I think that my plan for the next beer is to make an IPA and a pale ale from the same wort by diluting a portion of the total. Both will be American representatives of the style. Obviously, this presents a certain challenge to the brewer. I am torn between two appoaches to American IPA. AleSmith's IPA is totally incredible and I've often longed to try making something like that. It's very light in color (probably an SRM 6), great hop aroma, flavor and bitterness but also malt presence. Alternative, I like a caramelly chinook IPA, like Great Divide's Titan IPA. Let me resolve myself to making IPAs modeled after each of these, and describe those recipes. Then I'll fill you in on the proceedure I'm using to dilute it for a pale ale.

Here's the AleSmith-styled IPA:
12.5 lbs. cargill two-row
.5 lbs. 40L crystal

California Ale Yeast

.75 oz. amarillo 60 min*
.75 oz. simcoe 45 min*
.5 oz. simcoe and amarillo 15 min
1 oz. simcoe and 1 oz. cascade dry hops

Target O.G. of 70, I.B.U. of 70

For the caramel and chinook IPA:
11 lbs. cargill 2-row
1 lb. munich
.5 lb. 90L crystal

Dry English Ale Yeast

1 oz. chinook for 60 min.
.5 oz. cascade for 60 min*
1 oz. cascade for 20 min
1.5 oz. cascade dry hopped


Target O.G. 1.069, Target IBU 68

* Adjusted to get right bitterness.

Now, how to get a pale ale from these?--
Scale each recipe to 8.5 gallons. 5 gallons of this, after the boil will produce the IPA. The remaining 3.5 gallons will have total gravity of 3.5*70 = 245. In five gallons that make 1.049--pale ale gravity. All this really needs is 1.5 gallons of water to make it happen. Obviously, the pale ale can be differently dry hopped and can have a different yeast. I'll be mashing the IPA for a high attenuation--probably 150 degrees. I'll use a medium to low attenuator to make sure the pale ale is not too dry. I love white labs pacific ale yeast, and will use that if I can get it. If not, I may try the east coast ale yeast or something else I've never worked with.

However, I don't have to dilute with water. To dilute I'm thinking about steeping some grains to add some character and color to the pale ale. The grains will be steeped in .5 gallons of 155-60 degree water for 30 minutes. I'll make a yeast starter with the liquid from those steeped grains by adding 4oz. light DME and the yeast. I'll brew the in the ferementer, add the IPA wort and top off with a gallon of water.

I kegged 14 gallons of beer today. Among those beers in one intended to be an imperial IPA that ended up just a bit too sweet. It's not an IPA, but it is damned good. The rest was pale ale, same wort, different yeast in two fermenters. Both pale ales will be very good. All of it needs a few days to carbonate.

I probably should have re-pitched the IPA with white labs super high gravity yeast to get some of the sweetness out, but that sounded like a lot of work. I'm fine with it as is.

I'm going to have to make another beer soon. I'm on a quest to get as much variety out of my brew days as possible. There will be two fermenters in every day of brewing. I'm going to do more than mere yeast experiments--there will, for example, be excercises in steeped grain. Stay tuned. I may try to make a stout and a pale ale in one day next week.