Old School Recipe Wanted

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UKFreak

UKFreak

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OK, about to date myself here, but back in the 70's the real "King of Beers" in retail America was Stroh's fire brewed. While similar to Bud and Miller, it had a very distinctive flavor. The company went bankrupt in the late 70's-early 80's. Miller bought the patent, then released it a few years ago as a cheap beer (much to the dismay of those of us who got our high-school drunk on with the good stuff) without the fire-brewing process and with a decidedly different taste. Does anyone know of a recipe for the old-style Stroh's? Old farts everywhere would appreciate the knowledge! PEACE OUT! :fro:
 
This is from the wiki:

Bernhard Stroh's original beer selling operation consisted of a basement brewing operation and was then sold door-to-door in a wheelbarrow. The New Beer (Stroh's) sold door-to-door is a lighter-lager beer, brewed in copper kettles; copper kettles enhanced the rich flavor of the beer, promoting carmelization of the wort "while the fire brewed distilling made the beer lighter", thus forming a tradition of 'pure water beers' without the heavier mineral content. Making the "new beer" lighter did not reduce the flavor.
Bernhard Stroh Jr. took charge of the brewery on the death of his father. He changed the brewery's name to the B. Stroh Brewing Company. With the introduction of pasteurization and refrigerated rail cars, Stroh was able to ship some of his beer as far as Florida and Massachusetts. In 1893 Stroh Bohemian Beer won a blue ribbon at the Columbian Exposition. The company's name was changed to The Stroh Brewery Company in 1902. In 1908 Bernhard Stroh's brother Julius Stroh took over the brewery. After a tour of famous European breweries, he introduced the European fire-brewing method in the Stroh brewery. Common in Europe before World War I, the fire-brewing process uses a direct flame rather than steam to heat beer-filled copper kettles. The company claims that the resulting higher temperatures bring out more of the beer's flavor.
Click to expand...

So most of us are "fire-brewing" already. No clue about the recipe though.
 
There's some discussions on other forums, especially the Michigan based ones....

Here's the best info from one of them....It's a good start if you know anything about recipe creation...

According to a few web searches, I notice it is 4.6% abv, with 12 g. carbohydrates. It is apparently a corn-adjunct beer. I would try the following:

Shoot for an OG of 1.048, FG 1.012

Use 70% 2-row, 30% flaked corn, if you are an all-grain brewer

Bitter with Hallertau, or similar to about 12 IBUs (approx. 1 oz. of 4% alpha hops) Maybe use 1/4 oz saaz finishing hops

I'd try wyeast 2035, or 2124

If all-grain brewing, I would use a soft water profile.
Click to expand...
 
Great! Thanks Rev! That clicks with some of what I've found, too, but most use more of the Czech Saaz hops & based it on Bavarian pilsner grain mixes. Lookin to try a modified bohemian pilsner kit (partial mash) to see how that works, then try an all grain. Good info!
 
Interesting discussion. This is what got me into home brewing to start with. I wanted to make beer the way it used to be. With that good beer flavor...that's the only way I can remember to describe it. Flavor & mouthfeel were increased in those days vs now. It had more of what made beer taste good. Not sweet,not bitter,not dry. It's something in the balance as well that made that flavor.
UK freak,it sounds like we are of a like mind on this. I just got into partial mash,so this could get interesting. I also have been re-examining info I've looked up for these certain hops that were said to produce a "crisp" flavor quality. I do believe this could help the flavor profile,as it is one of those "balancing" qualities I mentioned. Just haven't found them yet. Gotta find the hop site I was on when I read it. That's what I get for not making note of it the first time. I think it's another piece of the puzzle. I used to love the old stroh's beer. But always laughed at the "fire brewed" bragging bit. I used to think as a teen drinkin it "well duh,ya need fire to heat the kettle you brew it in!" Always thought it ws just marketing dept hype. Didn't know steam heating was commonly used. So Yeeeaaa! I'm makin fire brewed beer!! :ban::ban::ban:
 
Actually, most of the research I've done seems to point toward Czech Saaz as the hops most commonly associated with the "Bohemian-style" beers, which is what Stroh's billed itself as. Most of what I'm reading suggests that the original Strohs was a traditional Bohemian/Czech pilsner, with a slightly Americanized taste, maybe developed using flaked corn or rice syrup to make it more suitable to American palates. I've come up with something in a partial mash that I'm gonna try and see how it turns out. If it works, great. I may tweak it a bit...or a lot....but I'll keep posting on here as I experiment with it. I'm still really new to this, but had great fun and success with an Amber Ale (me and my buds damn near wiped out the entire batch on the day I brought it out for the first time! LOL)But I'm really excited to start playing around with recipes of my own. Watch for more details!
 
