India Pale Ale is pure gold in a glass: a semi-mythical beer that was specially invented, in the 18th century, to travel half way around the world, and arrive in perfect condition for a long, cold drink on an Indian verandah. For the men and women of the British Raj, sick of warm madeira wine and the questionable local drinking water, IPA was a safe, clean drink - and a morale-boosting taste of home. For the first time in 140 years, a keg of unfermented Burton IPA has been taken to India by canal and tall ship, around the Cape of Good Hope; and the man carrying Britain's best beer is Pete Brown, Britain's best beer writer. Weaving first-class travel writing with assured comedy, a raucous history of the hard-partying Raj and a fantastic sense of adventure, 'Hops and Glory' is, quite simply, one man's quest for the beer that built the British Empire.