My octoberfest party is coming up and I need to get some recipes finalized. My standard brew cat IPA is 6.5 ABV. I want to knock it down to about 5.5 so I plan on using less grain for that beer. I need two kegs so I want to do a double batch one keg IPA the other batch I want to bring in about 4.5 ABV I want something for the lite beer people so it would be lightly hopped but I need some suggestions on yeast since I’m using the same grain bill I need a yeast that won’t go to low.any suggestions would be appreciated.
I’m a little confused by your post and what you are trying to achieve…
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Are you brewing the same beers at different ABV? if so use the same ingredients, adjust accordingly, and pay attention to your IBU:GU ratio.
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If you are looking for different recipes for lighter style beers you can brew a kolsch to stay in style for Oktoberfest. Not sure if you have lagering capabilities but you could also look into helles style beers.
If I understand correctly, you want to do a single mash and get a 5.5% IPA and some other, lighter hopped beer from it as well, both the same batch size, all while using the same strain of yeast. Sounds like a parti-gyle would work for you, provided you are OK with doing two different boils. First thing to decide is what gravity you want the second beer to be at; that lets you calculate the total grain quantities, and then how to divide the first and second runnings to the two beers.
For example, if you want your “light” beer to be 4% alcohol, calculate the grain bill for 10 gallons of 4.75% beer (5.5+4.0)/2. Then, knowing that a batch sparge with equal volumes gives approximately 75% of the sugar from the first runnings, calculate the % of each running to use for each beer. In this case, the math is simple due to the equal batch sizes: % first runnings to use = gravity of one beer/sum of the gravity of both beers. For second runnings, use the inverse.
% 1st runnings for 5.5% beer = 5.5/(5.5 + 4) * 100 = 58%
% 1st runnings for 4% beer + 4/(5.5 + 4)*100 = 42%
% 2nd runnings for 5.5% beer = 100 - 58 = 42%
% 2nd runnings for 4% beer = 100 - 42 = 58%
Please clarify the question if I’m not understanding correctly.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]If I understand correctly, you want to do a single mash and get a 5.5% IPA and some other, lighter hopped beer from it as well, both the same batch size, all while using the same strain of yeast. Sounds like a parti-gyle would work for you, provided you are OK with doing two different boils. First thing to decide is what gravity you want the second beer to be at; that lets you calculate the total grain quantities, and then how to divide the first and second runnings to the two beers.
For example, if you want your “light” beer to be 4% alcohol, calculate the grain bill for 10 gallons of 4.75% beer (5.5+4.0)/2. Then, knowing that a batch sparge with equal volumes gives approximately 75% of the sugar from the first runnings, calculate the % of each running to use for each beer. In this case, the math is simple due to the equal batch sizes: % first runnings to use = gravity of one beer/sum of the gravity of both beers. For second runnings, use the inverse.
% 1st runnings for 5.5% beer = 5.5/(5.5 + 4) * 100 = 58%
% 1st runnings for 4% beer + 4/(5.5 + 4)*100 = 42%
% 2nd runnings for 5.5% beer = 100 - 58 = 42%
% 2nd runnings for 4% beer = 100 - 42 = 58%
Please clarify the question if I’m not understanding correctly.[/quote]
Yes this is what I was thinking, two separate boils with different recipes. I though I might use a lower attenuating yeast for the lower gravity beer. I don’t lager and it’s an American octoberfest so not worried about style. Never used a kolsch yeast before but open to suggestions. The IPA batch gets US 05.
I used wlp011 for the first time recently and really liked it. Super clean and malty I think it’d be a perfect fit for the lighter beer. The attenuation wasn’t as low as the specs suggest I mashed at 152 with 10% crystal and got 77% attenuation.
If you want the lighter beer to maintain more body, it is better to do that by altering the fermentability of the wort - that has a much bigger impact than yeast strain. Just calculate it to be 5-10 points lower in gravity than you want, and make up the difference in the kettle with lactose. Then ferment with US-05 or whatever yeast strain you want.
Keep in mind that attenuation is more dependent on the fermentability of the wort than the rating of the yeast.
If you just brewed the IPA the lite beer people wouldn’t be drinking and one batch would be enough. 
If you just brewed the IPA the lite beer people wouldn’t be drinking and one batch would be enough. [/quote]
Not true. They would pour a glass and not finish and turn up their nose. Waste of good beer. Usually I buy a case of light beer which would be easier. But i Would prefer to turn them on to good home brew. What does lactose do, and were would I get it?
Lactose is a non-fermentable sugar that isn’t as sweet as table sugar but will add body to a beer. Half a pound should be enough for your purpose. Available at any brew supply store.
If it is non fermentables what is the purpose of lowering the gravity ?
Replacing some of the sugars in the wort with lactose will keep the FG higher and add body (and some sweetness) while keeping the OG the same. Adding lactose without reducing the sugars from the malt will increase both the OG and the FG, and your alcohol will be about the same as if you didn’t add it at all. Do whichever works best for what you want in the beer.
If you want a really light bodied beer I brewed an all cascade IPA that’s been a pretty tasty summer pool beer. It’s kind of fruity with all the cascades and Wy1272 yeast but if you changed up the hops and maybe used a clean yeast like US05 you’d get something that would appeal to the light beer people.
The grain bill is just 10 lbs Briess 2 row and 1 lb carapils. I mashed it at 149 at 5.4pH. Going in the keg the beer was 4.4 pH. It’s really dry and light.
I think this grain bill would get you a beer with the body and color your light beer friends would go for. It came in at 6.8 ABV so you might want to dial it back a little.
I make a similar IPA using chinook and cascade. I never tried to bitter with cascade though. I took that grain bill and hop schedule and dialed it back to 5.5 ABV. Then I pluged in the same grains and worked it to 4.3. I added the two grain amounts together and used rebuilt’s formula to figure how much running to each pot. Not sure what hops to use for the lighter beer yet. I will use us o5 on the light. I usually use that in the IPA also but may change that.
I actually bittered the above referenced beer with magnum so I guess not technically “all cascade.”
I bitter with nugget or chinook depending what I have left over. I don’t worry to much about the bittering hop since I’ve heard it doesn’t change the flavor or aroma. I’m leaning toward saaz for the lighter beer. Any thoughts ?
Not true. They would pour a glass and not finish and turn up their nose. Waste of good beer.[/quote]
Give them small glasses. 
While the bittering hop variety doesn’t change the flavor, it can change the quality of the bitterness. Chinook is renowned for giving a very harsh bitterness that works well with IPAs. Don’t use it in anything delicate. Magnum and noble hops are equally renowned for giving a very smooth bitterness. Most hop varieties are in the middle.
Saaz is a great hop, but sometimes it can be VERY low AA and you might need a lot of it to get your IBUs. That’s one reason most people save it for flavor and aroma additions. Be prepared though, anything light colored that uses saaz for late additions is going to be reminiscent of a continental pilsner, especially if you ferment cool with US-05 or a similar clean yeast.
I was going to bitter with magnum. Add saaz late.
As far as the pilsner, that’s kind of why I chose saaz. Is it OK with two row.
