India pale ale

noun

A beer, with a high level of alcohol and hops, traditionally made for export from Britain to India.

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Meanings

nounIndia pale ale (countable and uncountable, plural India pale ales)

plural India pale ales · alternative initialism IPA

  1. countableuncountablealcoholic beveragesA beer, with a high level of alcohol and hops, traditionally made for export from Britain to India.

    Hence, the India pale ale style was born.

    2005, Sam Calagione, Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, page 149
    2 more examples

    This action proceeds most satisfactorily at a temperature of 72° F., and care is taken in the brewing of the finer varieties of beer, such as India pale ale and bitter beer, […]

    1868, Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge, page 810

    Not bad for an amber or pale ale, but India pale ale, I don't think so. So why does Bass put IPA on the label?

    1998, Pete Slosberg, Beer for Pete's Sake: The Wicked Adventures of a Brewing Maverick, page 128

Origin

From India + pale ale, from being the type of beer, an ale with little colouration, shipped from Britain to India, with a higher hops content to prevent spoilage and further fermentation during transit.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

India pale ale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/India%20pale%20ale

MLA

“India pale ale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/India%20pale%20ale. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “India pale ale,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/India%20pale%20ale.

Source: India pale ale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.