Lager yeast with IPA ingredients

Has anyone made a Lager using IPA grain bill and hop schedule?

 

No, but it is an interesting idea.

 

Just guessing, but you might end up with a nice clean IPA. Might be too clean though. You'd lose a lot of aroma I would think if you followed through with a true lager stage. Maybe dry hop after the lager stage....

 

Yup. Done it with Cry Havoc and SF Lager yeast. Both were fermented at ale temperatures. To my taste, the beers are two clean. All my friends described it as not having enough malt backbone; being the only homebrewer, I knew it was the yeast. The beers were just clean. The hop flavor came across very, very well and everyone liked that. The problem was that the beers were to bitter. I hopped the beers like an IPA at 55ibu. The beers were to bitter. The bitterness kinda jumped outta the beer, and it just got more bitter as you drank it.

It can be done. And it can be done very well, but IMO ale yeast is better.

I don't have my notes right now, but I'd be happy to share the recipe with you and help you figure out a recipe.

Everyone who tried the IPA's I made with lager yeast loved it, except me; but I think that's just cause I knew I could make it better.

 

I should add, the beers went through no cold crashing and no lagering. 99.9% of my beers are ales so I don't bother with a lager setup.

Also, in SF,CA we have an ambient temp of 68. Ales are just so easy to brew here.

 

Yes, I did a maibock using a Bell's Two-Hearted Ale clone recipe on top of German Bock yeast, lagered for 2 months. It took a silver medal at the Delaware State Fair in the European Lagers category last month, and scored 37 points at this weekend's Dominion Cup in Richmond. The judges commented on the hop profile, said it was a good interpretation of a maibock but could also do well as a pale ale, so they got that right!

 

Thanks to all for the input. I plan to make an all Citra recipe with a German Lager yeast at lager temperatures and make the same recipe with an ale yeast at ale temperature to compare the two.

 

You might want to research the yeasts a bit and determine whether you want them both to have similar attenuation or whether you want to lager to attenuate a little less.

 

Just wondering. Would you end up with off flavor if you use lager yeast at a warmer temp?

 

Look up Hoponius Union from Jacks Abby brewing, great IPL as they bill it.

I think you'd only want to brew this at lager temps otherwise might as well use ale yeast.

 

My Antonio by Dogfishhead is a continuously hopped pilsner. I have only had it once but thought it was pretty good. Obviously not the grain bill of an IPA though.

 

Hey MayhewMasher, did you ever do this? if so how did it turn out? I think I want to try it

 

Would that be an IPL? All the cool kids are doing it nowadays. Peaks organic Fresh Cut was the first real good one I've had. Perhaps these are different grain bills and thus not what you are thinking of.

 

coors' craft arm (AC GOLDEN BREW) here just did this, india pale lager. It worked but wasn't really an IPA and wasn't really for me. Plus there is no way i'll pay $12 for a 6er that comes from coors. I tried it at a beer tasting in town.

 

I believe ballast point does a Ipl called fathom. I do remember the hops really popping out and being pretty bitter.

 

Full Sail has a good cascade Pilsner. Not sure if it is technically an IPL but the IBUs are as high as an IPL.