Earlier this year, we hosted our friends JF and Stephane from Dieu Du Ciel! in Montreal, Canada, and Logan Plant from Beavertown out of London, UK, for a 3-Country-3-Way smackdown at the Rehoboth Beach brewpub. Considering that all three of the countries we hail from have had historical connections to the British Empire, we decided to brew a beer drawing influences from another country that played a large role in the history of England: India. 

Each brewery selected an ingredient originating from India and we weaved those ingredients into an IPA base, a style originally brewed in England. Sam chose Jaggery, a palm sugar originating from India, while the Dieu Du Ciel! crew went with Malabar black pepper, and Logan drew on influences from his childhood (Indian culture and cuisine are very big in London) and chose Tamarind, a tart tropical fruit. A lil’ cumin was tossed in for good measure. These were all added along with malts from Canada, UK, and the U.S., Calypso and Citra Hops, and then the resulting complex aromatic wort was fermented with a blend of yeast strains originating from both the UK and the U.S. The beer was then dry hopped with more Citra to really pull out the funky hop aromatics. 

The result is a dry-ish IPA with complex notes of tropical fruit and exotic spice along with pungent hops. A perfect food beer, this would pair great with our fish tacos, pizzas or woodgrilled wings.

While the sun may never have set on the British Empire, we have a feeling this one won’t see daylight for long, so grab a pint before this brewpub exclusive collaboration liberates itself from the tap lines!