Pot Luck: Midnight IPA from Temple Brewery

Opening its hallowed doors just a few weeks back, Brunswick’s Temple Brewery is already releasing its first limited edition run: the Midnight IPA specially for Friday 13.

India Pale Ale has a history almost as interesting as the beer itself. In the 19th century British troops based in India were suffering a shortage of British Ales, which would spoil on the long voyage over. The solution was to brew a beer higher in hops that would protect it from heat and motion along the way.

While the beer was a hit in India, IPA might have fallen into obscurity once the British withdrew from India were it not for a shipwreck. A ship leaving London carrying a cargo of IPA was wrecked and the recovered casks of beer (they had their priorities right) were sold in London, where it went gangbusters.

Temple’s Midnight IPA is puts a 21th century spin on this historical ale: it’s jet black. Brewed using a new roasted wheat from the US (called Midnight wheat, and giving our beer its name), the Midnight IPA achieves a dark black colour without most of the roasted flavours and aromas you would normally expect from a dark beer.