IPA Family Tree

The IPA is not one beer but a family descended from a single ancestor. This note maps the lineage; the IPA Styles MOC and IPA Style Comparison Table cover each branch in detail.

#The Lineage Diagram

#The Three Generations

#1. The Ancestor — English Pale Ale → English IPA

Earthy, marmalade-like English hops over a biscuity malt base; balanced, moderate. The historical root — see Origins of Pale Ale.

#2. The American Reinvention — American IPA

The craft revolution swapped English hops for punchy American varieties like Cascade and Centennial. This split into two dominant modern poles:

• West Coast IPA — clear, dry, aggressively bitter, citrus-and-pine.
• New England IPA — hazy, soft, low bitterness, saturated tropical aroma.

#3. The Frontier — Specialty & Experimental

Each modern pole spawned offshoots:

See Specialty and Experimental IPAs for the long tail and Modern IPA Diversification for how this explosion happened.

#How to Read the Family

Two axes explain almost every IPA:

1. Clarity / mouthfeel — bitter & clear (West Coast lineage) ↔ soft & hazy (New England lineage). Driven by Water Chemistry and the Sulfate-Chloride Ratio and Hop Haze and Colloidal Stability.
2. Intensity — session → standard → double → triple, scaling bitterness, malt, and Hops.

#Continue Reading

• IPA Styles — the full styles MOC
• IPA Style Comparison Table — every style, side by side
• Modern IPA Diversification — why the family exploded