Beer brewer recreates 'India Pale Ale' shipped from UK in 19th century

Melbourne, Fri, 01 Jun 2012 ANI

Melbourne, June 1 (ANI): A brewer chose a bizarre way to create beer similar to the original India Pale Ale (IPA), which was brewed in England and exported to India in the 19th century.

Head brewer at Railton's Seven Sheds Brewery Willie Simpson sent barrels of beer back and forth across Bass Strait for about 10,000km (a total of 23 voyages) to give them "long voyage" feel.

Two 100-litre oak barrels of beer were stowed below the car decks of the Spirit of Tasmania II, according to The Mercury,Tasmania's largest-circulating daily newspaper.

Their contents were drawn from Seven Shed's one-off batch of IPA, super-charged with home grown hops.

Simpson said England's regular drop couldn't cope with the long hot sea voyage to India.

"British troops and other ex-pats would often go for months without a decent pint of beer," News.com.au quoted him as saying.

"A new recipe was formulated one with higher alcohol and more hops, which was able to withstand the long sea voyage," he stated.

TT Line's 23-lap re-enactment promises to give the brew authenticity, taking it about the same distance as the journey from England to India via the Suez Canal. (ANI)