What's the Difference Between Double IPA and Imperial IPA?

If you have spent any time browsing the craft beer section and noticed that some cans say Double IPA while others say Imperial IPA, you are not alone in wondering whether they are actually different things or simply two names for the same beer.

The short answer is that they are the same style. Double IPA and Imperial IPA refer to identical beers, and the two terms are used interchangeably across the industry. The longer answer is more interesting, because understanding what makes this style distinct from a standard IPA beer tells you a lot about why it exists, why brewers keep pushing the limits of it, and how to get the most out of drinking one.

This guide covers everything worth knowing.

Why Two Names for the Same Thing?

The terminology confusion has a straightforward origin. When American craft brewers in the 1990s started producing IPAs with significantly more hops and higher alcohol than the standard, they needed a way to signal that difference on the label. Two naming conventions emerged simultaneously in different parts of the craft brewing community.

Double IPA (often abbreviated as DIPA) was the more mathematical approach: double the hops, double the malt, roughly double the alcohol of a standard IPA.

Imperial IPA borrowed its naming convention from Imperial Stout, the strong Russian-export stout style that had used the Imperial prefix for centuries to denote elevated strength and intensity.

Both names caught on, both spread through the craft community, and both are now equally accepted. You will find Double IPA used more commonly by American West Coast breweries and their Australian counterparts. Imperial IPA appears more often in British and European craft contexts. Neither is more correct than the other.

What Actually Makes a Double IPA Different From a Standard IPA?

The distinction is not just about adding more of everything. A well-made Double IPA is a deliberately designed beer that balances intensity across every element simultaneously.

Key differences at a glance:

The malt increase is the element most people overlook. A Double IPA requires significantly more grain in the recipe not to make the beer sweeter, but to provide the structural body and balance that allows the elevated hop load to work without the beer tasting like straight hop extract. Strip out the malt and you get something harsh and unpleasant. Get the balance right and you get a beer that is intensely flavoured, warming, and surprisingly complex.

The History: How the Style Was Born

The Double IPA as a recognised style traces back to one brewery and one beer. Vinnie Cilurzo, then brewing at Blind Pig Brewery in California, produced what is widely credited as the first intentional Double IPA in 1994. He called it Inaugural Ale and used twice the usual quantity of hops to create something that pushed well beyond the parameters of the IPAs being brewed at the time.

When Cilurzo moved to Russian River Brewing Company, he continued developing the style and eventually released Pliny the Elder, a Double IPA that became one of the most celebrated beers in American craft brewing history and helped establish the style's defining characteristics: high alcohol, enormous hop aroma, and enough malt backbone to keep everything in balance.

From California, the style spread through the American craft scene and eventually reached Australia and the UK, where local brewers adapted it using Southern Hemisphere hops that brought tropical fruit and stone fruit character to a style that had previously been defined by American pine and citrus.

What a Double IPA Actually Tastes Like

This is where the style genuinely earns its reputation. A well-made Double IPA is one of the most complex and rewarding beers available, but it requires a little patience and the right conditions to show its best.

On the nose:

The aromatics of a DIPA are intense and immediate. Depending on the hop varieties used, expect tropical fruit, citrus, stone fruit, pine, dank earthiness, or combinations of all of these at a concentration that fills the room when the can is opened. Southern Hemisphere hops like Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic push the style toward passionfruit, mango, and peach. Pacific Northwest American varieties bring grapefruit, pine resin, and a more aggressive character.

On the palate:

Full-bodied with a warmth from the elevated alcohol that spreads through the chest. The hop bitterness is high but should feel integrated rather than harsh in a well-made example. The malt provides sweetness and body that sits underneath the hop character without dominating it. The texture is often described as almost chewy.

On the finish:

Long. A good Double IPA has a finish that keeps evolving after the last sip, with bitterness building and receding in waves and the warmth of the alcohol extending the experience well beyond what a standard IPA can manage.

Double IPA vs Triple IPA: How Far Does It Go?

The craft buy beer online market has in recent years seen the emergence of Triple IPA and even Quadruple IPA, each pushing further along the same axis of more hops, more malt, and more alcohol.

A quick reference:

The practical reality is that Double IPA sits at the sweet spot of the spectrum. Triple and Quadruple IPAs push so much alcohol and so many hops that the balance becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, and many drinkers find them more interesting as concept than as drinking experience. Double IPA hits the point where intensity, complexity, and drinkability coexist most convincingly.

How to Get the Most From a Double IPA

A few habits that make a real difference to how these beers show:

Drink it fresh. More than almost any other style, Double IPA is time-sensitive. The tropical and citrus hop aromatics that define the style at its best degrade relatively quickly after canning. Check the canning date and prioritise stock within the first two to three months of packaging. A Double IPA at six months old will be a noticeably different and less rewarding beer than the same can drunk fresh.

