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Right from the get-go, Indica, a California artisan microbrewed India Pale Ale, is no ordinary beer. Its unique label depicts a cubist drawing of the elephant-headed Indian god Ganesh. Ganesh is the religious symbol for the god of wisdom and the remover of obstacles. He is venerated by Hindus and Buddhists, and his eight limbs are the basis of the yoga practice.

The beer’s name, Indica, has a double meaning. One plays off the beer’s amazing floral quality from one of its key ingredients, hops, and the other plays on the beer’s unique history. Hops and marijuana are part of the same plant family, cannabinaceae, and both are widely known for their sedative and relaxing qualities. The marijuana part of this plant family breaks down into two strains, the long, skinny five-leafed sativa that most of us know through head-shop artwork, and the less common Indica, which looks more like a maple leaf.

The term Indica also relates to the country and history of this 18th century beer style. During England’s colonization of India, the British troops and colonists were without beer. Attempts to ship beer on the long, rough and rolling ocean journey around the tip of Africa were unsuccessful, as the beer spoiled. English brewers found brewing stronger beers with higher alcohol content and higher hopping rates made the beer survive the trip in great shape, as both hops and alcohol are natural preservatives. When the English troops and colonists returned home, they began demanding the new big India pale ales they loved so much in India.

True to style, Indica has a little higher than average alcohol content at 6.5 per cent by volume, with balanced amounts of malt and hops. The result is an ale worthy of its historical name, capturing its own enticing bittering from a mix of Columbus, Willamette and Centennial hop cones. The three hops give this beer an intense aroma that may require long meditative sniffs.

A California Hindu man threatened to sue the brewer of Indica because he thought the original beer label artwork, depicting Ganesh with one beer in his trunk and another in one of his limbs, was offensive. The litigant’s point is well made, as we all know what sort of wisdom comes from two-fisted drinkers. The new four-limbed Ganesh on the label is a more responsible drinker — he now holds just one beer in his prehensile trunk.