What goes well with wings, spicy food and anything grilled? A frosty pint of IPA. What’s IPA? Glad you asked. BTW you know my fave place to enjoy a fresh pulled pint is at Southampton Publick House - Phil Markowski's award winning brews.

Located in Southampton, New York, The Southampton Publick House is a landmark for its beverages - Southampton Ales And Lagers. Since the 1800s, beer has been created and served in The Publick House’s previous incarnations as a speakeasy, watering hole and restaurant.

IPAs were brewed to survive the voyage from England to India prior to the invention of refrigeration. The temperature extremes and rolling of the seas resulted in a highly attenuated (fermented) beer upon arrival. English pale ales were derived from India Pale Ales. American IPA can be a much different brew from the reincarnated English IPA. Generally more flavorful than English IPA, color can range from very pale gold to reddish amber. Hops are typically American with an assertive herbal and citric character; bitterness can be quite high as well.

Southampton IPA is balanced between the hopped-up West Coast-style IPAs and the Old World characteristics of a traditional European IPA. You could say that Southampton IPA is located somewhere between Europe and California, figuratively and literally.

Southampton Ales And Lagers' Brewmaster, Phil Markowski began brewing beer professionally in 1989 at the New England Brewing Company in Norwalk, Connecticut. In June 1996 he moved to Southampton to serve as resident Brewmaster at the Southampton Publick House. Phil uses three grains and a blend of three American and two English hop varieties to make this complex and delicious IPA. It’s full of floral hop aroma and has fruity apricot and grapefruit overtones. It has an assertive hop flavor and a refreshing hop bitterness while still showing plenty of caramel malt character to balance the flavor. It features more balance than any other IPA brewed in America. The result is an American-style IPA with the Old World characteristics of a traditional European IPA.

Balance, that’s what separates India Pale Ales. And that’s the difference between the Southampton IPA and most others. Watch the George Hirsch Living it UP! TV segment with Brewmaster Phil Markowski.

Southampton Publick House TV segment

You may have heard me mention my favorite brewery SPH, and I've even featured them on my TV show. Good people and more good news. Kudos to my hometown friends; Don Sullivan owner of Southampton Public House, SPH and Phil Markowski, SPH Brewmaster for bringing home yet another gold medal. This team has dedication and passion for the craft, that's a winning combination.

Southampton Publick House Ales & Lagers received the gold medal at the 28th annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver Colorado competing against 495 breweries from 48 states. This year’s GABF hosted 49,000 guests and was recorded as a Guinness World Record for the most beers tapped in one location with1900 different brews.

Southampton Public House Berlinerweisse took gold in the German-Style Sour Ale Category, one of the 78 categories of ales and lagers. Berlinerweisse is a cloudy, sour, wheat beer of around 3% alcohol by volume. Historically, it was a regional beer from Northern Germany, mainly Berlin, dating back to the 16th century. Southampton Berlinerweisse, released in alternate years, is brewed in very small batches due to a 6-month fermentation period.

I’ve sampled brews all over the world, purely for educational and research purposes, of course. Honestly- I use Phil’s SPH Brews as the benchmark for a good brew.

If you want to attend next year’s Great American Beer Festival mark your calendars as tickets go on sale June 2010 for the September 16, 17, and 18 2010 GABF, always sold out event.

For more information on Southampton Public House, Southampton, NY.