(International Pale Lager Recipe!)

Kicking it off with the first stop of our BJCP Journey: Category 2A: International Pale Lager.

Why should the regular BMC drinkers have all the fun with crushable golden beers?

The International Pale Lager is that versatile charmer, a bridge between worlds. It’s crafted to intrigue your macro-beer buddies, yet it bursts with hop notes and whispers of grainy, bready malt to satisfy craft drinkers. These nuances are sure to captivate those with a penchant for the unconventional.

At first glance, this looks like a boring beer. But if you look closer, the guidelines allow for quite a bit of creativity! We can play with malt to go as high as medium grainy flavors, up to medium bitterness/hop flavors and even as high as a medium body/mouthfeel. Before we get too far into this though, let’s look at this brew’s history!

History

The International Pale Lager, as categorized by the BJCP, is a relatively modern interpretation of the classic pale lager (think Pilsner), with its roots in the United States rather than Europe. It emerged during a time when American breweries sought to develop a beer that would appeal to a broad, global audience, while still maintaining a distinct character from the very light and often less flavorful domestic lagers popular in the U.S.

1. American Brewing Evolution: Post-Prohibition, American breweries predominantly produced beers that were light and palatable to a wide audience. However, these often lacked the depth of flavor and character of European counterparts.
2. Global Appeal: As American breweries looked beyond domestic borders during the 20th century, there was a desire to create a product that would have global appeal yet be distinguishable from the lighter American lagers. This beer would retain the clean, crisp characteristics but with slightly more malt and hop presence.
3. Ingredients and Techniques: While using traditional lagering techniques, American breweries incorporated adjuncts like rice or corn, which were already popular in domestic brews, to keep the beer light and crisp. However, the International Pale Lager would often reduce the adjunct amounts to allow more of the malt character to come forward compared to the lighter domestic versions.
4. Modern Day: Today, the style is widely popular and is produced by breweries worldwide. These lagers are often associated with large, multinational brands and are commonly found in most parts of the world.

In essence, the International Pale Lager was America’s answer to the global beer market, offering a beer that was light and refreshing yet had a touch more character than many domestic offerings. It’s a testament to the global influence of American brewing, with this style becoming a staple in many regions outside the U.S.

Ok. Time to review the official guidelines for this style so we can create an authentic recipe!

BJCP Guidelines

• Aroma: Low malt aroma, which can be grainy-malty or slightly corny. Hop aroma may range from none to light levels, and can have a floral, spicy, or herbal quality. Clean fermentation profile.
• Appearance: Pale straw to gold color. Brilliant to very clear clarity. White, frothy head with good retention.
• Flavor: Low to medium grainy-malty flavor, which can have a sweet or corn-like flavor. Hop flavor ranges from none to medium levels, and can be floral, spicy, or herbal. Low to medium hop bitterness. The balance can vary but is typically on the malty side. Clean fermentation. Finish is dry to semi-dry with some lingering bitterness.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium body. Moderate to high carbonation. Smooth, without harsh bitterness or astringency.
• Overall Impression: A highly-attenuated pale lager without strong flavors, typically well-balanced and highly carbonated.
• Comments: International lagers tend to have fewer adjuncts than American lagers. Can lack the malt character of European pale lagers and are sometimes drier and more attenuated.
• History: A product of American large breweries trying to produce pale lagers for a worldwide market, but more robust and flavorful than American Light Lager.
• Ingredients: 2- or 6-row barley, corn or rice as adjuncts. Light use of noble hops.
• Vital Statistics:
  • OG (Original Gravity): 1.042 – 1.050
  • FG (Final Gravity): 1.008 – 1.012
  • IBUs (International Bitterness Units): 8 – 12
  • SRM (Standard Reference Method): 2 – 6
  • ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 4.6 – 6.0%
• Commercial Examples: Corona Extra, Dos Equis Lager, Harbin Lager, Heineken, Kirin Lager, Moosehead Lager, Red Stripe, Tsingtao.

Recipe Design

So right off the bat, we see “low malt aroma”, which can be grainy-malty which suggests we are going to the vast amount of malt in this bill as 2-Row or Pilsner. Traditionally, this would probably have been made with 2-Row, but I like the bready/grainy notes from Pilsner so we will use that instead. I could add a small amount of corn or rice to this, but I see no reason to.

