Author: Jake Huolihan

Co-opting styles has long been practiced in the brewing industry, from American brewers adapting English Ales to New Englanders coming up with their own hazy version of IPA. Typically, it seems, what starts off as a faithful attempt at brewing a particular style morphs over time into becoming something unique.

A few years back, with the IPA craze in full swing, a style came about that never really gained much traction, but was interesting nonetheless. India Pale Lager (IPL) isn’t necessarily defined as a “real” style, inasmuch as it is not included in the BJCP Guidelines, and hence it lacks a cohesive set of recommended ingredients or brewing practices. Whereas some viewed IPL as simply an American IPA fermented with lager yeast, others likened it to a stronger German Pilsner hopped like an American IPA.

Despite this bit of confusion, one thing it seemed most brewers of IPL agreed on is that it’s supposed to be clean, crisp, and highly drinkable, which the use of a traditional lager yeast strain is said to contribute to. As a lover of Firestone-Walker Pivo Pils, pFriem Pilsner, and other similar beers that don’t quite fall into that traditional German Pilsner flavor profile, I was curious to try my hand this seemingly short-lived style.

| Making India Pale Lager |

Seeing as IPL lacks a set description, I relied on input from other Brülosophy contributors to formulate this recipe. The grist was reminiscent of a German Pils with just a dash of Caramel malt, my idea here being to mimic that kiss of malt sweetness often found in American IPA. Unlike a typical Pilsner, I went with hops inspired by the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Cascade and Centennial, bumping up the bitterness to a level more inline with American IPA.

India Pale Lager

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 76.9 IBUs 4.6 SRM 1.057 1.015 5.5 % Actuals 1.057 1.015 5.6 % Fermentables Name Amount % EuroPils (Cargill) 12.875 lbs 92.79 Vienna Malt (Weyermann) 11 oz 4.95 Carahell (Weyermann) 5 oz 2.25 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Cascade 15 g 60 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Centennial 15 g 60 min Boil Pellet 9 Cascade 30 g 30 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Centennial 30 g 30 min Boil Pellet 9 Cascade 30 g 5 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Centennial 30 g 5 min Boil Pellet 9 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Harvest (L17) Imperial Yeast 72% 50°F - 60°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 50 | Mg 0 | Na 8 | SO4 75 | Cl 36 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

PROCESS

I started this rare afternoon brew day by heating up the strike water while my son was eating lunch. After he’d chowed down his PBJ, I weighed out and milled the grain.

With the water slightly warmer than needed, I transferred it to my mash tun for a brief pre-heat period, after which I proceeded to incorporate the grains. I was pleased to see I’d hit my target mash temperature.

It was time for Oliver’s nap, so I took care of that during the 60 minute mash rest.

When the mash was complete, I collected the sweet wort in my kettle and turned the element on. While awaiting the boil, I weighed out the kettle hop additions.

The wort was boiled for 60 minutes with hops added at the times stated in the recipe.

With the boil finished, I quickly chilled the wort to my groundwater temperature of 56°F/13°C.

Next, I took a refractometer reading showing the wort had a lower OG than expected, not terribly surprising considering the post-boil volume was a tad high. Not the end of the world.

Oliver was awake at this point and came out to lend me hand, determining my unitank was indeed the right size.

The wort was racked to a sanitized unitank.

I immediately pitched a pouch of Imperial Yeast L17 Harvest then set my glycol chiller to maintain a fermentation temperature of at 54°F/12°C.

The beer was actively fermenting the next morning and had slowed down 6 days later. I took a hydrometer measurement showing 1.020 SG, close to terminal, so closed the blowoff valve in order to allow the beer to naturally carbonate as the temperature was reduced. As the first batch in my new Ss Brewtech Unitank, I decided to forgo the kegging step and served the beer right out of the tank after a couple weeks of cold conditioning.

| IMPRESSIONS |

I served this IPL to a handful of people over the course of its time on tap and the feedback revolved primarily around how the clean finish accentuated the fruity and floral hop character. Since the beer was naturally carbonated in my unitank, it wasn’t as spritzy as typical Pilsner or IPA, lending a perceptibly soft mouthfeel in an otherwise crisp and refreshing quaffer.

I began drinking this beer pretty much as soon as fermentation was complete and witnessed its transformation from keller to seriously killer. To me, it was insanely unique and my impressions really mirrored those of the folks I shared the beer with. The Northwest hop flavors certainly came through and I perceived a slight minerally flavor that didn’t seem at all out of place with the varieties I used.

One thing this beer didn’t quite showcase is the bready flavors I typically associate with Pilsner malt, something I figured was likely due to the higher hopping rate, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. It’s rare that I enjoy a first iteration of a recipe as much as I did this IPL, and while I plan to make minor tweaks to the hop bill in future batches, this will be a staple for me going forward!

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making apple wine yourself, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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