Difference between pale ale and IPA?

[thisgoestoeleven]

My first batch was a pale ale, and it came out reasonably well. A bit yeasty, I didn't let it condition for long enough, but otherwise a perfectly passable, nice-drinking pale ale. This time around, I wanted to do an IPA. The woman at my LHBS said that an IPA might be a bit ambitious for a beginner, but offered to sell me a "bigger" recipe for the pale ale. It upped the malt extract from 6 to 7.5 pounds and switched from pale to amber, and switched out the amarillo hops for warrior. When I got home, I plugged my recipe into this nifty little calculator, and the "target style" came out as an IPA. My question is, is there any real, technical difference between a pale ale and an IPA in terms of recipe, or is more just a matter of degrees in terms of hoppiness, alcohol, etc?

 

[bob1852]

According to the BJCP guidelines, there is some overlap...

It's basically OG and IBUs....

Pale Ale = OG 1.045-1.060, IBU 30-45
IPA = 1.050-1.075, IBU 40-60

http://www.bjcp.org/index.php

 

[jgourd]

The main distinguishing factor between a pale ale and an IPA is the hops. IPAs are more aggressively hopped to increase bitterness, hop flavor and hop aroma. There's also an increase in the gravity range for IPAs which can affect the maltiness and certainly increases the ABV in the end.

 

[McGarnigle]

LOL to the lady at the LHBS. "I think a Belgian pale ale might be a bit ambitious for a beginner, but maybe you could brew a regular pale ale with Belgian yeast."

 

[Docjowles]

Yeah I don't know what she was talking about. An IPA is just a pale ale with more hops and some more malt to back up that bitterness. Maybe she means it's harder to strike the right balance between hops and malt when both are ramped up? But she's selling you the dang recipe kit so that problem should already be solved. It's not any harder to brew from a technical standpoint.

 

[jgourd]

But it's so much harder to add more hops at more times during the boil. I mean that takes serious skill man!

 

[buzzkill]

as a hop head, most of my pale ales are light IPA's. I like to go big.

 

[jgourd]

as a hop head, most of my pale ales are light IPA's. I like to go big.

Mine too. Typically. But after a 10-beer streak of hoppy APAs or IPAs, I find that I quite like to make a "typical" APA.

 

[JonK331]

The main distinguishing factor between a pale ale and an IPA is the hops. IPAs are more aggressively hopped to increase bitterness, hop flavor and hop aroma. There's also an increase in the gravity range for IPAs which can affect the maltiness and certainly increases the ABV in the end.

Not really, IPA has a higher OG which leads to a higher alcohol beer. For example Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has enough IBUs, hop aroma, and flavor to be considered an IPA but does not have enough alcohol so it falls into the APA category.

 

[jgourd]

Not really, IPA has a higher OG which leads to a higher alcohol beer. For example Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has enough IBUs, hop aroma, and flavor to be considered an IPA but does not have enough alcohol so it falls into the APA category.

And thus why I mentioned an increase in the gravity range (i.e., higher OG) which leads to a higher ABV.

 

[jonmohno]

Not really, IPA has a higher OG which leads to a higher alcohol beer. For example Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has enough IBUs, hop aroma, and flavor to be considered an IPA but does not have enough alcohol so it falls into the APA category.

nor does it have that sweetness that is typical of an ipa thats balanced well.

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

Thanks for all the input. I'm racking to secondary at some point in the next few days. When I do, I'll take a gravity reading to figure out if it's an American pale or an IPA. Accidental IPA has a nice ring to it lol

 

[Gldnst8warrior]

Accidental IPA has a nice ring to it lol

I like it!

 

[JonK331]

nor does it have that sweetness that is typical of an ipa thats balanced well.

True but there are some fairly dry IPAs. Ranger for example.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Accidental IPA has a nice ring to it lol

Ha! I think most of the beers I've made have been accidental in some form or another. When I brew a beer, and someone asks me what I've made, I'll usually just say "I'll tell you when I open it". I think one of the best ones I made was one where I essentially just threw all my leftover ingredients together. I had no idea what I'd end up with since I didn't really know exactly what was getting added. End result was a nice smooth pale ale with a slight strawberry taste to it.

I really don't care - as long as they keep tasting good.

 

[ArcaneXor]

The line between Pale Ale and IPA is blurry, maybe even somewhat random. Alcohol content is probably the best way to differentiate them, but there is still considerable overlap.

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

I racked it to secondary a few minutes ago, and the gravity was 1.015. I tasted it, and it's a pretty textbook IPA. I can't wait to see what it's like in a few weeks!

 

[JohnnyO]

I have that same sink. lol.

Good luck with it. Did you dry hop?

 

[jonp9576]

I have the same sink too, but the base is brown

Also, i just happened to make an " extra ingredient ipa". I put the things i had laying around into beer smith and the changed the category till Thayer all matched

 

[bob1852]

True but there are some fairly dry IPAs. Ranger for example.

Longhammer is another....

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

I have that same sink. lol.

Good luck with it. Did you dry hop?

I didn't dry hop it, because the woman told me the recipe was a pale ale. I only found out it was an IPA after plugging the recipe into a calculator. It's got a pretty floral hoppy aroma even without dry hopping, and it tastes excellent. Nice and hoppy, with a solid malt backbone.

 

[bob1852]

I always dry hop my APAs

 

[cruckin78]

as a hop head, most of my pale ales are light IPA's. I like to go big.

Yupp same here....

I always dry hop my APAs

When in doubt, add more hops

 

[804Amy]

Hey y'all- So I always thought the distinction had to do with the bitterness ratio. The ibu/sg ratio for the lowest range of an american pale ale (even though it may be dry hopped, not contributing to ibu) is somewhere around 30/45 = .667. But an IPA's lowest range (according to BJCP) is 40/50 = .8 That balance ratio should drive whether or not you call something a pale ale or an ipa. Is that wrong?

 

[BigSumpin]

When Fritz Maytag brewed the first Liberty Ale in 1975 almost everybody said "this is way too hoppy for a Pale Ale, it will never sell" being one of the best pale ales available since 1975, pour it next to a Hopslam, Hop Stupid etc...not even !

 

[NathPowe]

Moving forward, I would take all advice from the lady at the LHBS with a rather large grain of salt.

 

[804Amy]

Right, but is it dry hopped? That doesn't contribute to IBU and thus, can still fall within the pale ale guidelines. I'm asking about the ibu/sg ratio as a determiner of IPA versus PA.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Regardless of numerical values placed on style constraints the main difference in Pale ales and IPAs is....

NOTHINGGGGG or barely anything with the way us hopheads demand bigger and badder beers.


Sierra Nevada Pale ale 38 IBUs 5.6% ABV
Bells Two Hearted 55 IBUs 7.0% ABV
Zombie Dust 60 IBUs 6.4% ABV
Dales Pale Ale 65 IBUs 6.5% ABV
Stone IPA 77 IBUs 6.9%
Stone Pale Ale 41IBUs 5.4%

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

The woman at my LHBS said that an IPA might be a bit ambitious for a beginner,

That's a very odd comment, as IPAs, even those on the higher end of the gravity and IBU spectra, aren't significantly more difficult that a pale ale. If anything, they are slightly more forgiving of mistakes, because the high hopping rate and higher alcohol help slow infections, and the more assertive flavor and aroma can mask off-flavors. The only thing I can think of with an IPA that would be substantially different is that you would usually want some specialty malt character, and that if is really big you might want to double up on the yeast pitch (with dry yeast) or make a starter (with liquid yeast).

 

[Bierliebhaber]

From BJCP 14B: "Overall Impression: A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong American pale ale."