IPAs have become a go-to beer style for craft brewers in the U.S. and are becoming increasingly associated with the trend of adding fruit to beer. Here are the reasons for the trend and why you may want to consider adding fruit to your next IPA.

A pale ale is an ale that’s made with lighter malts that give it a distinct body and flavor as well as a lighter coloration. What sets an IPA apart from other styles of pale ale is the greater amount of hops used during the beer-making process, which makes the drink more bitter and earthy.

As brewers started to experiment with hops, they added fruit to their hops-heavy IPAs to emphasize the more subtle natural flavors, such as the floral and citrus notes. Adding fruit to IPAs renders a heavily-hopped beer more palatable, creating a depth of flavor and adding marketability since the flavors are more recognizable.