Old version of Budweiser (bitter)

I spent the other day discussing beer with my grandfather, who is by no means a beer connoisseur but knows what he likes. He started telling me about a more bitter version of Budweiser that he used to drink around the time of World War II.

I'd like to brew a version of it for him, but I have no idea what the recipe is. I was wondering if he might be thinking of the Budvar 12, but I'm not sure. Does anyone else have any ideas about this?

Think about a 85 year old man, and his 60 year old memory.....

Do you think it is more likely that he got a hold of a Czech import during that era, or did he drink something else, some other time, someother place?

I do have a Czech friend from that town. I'll have to ask him if he knows anything about exports...

The American lagers of that time were much more like current Pilsners. Mainstream (AKA pre-urinal) beers have gotten less bitter in just the last two decades according to the guys at OSU. The IBU's of bud, coors, etc. are about 1/2 to 1/4th of the levels in the 1980's.

American Pre-Prohibition Lager This is a 10 gallon recipe and I suspect a single infusion would work just fine. You might even consider using one of the lager-like ale yeasts.

cowain said:

I spent the other day discussing beer with my grandfather, who is by no means a beer connoisseur but knows what he likes. He started telling me about a more bitter version of Budweiser that he used to drink around the time of World War II.

I'd like to brew a version of it for him, but I have no idea what the recipe is. I was wondering if he might be thinking of the Budvar 12, but I'm not sure. Does anyone else have any ideas about this?

Click to expand...

I TOTALLY believe your grandfather!

I read a book a while back called "Travels with Barley" (my review is here) that had a chapter in it about the "big" breweries, and it concentrated a few pages on Budweiser's shady business practices over the years. IIRC, Bud dropped the IBUs in the recipe and were called out on it--but denied the whole thing. Personally, I wouldn't put it past them.

Kudos to your grandfather. If I could, I'd buy him a beer.

I know Michelob is not the beer it was 30 years ago. It seems watery by comparison. And though never high on IBU's, probably that has been lowered a few points. I used oprefer the Michelob Dark. But seems they dropped that one entirely, maybe about 20 years back.

Yeah, he's got a pretty good memory. His beats mine most of the time. The more I thought about it and considered everyone's posts, I bet he just remembers what the old Budweiser actually tasted like. He also cited a few other type beers he remembered liking from the time period, like something Dick (my failed memory, not his - he gave the name of that beer and a few others I hadn't heard of). He said he liked the others, but he and his friends all liked Budweiser better because of the bitterness. Once you got used to it, nothing else tasted right.

Thanks a bunch David, I'm going to try to modify that recipe a little a make it for him.

Was he talking about beer he drank stateside, or over in Europe during the war years? This may make a difference. And I bet the name he mentioned and that you are trying to think of is Griesedieck Beer! Click on the "About Us" link here.

Or Young's Dirty Dick?

I think Michelob Ultra holds the current record for canoe beer: 2.5 IBU.

In the 1960's it was common to purchase draft beer in bars. It would be put into cardboard containers, much like chinese food. Some also sold 2 gallon refrigerator kegs which were cardboard with a plastic internal liner and a little CO2 tap. When I returned from Viet Nam in 1967, that sort of beer sales had disappeared and become the famous 6 pack you are familiar with. During the 1970's, the quiet neighborhood bars virtually disappeared in favor of biker bars, loud rock or country music, mechanical bull bars etc. But the type of bar you could easily walk to and later stagger on home was gone or at least rare.

And I think the major brewers put out a better product back then. They seem to be out to duplicate the taste of whatever is in the number #1 slot, till they all taste alike. Also, the move to light beers and such that tend to make a person think it less fattening.

Also Schlitz used to have huge market right along side Bud. Often those were the two choices in bars until Coors moved in. But since Pabst took over it has been relagated to a regional beer. Pabst has something like 16 different lines of beer, none of which appears to be nationwide any more.

Hate to revive a very old thread... But it seems called for...

Bud has changed over the years, and AB admitted it: Miller Moves Quickly to Exploit Rival's Revelation | News - Advertising Age

When I was a child, my father would let me have just one sip of Bud (the town nurse felt that it would act as a diuretic when I was sick) and the taste just popped... Granted, my taste buds (pun intended) were pristine back then, but there was a difference. To this day, I still look for a recipe that matches the 1960's era Bud... Any further input would be greatly welcomed...

Thanks,

Alan

I'm with you Alan. I've had the same memories but my case I think my father was drinking a lot of Schmidt's back then. Maybe Bud also. I've been wondering about ingredients to recreate a version of that. I keep thinking 6 row and noble hops, maybe Saaz. I just need to get some lagering gear.

I've found this thread talking about Schlitz classic formula. Seems like 6 row, 2 row, Cluster and Hallerltau.

Also found this doc about yeast.

Also found this article about Bushwick pilsners which were hopped a bit higher than most.

And this thread for a recipe

Even these historical versions of Bud & Schlitz used adjuncts. Corn & rice were cheap & have been used since before prohibition.

I'm old enough to barely remember those earlier beers. If I were going to try this out, I would make a standard American lager recipe (about 80% 2 row/6 row & about 20% corn for Schlitz or rice for Bud). Aim for slightly higher OG & FG than today's lagers but still about 5% abv (not as good as getting super high attenuation back then). Also hop up to 15-25 IBUs instead of 10-15 as is the style today. I think that would get you close -- bit more malt, bit more hop character. Otherwise similar to today's American lagers.

Thanks folks...

Someday, I'm going to take a shot at brewing up a 1965 Bud... Wouldn't it be great if AB released the old recipes for home brewers like us? If for no other reason than the novelty... they certainly wouldn't be giving away any 2012 Bud trade secrets...

Alan