Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 was THE day: The day that Kinsmen Brewing Co. of Milldale, Connecticut released their Husky Hops India pale ale, or IPA, and served it at The Rent – aka, Rentschler Field – during the UConn vs. Yale football game. Well, let me tell you, the football team wasn’t the only one with their first win in 721 days – the world of IPAs had a huge breakthrough as well. Kinsmen and UConn Athletics collaborated for this alcoholic delicacy, mixing the perfect amount of hops with UConn spirit.
For those of you unfamiliar with India pale ale, it’s a style of beer processed in a certain way to preserve it for the long run. In the late 1700s, British sailors would brew their beer before setting out on the journey to India and would prepare it with plenty of hops to preserve the alcohol. By the time they made it to India, the ale would be quite pale. The lighter it was, the more refreshing it would be. Hops are plants that produce flowers and seed cones that are used to keep beer stable and provide a specific taste to beer. Every single beer out there has hops in it. The kind and amount of hops determines the flavor and intensity of the drink. Typically, IPAs have more hops than your average light lager because of their history and the desire for stronger beer that lasts longer.
They don’t call me IPA Tay for nothing, and I’ve been looking forward to the day that I could down this beverage for way, way too long. Shortly after I turned 21, IPAs became my favorite choice of alcohol and since then, I will always go out of my way to scope out new, unique ones. However, since I was working the football game, I needed to wait until later to get my hands on one.