(CNN) — “Do you know where IPAs come from?” I have asked many a friend, with my elbow angled upon the bar holding “exhibit B” in a pint glass, and hoping they don’t already know the answer. Heaven?

There’s no disputing the appeal of the IPA. While it might not technically be the most popular beer in the world (that honor belongs to the pale lager — the domain which most of the nation’s most ...