India Pale Ale and the Afterlife

This is an ale made with lots of hops, Humulus lupulus (1), used to impart a bitterness and/or a “hoppy” aroma to the brew depending on the variety. Hops is also an important stabilizer and acts as a preservative for long-term storage. By the mid fifteen hundreds the British were using hops to improve the shelf life of ales, and when the empire expanded into the tropical parts of the globe, hoppy ale was brewed to survive the long sea voyage to the destination ports of India and other places.
In the early 1800’s, a particularly strong hoppy ale was brewed and it was called India Pale Ale or just IPA(2). The combination of the malt, hops and other ingredients varied by brewer, but a steady feature was the very strong bitter flavor indicating more than the usual amount of hops. The high amount of hops used to brew IPA assured that it would survive the long and rough ride to India.
Today this style of brewing is gaining favor all over America, even as it wanes in Brittan. Most small breweries create their own versions, and competition for medals is fierce. IPA is my favorite brew.
So, having sampled no less than 9 different IPA’s in 4 days in San Diego, it came to me last night that the perfect solution to being deprived of IPA after death was obvious: Find a funeral home that would agree to embalm me with a good strong double IPA like Strauss’s “Big Barrel Double IPA” (3). Finding a director with a love for good beer shouldn’t be a problem. The problem would be getting the smile off my face.

Image: http://www.karlstrauss.com/index2.html
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Pale_Ale
3. http://www.karlstrauss.com/index2.html