How about an HBT lawnmower beer recipe?

I just fertilized my lawn today. With global warming my lawn is at least a month ahead of where it should traditionally be. Pretty soon I'll be out there mowing it, and what does that mean? I need lawnmower beer.

Now, as a homebrewer I don't think I should be stuck with Miller Lite when I get done with the "back 40," so I was wondering-- could we work on an official Lawnmower Brew?

At first glance this would seem simple-- make a really light lager with really pale lager malts-- but the tricky thing is to find a way to make the stuff interesting. Making a really good lawnmower beer is probably not all that easy, especially since many of us are not equipped to make lagers. It would probably have to be made with kolsch yeast or steam beer yeast to make it available for everyone.

50% Pale Malt, 50% Pils Malt. Mash low. Only 8-9lbs grain total.
Cali Yeast. Lower is better for the ferment but that yeast works from like 55-65, maybe broader.
Light Saaz/Cascade depending on preference.

Yeah that would be a good one for the cupholder in the John Deere.

How about this: Its a PA

8# 2 row
1# Crystal 10
1 # Vienna
.5# Biscuit
.5# CaraPils

You pick the hops and yeast---- only reason I m bring this to you is Im drinking it now! While mowing my lawn today I had several pints.

Are you talking about ride on mowers or push petrol / electric. i.e. one hand free or both pushing
I use a four stroke petrol thingy, takes about 4 beers to do the back garden with one taken each time I empty the clippings. Front garden is one beer as it is only small.

Maybe there's a slight misunderstanding here about what a lawnmower beer is. I remember in college I used to visit my brother sometimes and his landlord had someone she hired to mow the law around the building where my brother lived. When the guy would finish mowing, the landlord would have two ice cold bottles of beer ready for him (I hope that wasn't his entire pay for the job. Well, actually, that wouldn't be all that bad if it was good beer)!

I suppose if you have a riding mower, that changes things a bit. You're not likely to be nearly as hot and sweaty from riding around on the thing for a half an hour or so. If you are pushing the mower, though, you really need a nice lighter brew that is really thirst quenching and tastes good cold. You probably wouldn't want a warm, thick stout or something at that point.

Lawn mower beer= adult Gatorade The image I remember as a kid, is my neighbor drinking a can of original Coors after cutting his grass. I prefer an ice cold Pacifico, but you get the picture.

I just bottled as extract made with LDME, some honey malt, Spalt hops and Kolsch yeast. Thats going to be my thirst quensher this summer( as long as lasts!!) You can convert that to an AG recipe no prob, but any small beer will be great for the job. - Dirk

Her's a bitter I just brewed that might be good for this:

5.5 gallon batch, collect 6.5 gallons of wort
Mash at 152-154 F with 2 gallons water (1 qt/lb)

7 lbs Maris Otter
8 oz Crystal 40L
4 oz Munich
4 oz Flaked barley

1 oz EK Goldings (6% AA) 60 min
1/2 oz EK Goldings (6% AA) 30 min
3/4 oz Fuggles (4% AA) 10 min
1/2 oz EK Goldings (6% AA) 1 min

SafAle S-04 dry yeast

At 75% eff., OG should be 1.041
34.7 IBUs (0.84 BG:GU ratio)

Est. alcohol around 3.8%

Buford said:

Her's a bitter I just brewed that might be good for this:

Click to expand...

I love a good bitter, but I wouldn't call it a lawnmower beer, because IMHO one of the main characteristics of a lawnmower beer is that it has to be good straight from the fridge. I wouldn't do that to a good bitter.

cweston said:

I love a good bitter, but I wouldn't call it a lawnmower beer, because IMHO one of the main characteristics of a lawnmower beer is that it has to be good straight from the fridge. I wouldn't do that to a good bitter.

Click to expand...

I drink all my beer over 50 F so I wouldn't know

I don't like beer too cold, heck I don't like stuff like Miller High Life ice cold. Call me weird, but I like that corny taste that you can pick up more of when it's warmer.

Buford said:

I drink all my beer over 50 F so I wouldn't know

I don't like beer too cold, heck I don't like stuff like Miller High Life ice cold. Call me weird, but I like that corny taste that you can pick up more of when it's warmer.

Click to expand...

I'm with you on that--I do think there are some beers that are good quite cold, though. Not at their best, maybe, but very good.

I just made a pilsner-

90% German Pils (9lbs)
10% Carapils (1 lbs)
WhiteLabs Pilsner Yeast
2oz Saaz (60)
.5 Saaz (30)
.5 Saaz (0)

and I might dry hop an ounce of Saaz as well....


I'm not sure why, but my efficiency sucked. My OG was 1.040. I was hoping for about 1.45-49. But again, it's a lawnmower beer, so as long as it's over about 3.5%ABV, it'll be good. Nobody can ever guess how much alcohol is in my beer anyway. People always think it's stronger than it is... and act accordingly!

I just did this one. Its going to be damn good. I should of used 7 lbs of Pils though and kept it in the mid 40s instead of 1.050. Oh well........Im going to do this one again soon anyways.


8lbs Pils
.5 Wheat
.5 Vienna
.5 Carapils


Hallatauer
Saaz

US-56

Ahhh, lawnmower beer. I have several acres to cut, so I like mine insulated. I start off with a keg.



Add some neoprene insulation.



Toss it in a back pack.



And I'm ready to go with my personal BeerDraytion System.

Chimone said:

I just did this one. Its going to be damn good. I should of used 7 lbs of Pils though and kept it in the mid 40s instead of 1.050. Oh well........Im going to do this one again soon anyways.


8lbs Pils
.5 Wheat
.5 Vienna
.5 Carapils


Hallatauer
Saaz

US-56

Click to expand...

