Exploring different types of craft IPA
We love 'the Art of Brewing', which means enjoying the process, invention and learning or brewing different types of beer, using different ingredients and utilising them to create a variety of delicious Cornish craft beers. Few modern beer styles celebrate this more than the IPA. The 'India pale ale' has changed immensely over the years, with it being a beer style that has an offering for every palate and every occasion, it is a chameleon like beer that demonstrates just how creative modern craft beer brewing can be.
At the lower end of the scale is the session IPA is a session IPA, something that would be sitting around 3.5% ABV to 4.5% ABV. It's a beer crafted for those longer, more relaxed evenings or afternoons. As a style of IPA, it is typically light in body, easy drinking and refreshing. This is a beer with bright aromas that would usually lean towards citrus and tropical fruit, coupled with gentle notes of pine. Usually, the bitterness is dialled down a bit, giving a crisp and clean finish to allow the beer to not feel too heavy, a beer that you can enjoy a few pints of.
New England IPAs, or NEIPAs tend to be hazier in appearance. These beers offer a softer feeling, like our Slipway IPA. In terms of ABV, the NEIPA sit around 5–7% ABV, with that telltale hazy and yellow appearance. The bitterness, like a session IPA, is turned down so you can focus on flavours of ripe mango, pineapple, peach and citrus.. A combination of hops and malts make the NEIPA a big favourite in modern craft beer.
Next up is the West Coast IPA, a beer that ramps up the strength and intensity. It's a style of IPA that will be between 5% - 7% ABV, and are known for their clarity, dryness and confident bitterness. You'll find flavours of grapefruit, orange zest, pine resin and sometimes a subtle herbal edge, all carried by a clean malt backbone that stays out of the way of the hops. The finish is dry and assertive, inviting another sip and rewarding those who love a more traditional, hop-forward profile.
A dry hopped IPA requires a slightly different brewing approach, focusing a little less on bitterness and more on aroma and bold hop flavours. The hops are added late in the brewing process or during fermentation, this means brewers can extract intense aromatics without overwhelming sharpness. These beers often sit around 5–6.5% ABV and burst with notes of mango, passionfruit, peach, citrus and stone fruit. The bitterness is softer, the mouthfeel rounder, and the overall impression is juicy, vibrant and modern, which is what makes our beers Mean As and Alora so popular.
The boldest style is the double IPA, or imperial IPA. ABV levels kick off around 7.5% ABV and will often climb higher. These are beers are all about turning everything up to eleven. More hops bring deeper, richer flavours, while a stronger malt backbone provides balance and structure. Expect a fuller body, warming alcohol, and layers of flavour ranging from ripe tropical fruit to sticky resin and subtle spice. Despite the increase in power and intensity, the DIPA is s style that clings to smooth drinking and mouthfeel. Destination DIPA is our nod to this style, and one for lovers are proper bold and harder hitting beers.
Head over to our shop pages to explore our IPA offerings, from session to double IPA, and even a low alcohol version.
