Blonde Ale Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped)

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
christpuncher123 said:
Now I just need to figure out where the hell to get Amylase Enzyme. 5 brewstores and nobody's heard of it.
Click to expand...

Austin Homebrew and I believe Midwest both have it. I think I am going to try Beano, it is supposed to do the same thing.
 
CatHead said:
Austin Homebrew and I believe Midwest both have it. I think I am going to try Beano, it is supposed to do the same thing.
Click to expand...

Be careful with beano. Its sort of the same thing but you have less control with it. Theres a bit of info on issues with beano on the forum if you search. I would post them but im on mobile
 
My wife got some free powdered lime from Penzey's Spices in her last order and wondered if I could use some in the boil process to make this recipe similar to a Miller Chill. Any thoughts?
 
So I made 15 gallons of this today, and my efficiency was a little higher than normal, SG is 1.036. Does anyone have any opinions or similar experience? I'm wondering whether I should leave it as is, or dilute it down to 1.030?

I have the room since I split it between three fermentors. It would take about a gallon of water each to get down to 1.030.
 
Great thread. One of many epic ones I've read here on HBT :mug:

I'm considering trying this one soon. I saw Mt. Hood hops being discussed at some point, does anyone have reports on how that turned out? I'm also considering just a bit of turbinado sugar (8 oz. or less) to touch the ABV up a little and contribute a little color. Also, those who just add the AE to primary after some time, how has that worked out for you?

Thanks everybody!
 
Brewed this a little over a month ago. Bottle Conditioned for two weeks.

OG was 1.028.

Added the enzyme to the secondary. Dry hopped with cascade.

Drinking it right now. Very tasty. It's very dry and crisp. Nice head and lacing in the glass. Smells hoppy. Tastes refreshing, slightly hoppy. No corn taste what-so-ever. Very little after taste except a slight lingering hop taste which disappears almost immedately.

Nice brew. What book was the origin of this recipe?
 
Just transferred to secondary. 1.010 before adding amalyse. OG was 1.020, low compared to the recipe. I'm expecting low abv which sucks. About 3%, assuming a good 2ndary ferment. It started action 45 mins after the transfer. Tastes amazing though. Me and my cousin both enjoyed the sample. Great color and taste. Probably won't make this again. Just based on my home brew set up. I don't think my equipment works well with this light of a beer. I wish I had a more efficient set up. Because I would brew this on the regular assuming I had the right equipment for it. I will post again with my final verdict though.
 
Sounds like you need to add another 1 pound of grain next time and make sure you end up with 5.50 gals not 6. 1.020 for an OG is really low.
 
Yeah I think you're right about the grain. I think I fudged my mash a bit. I added about 4 gallons instead of the 2 it calls for. I was worried it wasn't enough water. I dunno if that makes a big difference or not. I ended up with less than 5 gallons actually, which I thought would help me out. Guess not.
 
Always have some DME on hand for low mash efficiency. Also it helps to do the starch-iodine mash conversion test to make sure you have converted completely before mashing out.
 
A week later and still 1.010. Anything else I can do to help up the abvs?

edit.

If there is nothing more I can do, would it matter if I kegged it for tomorrow? It tastes really good but I don't wanna mess with it if it has a chance of getting better.
 
Did you add 1.00 Tsp Amylase Enzyme Redspy? If not that will drop it down for 7 days. Mash temp needs to be low 150 F degrees at most. 148F being even better.
 
I did add the Amylase for 7 days. I ended up kegging it last night. Still delicious and potent enough for me!
 
I am thinking of making this recipe but I've never used amylase enzyme in a secondary fermenter. Can anyone explain why it's used in the secondary rather than the primary fermenter? Seems to me it would be most beneficial to add it shortly after clearing on top of the healthy yeast cake. Thanks.
 
heavyfeet said:
I am thinking of making this recipe but I've never used amylase enzyme in a secondary fermenter. Can anyone explain why it's used in the secondary rather than the primary fermenter? Seems to me it would be most beneficial to add it shortly after clearing on top of the healthy yeast cake. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don’t know the exact answer but I seem to agree with you.