How much hops?

And what does the Vienna add to it?

Toot said:

And what does the Vienna add to it?

Click to expand...

Vienna enhances maltiness--like Munich, but a little sweeter flavor, IMHO.

It also adds an orangish golden color.

Ed, are you for real? That's freakin' awesome!

Toot said:

How much hops?

Click to expand...

One ounce of each. Took it to about 24ish IBUs

Hallatauer @ 60

Saaz @ 20

Chimone, your avatar ROCKS!!! Nothing like a few curves to make your day...

I think I'll do this one but with different hops.

Maybe EK Goldings and Fuggles.....

Lil' Sparky said:

Ed, are you for real? That's freakin' awesome!

Click to expand...

Yeah, the problem with 3 gallons is the grass gets cut well in some sections and then the later ones tend to look a bit irregular. Flower beds and shrubs sometimes get in the way, but 25 horsepower can muscle though most things.

Actually, it's just my ultra portable kegerator. I use the 16 gram CO2 cartridges to dispense through a picnic tap.

knipknup said:

Maybe EK Goldings and Fuggles.....

Click to expand...

I was thinking about mixing it up a bit and throwing some EKGoldings in there actually. I did this last year with all fuggles and it turned out good also. Maybe for the second batch Ill switch it up a bit.

....and on a side note here. This a great "gateway" beer for BMC fans

EdWort said:

Yeah, the problem with 3 gallons is the grass gets cut well in some sections and then the later ones tend to look a bit irregular. Flower beds and shrubs sometimes get in the way, but 25 horsepower can muscle though most things.

Actually, it's just my ultra portable kegerator. I use the 16 gram CO2 cartridges to dispense through a picnic tap.

Click to expand...

Hmmm.... So I'm guessing there would be no need for a glass then.

Here's what I ended up doing today. Hit 1.044 for OG and pitched on 1272 from my Denny Conn's Rye IPA

7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 75.7 %
1 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 10.8 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.1 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.4 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.20%] (60 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.50%] (20 min) Hops 11.9 IBU
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale

Used the Banjo Burner - it ROCKS!!! Had mash/sparge water ready in 15 minutes.
Oh, I also used water from the hose for my immersion chiller (usually use kitchen sink water). It cooled the wort much faster, down to 70F in about 15 minutes. It usually takes around 20 minutes to get to 80F inside.

American Ale II? Nice, be sure to keep us informed on that. id like to hear how that works out for you.

I tried this one today. It definitely needs a bit more carbonation. However, it had a very nice hop profile and was light on the alcohol side. I can't wait to mow my lawn!!!

Alright, that was a lie...

... but I still liked the beer...

EdWort said:

Ahhh, lawnmower beer. I have several acres to cut, so I like mine insulated. I start off with a keg.

Add some neoprene insulation.

Toss it in a back pack.

And I'm ready to go with my personal BeerDraytion System.

Click to expand...

I just lost 10ml looking at that Keg. I am bidding just now on e-bay for some kegging gear!

American cream ale. THATS a lawnmower beer!

If you like hoppy lawnmower beers, here's a nice one.

4# 2 row pale
4# Wheat

.75 oz. Chinook at 60 minutes
.50 oz. Cascade at 30 minutes
.25 oz. Cascade at 15 minutes
.25 oz. Cascade at 5 minutes.

Nottingham or Safale 05.

It'll finish out at about 4% abv. Very light tasting with a wonder hop nose & flavor. It has about 48 ibu's.

EdWort said:

If you like hoppy lawnmower beers, here's a nice one.

4# 2 row pale
4# Wheat

.75 oz. Chinook at 60 minutes
.50 oz. Cascade at 30 minutes
.25 oz. Cascade at 15 minutes
.25 oz. Cascade at 5 minutes.

Nottingham or Safale 05.

It'll finish out at about 4% abv. Very light tasting with a wonder hop nose & flavor. It has about 48 ibu's.

Click to expand...

This looks great. Mash at around 152F and mow the lawn all day long!

I may be eternally banned for this, but IMHO the zenith of lawnmower beers is a PBR served at about 38 degrees, from the can.

this thread is awesome. Living in oakland now, I unfortunately do not have a yard to cut. I used to have a lawn-mowing business back in teh midwest, tho, so i understand how important it is to have an ice cold (yes, this one needs to be ice cold) brew after (or during) givin the yard a shave.

This will fit the bill.

8 lbs Pilsner Malt
.5 lbs Honey Malt

1 oz Willamette for 60 min
.5 oz Willamette for 10 min
.5 oz Czech Saaz for 0 min

WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch Yeast

Extremely refreshing Pilsner Style Ale. (for those that lack lagering space like myself)

I may be eternally banned for this, but IMHO the zenith of lawnmower beers is a PBR served at about 38 degrees, from the can.

Click to expand...

I've had a few of those after cutting the grass!

Heh...Went to SXSW (HUGE music festival in Austin) and PBR sponsored an all day show. Ice cold PBR all day long... Only thing better was when Flying Dog sponsored an event the next day!

Just emptied the keg. This one was awesome! Very nice ESB is what it turned out like...

knipknup said:

Here's what I ended up doing today. Hit 1.044 for OG and pitched on 1272 from my Denny Conn's Rye IPA

7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 75.7 %
1 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 10.8 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.1 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.4 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.20%] (60 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.50%] (20 min) Hops 11.9 IBU
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale

Used the Banjo Burner - it ROCKS!!! Had mash/sparge water ready in 15 minutes.
Oh, I also used water from the hose for my immersion chiller (usually use kitchen sink water). It cooled the wort much faster, down to 70F in about 15 minutes. It usually takes around 20 minutes to get to 80F inside.

Click to expand...