CL-086 David Jesudason Sets Sail on the Myth of IPA
What is an IPA? Most drinkers around the world would probably identify IPA as the flagship style of the modern craft beer movement. As its popularity has grown, it has become known for a bunch of different\u2014and often contradictory\u2014characteristics. A modern IPA is either bitter or not bitter; pale, white, or black; very strong, sessionable, or nonalcoholic. But while IPA in all its forms is loved around the world, relatively few drinkers would be likely to name the drink\u2019s intimate connection with the history of colonial exploitation.
In this episode, I talk to David Jesudason, the author of a recent article, \u201cEmpire State of Mind \u2014 Interrogating IPA\u2019s Colonial Identity,\u201d that ran in our Critical Drinking series. In this conversation, we discuss David\u2019s article and his take on the history of IPA, or India Pale Ale, to use its full name. We talk about mercantilism, extractive capitalism, and the East India Company, a massive corporation which maintained its own private army to protect its lucrative businesses during the British occupation of India. We talk about beer advertising and beer labels, and we discuss the prevalence of colonial-themed d\xe9cor in modern British culture, including plantation shutters, and what seems like a widespread nostalgia for colonies and empire there.