Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I'm thinking about trying a side-by-side experiment. Inspired by Lee's Pliny Lager, I think it would be fun to do a 5 gallon batch of some beer style, split it into two, and ferment one with dry lager yeast at lager temps, and the other with dry ale yeast at appropriate temps. The lager would go through the whole lagering stage too while the ale would not, of course. The point is to get a grasp of what lagering does to a beer.

So I'm throwing this out there for suggestions of styles that might work. Would it be better to take a fairly neutral (not too fruity) ale, or start with a lager? I'm leaning towards the lager as Lee is already doing an ale, though not as a split batch, right Lee? I though about doing something like a kolsh, but I'm not sure that the difference would be as dramatic since it's already squarely in hybrid territory.

Suggestions?

carrisr wrote:I'm leaning towards the lager as Lee is already doing an ale, though not as a split batch, right Lee?

You are correct -- I am doing an IPA as an IPL.

I would recommend doing something very simple, with a flavor profile that would showcase the performance of the yeast. I wouldn't worry about starting with an ale vs a lager -- the basic recipes for most of those delicately flavored beers (both ales and lagers) are pretty close (e.g. Kolsch vs. Helles).