Not that it matters to the topic but, they did not go bankrupt in the 70 or 80's. My dad worked at the Detroit plant until it closed in 84-85. They only closed it because they had bought out Schlitz and the Detroit plant was 135 years old so they moved production to the Schlitz plant. They stayed a family owned company until 2000 when they where bought out by Pabst brewing company and Miller brewing company. Not sure if it taste the same these days but you can still get it in Michigan.

From one beer lover to another
 
Yeah, its like 13.99 a 30pk here too. I buy it from time to time. It's actually not bad, my opinion is it's better than the other macros.

Would 6 row have been used perhaps? Just thought of that.

I've never used 6row, but is it much different in the end product as 2row?
 
We can still get cans of something that says Stroh's, but it's pure piss. Cheap, watered down, very little taste at all. It disappeared from shelves here (and a friend of mine who owned the local distributorship sold out, closed the doors, and retired) when the buy-out happened. Then is re-appeared here about a year or so back but it's def not the huge seller it was in the day. Very few places locally even sell it any more, since after the old guys like me tried it and didn't like it. Hell, who knows....maybe it was that bad back then, we just didn't know it! Hahaha! Oh, well! I'll experiment with the style and see if I can come up with something I like....and that IS the name of the game, right?
 
OK, y'all: I've done lots of research (thanks for all the great advice & resources, guys!) and takes to TONS of folks (actually only a bunch of beer drinkers...collectively weighing a ton or so!) & I've got enough info to make my first attempt! This will be several "firsts" for me: first lager, first made-up recipe, first HB kegging attempt, first forced carbing...). Ima give it a shot & see what happens! If anyone's interested I'll post what I'm gonna try, then u can tweak to your hearts' desire. Between us we'll figure it out! BTW: I'm going extract this time just to simplify, but will probably go AG with the next round to fine-tune. Advice appreciated!
 
I grew up near Cleveland and went to college in central PA in the '73-'77 period. I spent '72-'73 school year in Belgium...drinking everything is sight but mostly Cristal Alken. When I got back I became a huge Stroh's fan. Looking back I wonder if it was because I "learned" to drink beer in Belgium. I remember thinking Bud tasted "sweet" upon my return from Belgium. I believe most of that '73-77 time frame (if not all of it) ALL Stroh's still came from Detroit. "America's only fire-brewed and krausened beer". It cost $5.25 for 24 x 16 ounce bottles (wish I had a few hundred of those bottles, they were SOLID!) I converted several east coast guys but the Pittsburgh gang stuck with Schlitz and Iron City mostly (and the Steelers! In fact I became a bit of a Steelers fan too...but I digress) Once Stroh's sold or expanded outside of the Detroit brewery it was never the same. UK...please post results of your efforts including recipe. I'd like to try to brew some (AG) myself...although it's been so long it'll be tough to know if the flavor is right!
 
Well, my first attempt has been lagering since just after Thanksgiving. Had a few problems with primary fermentation (raged for about 12 hours, then just quit). Stirred it up a bit, got it restarted, then let it set in primary for about 5 days total. Racked to secondary and put out to lager at 40-ish. Plan to let it sit till the end of this month, then check gravity. If all is good, will keg and force carb there we'll see what we got. Only thing I see so far is the color is darker than it should be. I ain't competing, I'm brewing beer to drink so I ain't worried about color, just taste. I'll let y'all know in a few more weeks.

Just started primary on a Harp's clone that has the same color issues, BTW. Been doing some research and have some ideas on how I may can help that the next light beer I brew. PH of the water was a bit high and long boil over high heat maybe? Any other thoughts, please share! Still learning here!
 
UPDATE- after posting my curiosity got the best of me, so I went and checked the gravity...1.010, dead money! And lo and behold, once I took the sample from the honey colored carboy into my test jar, color was a nice straw gold! OK-noobie thang: beer will look darker in the carboy than in the mug! Tasted it, and damned impressed with myself. Got a Bud Light tone, but with some actual flavor! Was is old-school Strohs? Who can remember for sure, but it sure tasted fine! I'm gonna give it two more days, checking readings. If still stable on Sunday I'm gonna rack to keg, force carb, and call it a success! I'll post the recipe here for extract (how I did it). Aint set up for AG yet, but if you AG guys adapt it, be sure to let me know. I'm hopin to get some AG equipment soon.:rockin:
 
Very cool, glad it turned out well UKF. :)

Hell, I'm old enough to remember when Hamm's was decent beer, or so I thought when I was around 16. :rockin:

Rick
 
Just to update: I brewed a batch based on the recipe for a Bud kit from Midwest, but changed the hops to Czech Saaz and used Wyeast Bohmeian lager yeast. Final ABV came to about 5%. Tasted great, and we wiped it out in about 2 weekends with my buds giving it a thumbs up. Had great head retention and mouthfeel, mild aftertaste, and was really clear. Def gonna do this one again, but may use corn instead of rice next time. Not set up for all grain yet, but thinking partial mash fo the next batch. In the mean time...got a Harp's clone (recipe, not kit). a raspberry ale and a Honey Porter to make up....should keep me busy!
 

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