Leadhead IPL
Brues Alehouse Brewing Co
Our Impression: We were recently inspired to expand upon our IPA/IPL brewing techniques after reading The New IPA by Scott Janish. This is in our opinion the most important book for anyone to read regarding IPA brewing, and the research is relevant for brewing many other styles as well. American IPAs are historically quite young and the research surrounding intensely hop forward beers is rather slim. Janish compiles research so we can better understand the interaction of the various types of yeast and hops, and he explores processes for achieving complex, fruity hop expression. We’ve used this book as a starting point for creating an IPL with maximum tropical-citrus-stone fruit character and minimal vegetal-grassiness.
Style: India Pale Lager, BJCP 21B
Grain- Pale Ale Malt
Hops - Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, El Dorado, Citra, Chinook
Yeast- Lager yeast originating from a Munich Lager Brewery
Adjuncts- None
Water- Reverse Osmosis Base with high additions of CaSO4, CaCl2
Original Gravity: 16.6 Degrees Plato
ABV: 6.8%
Estimated IBU - 39 IBU
Color: 7 SRM
Aroma: Pungent hop bouquet with notes of peach, apricot, orange, guava, and grapefruit.
Appearance: Leadhead pours deep gold and brilliant. A thick dense head emerges when poured and lasts well into drinking, with nice lacing on the glass.
Flavor: This is an elevated American style IPA (IPL for us) with huge tropical-stone fruit-citrus-pine notes. The malt body is slightly sweet to give the hops a “juicy” impression. There is a very pleasant, but subtle nutty character from the pale ale malt and the overall bitterness is relatively mellow due to our late addition hopping process.
Mouthfeel: Medium body and medium carbonation.