I Just Wanted To See If I Could Do It

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Bernie Brewer

Grouchy Old Fart
Joined
Feb 2, 2006
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Location
Eldorado, WI
OK, guys get ready to make with the skunk piss jokes. I have been brewing for at least a dozen years now, and while I know I'm never going to get seriously into the science behind it, I think I have gotten pretty good at making beer. All kinds of beer. I have made pilseners, bocks, trappists, APAs, wheats, hefes, marzens, kolsches, wee heavys, scottish ales, mild ales, American ambers, nut brown ales, & prolly a bunch more that I can't think of at the moment.

One style of beer that I have never made is a light American lager. That's right- a BMC style beer. While we here at HBT like to be downright condescending about BMC-no flavor, no body, etc.- anyone that knows anything about brewing can say that the light American lager is just about the most difficult beer to brew. Well, I gave it a go today. So go ahead and make your jokes- I don't care.

The ingredients were simple-and minimal:):

Fizzy Yellow Beer
5# 2-row
2 1/2 # flaked corn (I know, I know)
1/2 oz Mt Hood 5% 60 min
1/4 oz Mt Hood 5% 15 min
Wyeast American Lager yeast

That's it. Funny thing was, there were so few grains in the mash that they didn't even reach up to the thermometer in my tun, so I had to take temps with a dial-type thermometer. I thought that was kinda funny.:)
Kept my mash steady at 150 for 75 minutes and batch sparged. In retrospect I probably should have used some Irish Moss, but oh, well, I didn't think of it until it was too late.

I figure my basement will be cold enough to ferment this for about another month, and by then I should have my friend's old fridge to lager it in, along with the bock and the Marzen I've already brewed this year.

If it turns out like it should, I'll take it camping on Memorial day and feed it to the BMC masses, while I drink the Bock I brewed last month.:mug: If it doesn't, oh, well, I didn't spend much money on ingredients....

OK, joke away.
 
Interesting experiment. As far as I'm concerned, as an art, no style should be out of bounds. If you can make one that tastes exactly as intended, it's a successful brew.
 
Good for you! It's certainly a challenge, brewing light beers. I wish you the best of luck!

Bob

P.S. See the 1950s Brooklyn Lager recipe in my sig. Looks awfully similar... :D
 
Bump. I've had this brew on the gas for a couple days now in prep for this weekend, and I just poured a sample. GAWD, I wish I had a digital camera! Crystal clear, carbonation is perfect, nice lacing. It looks and tastes like Miller High Life. The BMC-ers are gonna love it this weekend. Now I just gotta bottle some bock for myself!
 
Yeah, Bernie, sounds great. I figured about $14.75 for the batch. If you had the yeast then about $8.50. Who says you can't make a BMC clone cheaper than you can buy it. Oh and about 135 calories.
 
Bump. I've had this brew on the gas for a couple days now in prep for this weekend, and I just poured a sample. GAWD, I wish I had a digital camera! Crystal clear, carbonation is perfect, nice lacing. It looks and tastes like Miller High Life. The BMC-ers are gonna love it this weekend. Now I just gotta bottle some bock for myself!


That's cool. I think I'd like to give something like that a try just so I can verify my oft repeated assertion that I can brew any style I like. I'll probably do it in the winter when I'm only doing 5 gallon batches. No sense in getting all weird with it. :fro:
 
i tried something similar about 6& 7 brews back , my main objective was to see if i could a fizzy yellow beer clear , the first batch turned out ok but my second atempt turned out much better, i also used 1\2 lb rice and 7lb of 2-row grain
 
Well, the masses loved it. They killed the whole 5-gallon batch and then went on to their Bud Light. I guess I did OK.:mug:
 
We could do it, but it wouldn't be comparing apples to apples. Yours is an ale, mine is a lager. I think they would actually be quite different.
 
haha this actually sounds kinda cool. everyone has friends that are BMC-exclusive drinkers, So it would be nice to be able to make something for them. as soon as i am able to lager (i.e. have a fridge) I will give this a try
 
Looks great.

My recipe is:

75% 2-row
5% Vienna
20% Flaked Rice

OG 1.040. Bittered with enough Mt. Hood at 60 for 12 IBUs.

Ferment with a big starter of WLP840 (Budweiser) yeast at 52*F for two weeks and lager one week in a keg at 42*F before pushing through a 1 micron filter to get out all the yeast. With a three week turnaround, I can throw a batch of this together in time for just about any party.

Comes out like Bud, but it's a hell of a lot tastier. I will be making a LOT of this stuff this summer.
 
Hmm.... I have actually been thinking about brewing some BMC. I just need to figure out a lagering method. I ought to break down and buy that temp controller. Except I would need to build a box and have it turn on a light bulb to warm up the box.
 
It's funny that I just now found this thread. I once, ACCIDENTALLY, made a fizzy yellow beer, and I may have a helpful tip that might make it easier.

I was making a Kolsch style and my buddy and I decided to filter it. And filter it. And filter it some more.

After filtering it 3 or 4 times, we stuck it in the closet to ferment and it did it's thing and we drank it and a good time was had by all.

BUT...we noticed that filtering it repeatedly stripped it of almost ALL of it's flavor. And it was crystal clear and tasteless and fizzy and yellow. The only difference between it and a BMC was the head. It had the BEST HEAD of any beer I've made.
 
BB-
I just linked a guy to this thread for a high life clone, think it will serve his purpose?

BTW, I think I want to brew this one for the fun of it. I'm a tremendous beer dork but I'll admit that the fizzy yellow offerings can be really cool homebrews!
 
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