Instead, we are going to amplify the grainy notes using some adjuncts. I really like to use Vienna or Munich in these situations. In addition to that, I will add a touch of caramel malt, 10 Lovibond to add a bit of sweetness and keep the color light. Lastly, a bit of acidulated malt should help this beer be perceived as a bit dry on the finish as well as help bring my pH down during mashing.

Hops

Next, I need to figure out hops! In the description, I immediately see “spicy, floral and herbal.” This absolutely suggests Czech or Noble hops should be used. We are going to end up on the high side of IBUS, around 23 – 25, which is right at the top end for the style. I do this because after a few weeks of conditioning, I find the bitterness tends to decrease. Ideally, the perceived drop in bitterness during conditioning should level out and land at a nice balanced level, with the sweetness from Caramel and Vienna malts evening it out.

To hit our mark, I’m targeting 23.5 IBUs of Saaz from a 15 minute addition. Yep, that’s it! We could opt to add a knockout addition to get some more hop flavor, but we risk overshooting the style. By sticking with the 15 minute addition only, that risk is minimal. The reason for this is hop aroma can range from none to medium for the style. No harm no foul.

You could opt to use Tettnang or something similar as well. The key is in the herbal, floral and spicy notes.

Yeast

Next up, is Yeast. I always opt for 34/70 lager yeast because it is very forgiving, helps bring out malt notes and is very neutral. You can ferment this stuff at 70F and have no off flavors. It’s incredible.

However, I will be fermenting at 60F for 10 days. Wait… No Diacetyl Rest!? Nope. I use ALDC which prevents formation of diacetyl and instead converts precursors to a flavor neutral compound known as acetoin. Every brewer should have this stuff… After 10 days, we cold crash to 34F for 5 days, then transfer to a keg or bottle.

Mash Temperature

For the mash, I will be aiming for 154F for my Alpha-Amylase rest, which should result in medium body. An Alpha-Amylase rest essentially means the enzymes are chopping long chain sugars quite randomly, some remaining too long for most yeast to consume. This means more dextrins, or more body in the finished beer. I am also hitting this with a brief step at 163F to hopefully bring a little additional mouthfeel and body to the brew.

Finally, mash out at 171F for 10 minutes before sparging. Yes, 171F is fine as long as your pH is not wildly high. The idea that tannins are extracted from grains above 170F is not entirely accurate. Instead, pH has much more to do with that process than anything. If you are below 6.0 you needn’t worry.

Water Profile

I am targeting a fairly simple water profile. Ideally, we would see a slight bump in the direction of sulfate over chloride to accentuate some bitterness and add a dry finish. Of course, we add some Calcium for yeast health.

• Ca: 60
• Mg: 0
• Na: 0
• SO4: 70
• Cl: 50

Recipe

(International Pale Lager Recipe!)

Here we go! This is built for a 5.5 gallon batch, with a mash efficiency of 78.5%. 60 minute boil. You could decide to extend the boil to 90 minutes if you wish, to prevent DMS formation due to high concentrations of SMM in pilsner malt, but this has not been an issue for me.

Target:

• ABV: 5.3%
• OG: 1.047
• FG: 1.007 (Yeah I know, it’s low but I find FG is not always as important as we think, especially when only one point off)
• SRM: 3.2
• IBU: 24
• BU/GU: .50

Malt:

• Pilsner 1.8L: 88%
• Vienna 2.8L: 8%
• Acidulated 1.7L: 2%
• Caramel 10L: 2%

Hops:

• 5 oz Saaz 2.7% AA

Misc:

• Nutrient @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
• Whirlfloc @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
• Clarity Ferm (Primary)
• ALDC (Primary)

Yeast:

• Fermentis 34/70 (With a starter of about 375 Billion cells)

Mash:

• 154F – 60 Minutes
• 163F – 20 Minutes
• 171F – 10 Minutes

Fermentation Profile:

• Primary @ 60F for 14 Days
• Cold Crash @ 34F for at least 5 days
• Condition at least one week

Results

We’ll be brewing this one up shortly and will add brew day pictures and notes, followed by the finished beer! Look for updates soon.