The original India Pale Ale was pure gold in a glass; a semi-mythical beer specially invented in the 19th century to travel halfway around the world through storms & tropical sunshine & arrive in perfect condition for a long cold drink on an Indian verandah But although you can still buy beers with IPA' on the label they are to be frank a pale imitation of the original For the first time in 140 years a keg of Burton IPA has been brewed with the original recipe for a voyage to India by canal & tall ship around the Cape of Good Hope; & the man carrying it is the award-winning Pete Brown Britain's best beer write Brazilian pirates & Iranian customs officials lie ahead but will he even make it that far have fallen in the canal just a few miles out of Burton? & if Pete does make it to the other side of the world with Barry' the barrel one question remains what will the real IPA taste like? Weaving first-class travel writing with assured comedy Hops & Glory is both a rollicking raucous history of the Raj & a wonderfully entertaining groundbreaking experiment to recreate the finest beer ever produced