Tasting

A West Coast IPA first greets the nose with grapefruit, orange peel, and fresh pine needles. On the palate follows a resinous bitterness that lingers, finishing dry. With a Pale Ale, everything is a bit gentler; with a Double IPA, there's an added warmth from the alcohol.

Four beers from the region serve as examples. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale shows the style in its classic form. Torpedo Extra IPA from the same brewery represents the stronger IPA category, hopped using the Hop Torpedo. Pliny the Elder from Russian River is a Double IPA. Lagunitas IPA from Petaluma has belonged to Heineken since 2017 and ranks among the best-selling IPAs in the US.

The usual glass is the pint, a slender vessel holding 473 milliliters—in the US, a slightly shy half-liter. Anyone chasing aroma reaches for a tulip glass or a dedicated IPA glass, which narrows toward the top to concentrate the fragrance.

The ideal serving temperature is around 6 to 9 degrees Celsius, not ice-cold. Too much chill mutes the aroma. Freshness matters above all: hop aroma fades within a few weeks, which is why cans and bottles carry a packaging date. An IPA is best enjoyed as young as possible.

The same rules apply when pouring from the tap as with any draft beer: clean lines, a glass free of grease residue, and about two fingers of foam. Pliny the Younger is released once a year at the brewpubs in Santa Rosa and Windsor, and the wait for it has become the stuff of legend.