that can give a clean or slightly fruity profile.
  • Commercial Examples: Avery Maharaja, Fat Heads Hop Juju, Firestone Walker Double Jack, Port Brewing Hop 15, Russian River Pliny the Elder, Stone Ruination IPA, Three Floyds Dreadnaught

Brewing Properties of American-Style Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

These are the functional brewing properties of American-Style Imperial or Double India Pale Ale beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.

ABV
The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have.
7.6 - 10.6%
Bitterness
The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer.
65 - 100 IBUs
SRM
SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more »
–
2 - 9 SRM
(4 - 18 EBC)
Original Gravity
Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer.
1.070 - 1.100
Final Gravity
The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete.
1.012 - 1.020

If you see an error in our data, please let us know!

Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.