Do not serve it ice cold. This is counterintuitive but important. Very cold temperatures suppress the aromatic complexity that makes a Double IPA worth drinking. Serve at around 8 to 10 degrees Celsius rather than straight from the fridge. Let it sit in the glass for two minutes before the first sip.

Use a proper glass. A tulip glass or a wide-bowled IPA glass concentrates the aromatics and allows them to develop as the beer warms slightly. Drinking from the can means missing most of what makes the style interesting.

Drink it slowly. The alcohol level demands it. A Double IPA is a considered beer, not a thirst-quenching one. Pour it, nose it, taste it, and give it time in the glass.

Products Worth Trying

1. Modus Liquid Asset Double IPA 375ml Can

Modus Operandi from New South Wales produces some of the most technically accomplished craft beer in Australia, and the Liquid Asset Double IPA is a clear demonstration of what the brewery can do when the brief is intensity and complexity. Significant malt sweetness provides the structural balance that allows the hop load to express itself fully. Tropical fruit aroma, concentrated and vivid, alongside a warming finish that builds and lingers. A benchmarks Australian DIPA.

2. Mountain Culture Sauvin Ice Double Cold IPA 375ml Can

Mountain Culture is one of the most respected names in Australian craft brewing, and the Sauvin Ice takes the Double Cold IPA format, fermented cold for exceptional clarity and crispness, and applies it at a Double IPA ABV. The result sits between the traditional DIPA and the West Coast IPA in character: elevated alcohol and hop intensity alongside a clarity and crispness that most DIPAs do not achieve. The Nelson Sauvin hop used throughout adds a distinctive white wine and tropical fruit character that sets it apart from the standard American-influenced Double IPA profile. Beer Cartel stocks this alongside the full Mountain Culture range as new releases arrive.

3. Limited Edition IPA Pack

For those who want to explore the full IPA spectrum, including Double and Imperial expressions in a single order, the Limited Edition IPA Pack is the most efficient way to do it. A curated selection covering different IPA styles and strength levels allows a direct comparison between standard IPA, session IPA, and double IPA formats in a single sitting. This is the format that teaches you most about where the Double IPA sits relative to the rest of the style family.

4. Behemoth Lid Ripper Hazy IPA 330ml Can

For a reference point on the hazy side of the spectrum at a more moderate strength, the Lid Ripper from Behemoth Brewing in New Zealand provides an excellent counterpoint to the Double IPA format. Tasting a Hazy IPA alongside a Double IPA makes the differences in texture, intensity, and alcohol contribution immediately legible in a way that reading about them cannot fully replicate.

Food Pairing: What Works With a Double IPA

The intensity of a Double IPA calls for food that can hold its own rather than being overwhelmed.

Strong pairings:

• Aged cheddar and hard cheeses with genuine bite and fat content

• Spicy food, particularly Indian and Thai dishes where the hop bitterness provides relief from heat

• Chargrilled burgers with strong toppings, blue cheese, bacon, caramelised onion

• Barbecued red meat where the char echoes the bitterness

• Dark chocolate above 70% cocoa, where the bitter elements complement rather than clash

Pairings to avoid:

• Delicate seafood and light salads that will be completely overwhelmed

• Very sweet dishes that create an unpleasant contrast with the bitterness

• Mild, creamy soups or dishes without enough flavour intensity to stand alongside the beer

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are Double IPA and Imperial IPA the same thing?

Yes. They are two names for the same style. Double IPA tends to be used more commonly in American and Australian craft brewing contexts. Imperial IPA appears more often in British and European settings. Both refer to a high-ABV, intensely hop-forward IPA with significantly more malt and hops than a standard IPA.

2. How strong is a Double IPA?

Most Double IPAs sit between 7.5% and 10% ABV. Some examples push above 10%, though these start to edge toward Triple IPA territory. The elevated alcohol is a defining characteristic of the style and contributes to the warming finish and the weight of the beer on the palate.

3. How many standard drinks are in a Double IPA?

A 375ml can of Double IPA at around 8.5% ABV contains approximately 2.4 standard drinks. Compared to a standard IPA at 6.5% ABV in the same format, which contains around 1.85 standard drinks, the difference is meaningful over the course of a session.

4. Can you age a Double IPA?

Generally not. Unlike barleywines and imperial stouts that can develop positively with age, most Double IPAs are at their absolute best fresh and decline relatively quickly as the hop aromatics oxidise and fade. Drink within two to three months of the canning date for the best experience.

5. What is a Cold IPA and how does it relate to Double IPA?

Cold IPA is a relatively new style category that uses lager yeast or ferments at cold temperatures to produce a cleaner, crisper character than traditional ale-fermented IPAs. A Double Cold IPA, like the Mountain Culture Sauvin Ice, applies this cold fermentation approach at Double IPA alcohol levels. The result is more intensely hopped and stronger than a standard Cold IPA while carrying the clarity and crispness that cold fermentation produces.