Hops and Glory: One man's search for the beer that built the British Empire Book

The original India Pale Ale was pure gold in a glass; a semi-mythical beer specially invented in the 19th century to travel halfway around the world through storms and tropical sunshine and arrive in perfect condition for a long cold drink on an Indian verandah. But although you can still buy beers with 'IPA' on the label they are to be frank a pale imitation of the original. For the first time in 140 years a keg of Burton IPA has been brewed with the original recipe for a voyage to India by canal and tall ship around the Cape of Good Hope; and the man carrying it is the award-winning Pete Brown Britain's best beer write. Brazilian pirates and Iranian customs officials lie ahead but will he even make it that far have fallen in the canal just a few miles out of Burton? And if Pete does make it to the other side of the world with 'Barry' the barrel one question remains: what will the real IPA taste like? Weaving first-class travel writing with assured comedy Hops and Glory is both a rollicking raucous history of the Raj and a wonderfully entertaining groundbreaking experiment to recreate the finest beer ever produced.

Hops and Glory : Paperback : Pan Macmillan : 9780330511865 : 0330511866 : 04 Jun 2010 : One man's search for the beer that built the British Empire: the original IPA