Hop Heads Holy Holiday Week: Getting the dank on at Naja’s Place 8th Annual IPA Festival
The South Bay’s craft beer power couple, Jay Ousten and Kara Smail, in hoppy matrimony. Photo by Ed Solt It’s time to put “beer geek” to bed. As the craft beer movement merges with the mainstream, we’ve all become a bit beer geeky. Whose palate has not gotten somewhat more sophisticated? Naja’s Place has long been credited as a major influence in the tapping of the South Bay’s beer taste buds. Long before IPAs became the most sought-after beer among beer connoisseurs new and old, Naja’s was throwing its week-long IPA Festival, inviting all hop-centric breweries to bring their best. “It started very simple eight years ago. It’s just a natural extension of our contribution to the beer community,” said Jay Ousten, Naja’s general manager. For those who still clench a macro light beer, IPA stands for India Pale Ale, a beer originally brewed to stay fresh while being exported from Great Britain to Colonial India during the early 1800s. In alcohol content, single IPAs average 4 to 6.5 percent, double or Imperial IPAs average 7 to 10 percent, and the more rare triple IPAs are 10 percent and higher. IPAs, because of their hoppy flavor, welcome endless flavor variations. Ousten has been at…
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