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Is there a difference in the meanings of "India Pale Ale" and "Indian Pale Ale"? I mean, without considering that "Indian Pale Ale" is an incorrect term for a sort of beer, would a native speaker have different conceptions/ideas for these two phrases?

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    It's a proper noun, so it's correct as it is. However, you're right that the individual words, outside of their common meaning, are actually ungrammatical. You would not say you are wearing an Ireland sweater, you would say you are wearing an Irish sweater or a sweater from Ireland. Similarly, India is not adjectival and shouldn't be used there—except for the fact that it is used there, and now makes sense.
    – Jason Bassford
    Oct 12, 2018 at 15:24

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The correct term is "India Pale Ale," so "Indian Pale Ale" would be wrong. However that said, someone already knowledgeable of what an IPA is would have no troubles understanding you, and someone unfamiliar with the term would still require explanation just the same.

So I don't believe the change would make too much of a difference in interpretation. Technically "Indian Pale Ale" could be interpretted as a pale ale from India, but again, this would likely only be the case of someone unfamiliar with the term.

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India Pale Ale (note capitalisation) is a style of beer, originally brewed in 19th Century Britain for export to India. It was specially formulated to survive the long sea voyage. The style became popular in the home country and is now made all over the world. Without any additional information, "Indian Pale Ale" could simply mean "pale ale from India", or it could be an error for "India Pale Ale", in fact the capitalisation suggests this.

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  • This would wholly depend on the context. In many cases, the speaker would simply put in the n by mistake, without any intention of saying that the beer came from India. The OP's question doesn't make iot clear what is meant.
    – Mr Lister
    Oct 12, 2018 at 16:34
  • See my remark about capitalisation added above.
    – Michael Harvey
    Oct 12, 2018 at 16:52
  • @MrLister That was the reason why I asked this question - many non-natives mistakenly call this beer India*n Pale Ale (I think because it sounds more logical / more correct than India Pale Ale, since you dont say f.e. Russia vodka but Russian vodka).
    – Drossel
    Oct 15, 2018 at 8:57

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