In my current batch I added the amylase to the secondary of the first 5 gallons and primary to the second 5 gallons. The first 5 gallons took about 2 weeks to get down from 1.010 to 1.004 (where I felt it tasted good and kegged it). The second 5 gallons I just added amylase to primary on Sunday so I haven’t taken a hydro reading yet.

I’ll take one tonight and report back.

On the third 5 gallons (hooray from small grain bills that I can make 15 gallon batches!) I used a Kolsch yeast and will not be adding the amylase to primary since I am planning on harvesting the yeast. Not sure if the amylase would affect harvesting but I don’t really want to take the chance.
 
heavyfeet said:
I am thinking of making this recipe but I've never used amylase enzyme in a secondary fermenter. Can anyone explain why it's used in the secondary rather than the primary fermenter? Seems to me it would be most beneficial to add it shortly after clearing on top of the healthy yeast cake. Thanks.
Click to expand...

People have done it both ways and have gotten good results. I may have stated this before in the thread. I was following the recipe by Charlie Papazian. I think the primary reason is for absolute clarity, getting the beer off the spent yeast then give the remaining yeast some scrub work to remove complex starches from the corn. One could also mash with this....

That said, at the end you want dry beer. So mash with AE, mash lower like 147F, use AE in the fermenters. You probably could skip the secondary if you let it stay in the primary for 3 weeks. Another point here to note is the use of 6-Row malt. This malt has more enzymes for use with adjuncts, so bumping the ratio of 6-row to 2-row is another option. Making a dry beer without lagering on ale yeast, AE happens to be cheap easy alternative (aside from altering the grain bill). Think of the act of lagering, slow gradual chugging of yeast to consume any resemblance of food to survive in a cold environment. In this case with the 2ndary you are doing it at room temp with an artificial boost to convert starches into sugars and letting residual yeast consume new found food.

I personally like my kegged beer without any form of yeast (based on the style of course). I don't like having a spent keg spurting yeast sediment into my faucets. I also tend to siphon to the bottom of the fermenter, inevitably I pick up some yeast, so this one I just do the 2ndary without much thought on the matter, but only on this beer style.

If the AE is not working in the 2ndary I would make sure that on future batches that the yeast is rehydrated in warm water prior to pitching. Rehydrate at 90-95F. If that is not doing it then enzyme might be bad.

My $0.02
 
Has anyone made this with nottingham dry yeast? That is all I have on hand to use right now and I want to try to brew a biab stove top version of this. Would notty yeast be ok to use?
 
Any idea what the optimal water profile looks like for this Miller lite clone... And piss water is not the answer I am looking for

Thanks!
 
Serving this up at a "snow-ball" softball tournament benefit for breast cancer tomorrow. Tons of softball teams so there are plenty of BMC drinkers. I'll report back with how quick the keg kicks! :mug:
 
kpr121 said:
Serving this up at a "snow-ball" softball tournament benefit for breast cancer tomorrow. Tons of softball teams so there are plenty of BMC drinkers. I'll report back with how quick the keg kicks! :mug:
Click to expand...

What did your water profile look like... Soft, hard?
 
Honestly I don’t know, I have a wards lab sampling kit on its way to my house though!

I seem to think its on the hard side but not too bad. We get some minor scaling on our faucets and such but its not as bad as some places we have lived/been.
 
Hmm… I will know for sure in a couple week, but just based off those descriptions and the styles of beer that tend to turn out best (dark, malty stouts and porters) I would seem to think my beer more closely represents London or Edinbaugh too!

I cant wait for my water report. I feel like I will then have ultimate control of my beers! BWAHAHWHA!
 
