Pale Ale uses hops to protect the beer from heat spoilage. Beer made to survive summers in India, where heat would climb over 110'F and 100% humidity, required a lot more hops than normal to protect it. The soldiers in Her Majesties Armed Forces returned from India with a taste for the beer they'd grown accustomed to and so India Pale Ale became commonly available in Britain. The technique crossed over to America at some point and our summers are also hot. So IPA is popular in America.
California already has a basic standard IPA, the Sierra Nevada from Chico. The green label bottle is a standard because it is good. Lagunitas in Petaluma is also good. There are MANY good IPAs in California. Summers here are nearly as hot as India, though usually dry. Today it was 99.7'F and 1% humidity, with a stiff breeze doing nothing to cool us down. This is fire weather. But even firemen like beer, and IPA is a great choice for this season.
The Freeride APA hops are sweet, like a peach, then the bitterness you expect from hops hits. I find this excellent. Served very cold gives the best flavor. I picked this up for the standard price at the local discount grocery, part of a gift set of summer ales. I look forward to trying the others, and if good, I'll write a review of those too.
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