India Pale Ales have a long and storied history in the annals of beerdom. Enterprising British brewers originally made the ale for shipment to British troops in India in the 1700s, and had to brew it with enough hops and alcohol content to survive the long journey by sea. Overtime, it has become one of the most celebrated and copied ale styles in the world.

In the summer months, New Jersey might as well be India, except with the added pleasure of dealing with 100% humidity and aggresively hostile mosquitoes. Whenever it gets too hot, I head for my beer cooler of choice and usually look for something in the Pale Ale/IPA category. Recently, I took a chance on a six pack of Yards IPA from Yards Brewing Company of Philadelphia, PA. I had never had their brews before and at $6.99 a six, it was a price leader over the others in the category.

Yards (www.yardsbrewing.com) has been in business since 1994 and has steadily expanded both in size and offerings. They currently produce seven different brews (4 year round, 3 seasonal) and their stated goal is ”to craft the best tasting, freshest and most genuine English and Belgian style ales in the region.”

With their IPA, Yards has certainly opened my eyes and taste buds. Yards IPA is bottled conditioned, meaning a small amount of yeast and sugars are added prior to bottling. The ale undergoes a secondary fermentation as the yeast remains active in the bottle and “conditions” or naturally carbonates the ale over time. Bottle conditioning also allows the buyer to store the beer longer if desired. The one caveat about bottle conditioning is that the beer requires more care in storage, handling, and pouring in order to preserve its best qualities. [See www.williamsburgbrewing.com/bottlecondition.html for an explanation of why brewers like to use this method. For an opposing viewpoint, see http://members.lycos.co.uk/curmudgeon/beer00/curm0003.html]

Yards IPA boasts an 8% alcohol by volume (ABV) rating; it has a surprisingly strong kick for those who go a “session” or two with it.

Yards IPA pours out to a full head, golden amber color with a crisp floral note detected immediately. The taste is sharp, sweet, and biting. The ale has a clear citrus bite with a tempting dry bitterness at the finish. The sweet/dry entanglement rages throughout the mouth making this a serious “lip smacker.”

The ale has some thirst quenching capabilities and the tastiness of it could easily lull one into having another and another, but the ABV rating requires a bit of caution in that regard. Yards IPA is a serious IPA, one that should appeal to lovers of the style and other taste adventurers. It may not be an everyday beer, but I will certainly return to this one again. Four stars and recommended for lovers of the IPA style.



Recommended: Yes