^^ Aspen Brewery ^^

Beer Stats
Style	India Pale Ale
Color	Amber
IBU	75-80
ABV	7.7%
Availability	Year-round

Aspen Brewery’s Independence Pass Ale is Aspen Brewery’s super-hopped high altitude rendition of the classic India Pale Ale style. Independence Pass Ale utilizes insane amounts of Palisade hops, a hop that is relatively new on the IPA scene. Don’t be afraid if you have not heard of Palisade hops, with alpha acids up near the 10% mark, IPA aficionados will love the hoppy brew as much as they love their magnum and cascade-hopped IPA’s. In addition, we use Columbus, Cascade, and Simcoe hops. Set in contrast with our secret mash recipe, be prepared to be wowed. This beer stinks of hops, hops, hops.

Why is this style called India Pale Ale you ask? During the height of the British Empire, Brits working and living in India craved their English style ales; however the traditional English ales would not survive the journey from England to India. What English brewers discovered was that increasing the hop content of a beer preserved the ale enough to survive the long sea journey. What West Coast brewers discovered nearly a century later was that ‘over-hopping’ a beer increased the delicious hop flavor of the ale, paying more respect to rich American hop flavor than even the malt flavor base.

Independence Pass marks the eastern boundary of the Roaring Fork Valley and the City of Aspen. With a summit elevation of 12,095 feet, we HIGHLY recommend that the inexperienced beer drinker is EXTREMELY careful drinking this high-alcohol brew at such altitude. You wouldn’t want to fall down the pass! We couldn’t help but name our high-hop beer after this high-elevation pass – maybe due to the combined delirious effect, or maybe because the initials worked out well.

IIndependence Pass Ale is a very hoppy IPA. This means that food to be enjoyed with this brew should be very rich, stinky, pungent, spicy, zesty, tangy, citrusy, or a combination of as many of these adjectives as possible. Independence Pass Ale has proven to stand up to and compliment spicy Indian curries exceptionally well, as well as Duncan’s secret red hot Buffalo chicken wings recipe. If you’re not one for spiciness, try the IPA with super-stinky cheese, or even a rosemary pork chop or lamb chop.