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