Brewing an IPL

  India Pale Lager (also called a Cold IPA in some corners of the beer world) is, at its core, an IPA fermented with lager yeast at cooler, lager-friendly temperatures. It’s not rocket science—just a way to get all the bold, hoppy character of an IPA with the clean, crisp edge that comes from cold fermentation.

I like them because they are the complete opposite of the beers I truly abhor: those murky, overly fruity New England IPAs. India Pale Lagers are a West Coast style, which naturally means they’re superior to anything being brewed in the Midwest or East Coast. (Sorry, but it had to be said.)

And let me just say—it’s been refreshing to see the haze finally clearing from tap lists. If I'm lucky, the hazy craze is on its way out, and clear beers are reclaiming their rightful place in the lineup at my favorite breweries. If I'm really lucky, those “hazies” will occupy a single tap which I believe is a fair share of the taproom landscape.

It’s been a long, sticky run for the sweet, cloying, muddy, and wholly undrinkable haze bomb. Why anyone wanted that style in the first place is beyond me. But brewers delivered—oh, they delivered. Gazillions of gallons of gooey, juicy sludge. My personal conspiracy theory? Some enterprising brewing collective took a failed batch, realized it looked like a yeast smoothie, and spun it into gold. They reproduced the mistake, marketed it as the next big thing, and convinced a shit-ton of other brewers to jump on board. Honestly? Genius.

But I digress. The real reason for this post is to share a recipe that hits the holy trinity of what makes a great India Pale Lager: clean, clear, and unapologetically hoppy. Let’s get into it.

One of my favorites

My IPL recipe:

I brewed an 11 gal. post boil batch anticipating 2 full 5 gallon kegs after fermentation. I referenced Bru'n water pale ale water profile and used 75% reverse osmosis water.

Efficiency 88%,  Attenuation 87%,  ABV 7.35%, SRM 5.5, IBU 66, OG 1.064, FG 1.008

20 lbs. Pilsner malt (Weyermann)

  1 lbs. Crystal #20 

  1 lbs. Dextrin malt

  2 kilos refined sugar at start of boil

Mash in at 152f. in 6 gal. h2o for 60 minutes.

Sparge for 45 minutes with 170f. h2o 

Boil 60 minutes with:

FWH : 60 gram Mosaic 13.6 a/a % for 21 ibu's

60 min. add: 100 gram Chinook from previous dry hopped batch est. 31 ibu's

20 min. add: 30 gram Chinook 11.4 a/a% for 11 ibu's

 5 min. add: 30 gram Columbus 14.7 a/a% for 3 ibu's 

20 min. Cool Pool addition at 160f. with 120 gram Columbus and 120 gram Idaho 7

Chilled down to 50f., transfer to fermenter and pitched salvaged 34/70 lager yeast. After 3 days raised temperature to 53f., after 3 more days raised temp. to 57f., after 3 more days raised temp. to 62f. for 1 day.

Then, lowered temp. to 55f. and dry hopped for 12 hours with 60 grams each of Columbus and Idaho 7, then another addition of dry hops for 12 more hours with 60 grams each of Columbus and Idaho 7.

Transfer to kegs and lagered 1 month in refer at 40f.

On tap now at my house if you want to come by for a pint. Cheers!