Ok - I am home now..... Mine is like Burton On Trent.... :D

Burton-on-Trent - Compared to London, the calcium and sulfate are remarkably high, but the hardness and alkalinity are balanced to nearly the degree of Pilsen. The high level of sulfate and low level of sodium produce an assertive, clean hop bitterness. Compared to the ales of London, Burton ales are paler, but much more bitter, although the bitterness is balanced by the higher alcohol and body of these ales.
Click to expand...

No matter what the water, my ML Clone tasted damn good and better than Miller Lite any day.
 
Schlenkerla -

Not being familiar with AE or ever used it before. What is the benefit to adding it to the mash as well? How much do you add for your batch size? What can you expect?

Also, have you tried not dry hopping it? If you are thinking about using this beer for your bum friends who just want to play beer pong, would skipping a dry hop make sense?
 
-MG- said:
Schlenkerla -

Not being familiar with AE or ever used it before. What is the benefit to adding it to the mash as well? How much do you add for your batch size? What can you expect?

Also, have you tried not dry hopping it? If you are thinking about using this beer for your bum friends who just want to play beer pong, would skipping a dry hop make sense?
Click to expand...

You can get better mash efficiency or a higher starting gravity before boiling. I would just add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of mash liquor.

If you want it cheaper you can leave the dry hopping out, especially if they may not like it that much or the taste of hops period. If you plan to drink a bunch of you might do so. You'll like it either way. It just might be easier to leave it off and use your hops for something else. Especially if you have pellets to use. Leaf hops are better for dry hopping due the less particles in the 2ndary as pellets tend to break up into a powdery sediment. Leaf hops either float or sink, and they are virtually no problem during racking.

msa8967 said:
Seems that my carboy has developed a big crack in the bottom and needs to be replaced. Is there a recommended way to add the AE to the primary fermentor at 2 weeks?
Click to expand...

Pop off the cap and add it with a funnel and spoon. If you have some distilled water you could re-hydrate it with something like a 1/4 cup of ambient distilled water and pour it into your fermenter. I think either way would work, the reconstituted method might be dissolve in quicker. The later is the way I would do it so you would not have to think of mixing it at all.
 
Brewed this last night. Did a little better than my numbers with adding the AE to mash. I accomplished 89% efficiency (normal around 85% for me). I mean't to add some crystal 10L to darken it but forgot!

I repitched some washed yeast from a blonde ale I made before (us-05) and checked this morning and while not a lot of activity yet, the blow off tube did give me a bubble. I expected those guys to get moving quicker since it was plenty of yeast slurry.

The only thing I am worried about is my last batch had pentainedione, which is a honey like and buttery taste (but very mild). I've had this issue with some of my batches so this time I did aerate the wort with 100% oxygen to hopefully help the yeasties and I'm wondering if the AE would clean that up too? We'll see, I'm excited for this!
 
-MG- said:
Brewed this last night. Did a little better than my numbers with adding the AE to mash. I accomplished 89% efficiency (normal around 85% for me). I mean't to add some crystal 10L to darken it but forgot!

I repitched some washed yeast from a blonde ale I made before (us-05) and checked this morning and while not a lot of activity yet, the blow off tube did give me a bubble. I expected those guys to get moving quicker since it was plenty of yeast slurry.

The only thing I am worried about is my last batch had pentainedione, which is a honey like and buttery taste (but very mild). I've had this issue with some of my batches so this time I did aerate the wort with 100% oxygen to hopefully help the yeasties and I'm wondering if the AE would clean that up too? We'll see, I'm excited for this!
Click to expand...

The AE if used in the secondary will clean up complex sugars that are in adjuncts corn, rice, oats, and wheat.

As for other types of off flavors I can't say it will do anything. But, ferment then secondary, prime and age. That said, cold or warm aging can work miracles.

So be sanitary, methodical and have patience. You will make defect free beer most of the time.

I'm sure you know this since you are an AG'r. Doesn't hurt to remind yourself of this.

This beer will have weird carbonic and patched taste after kegging. If you bottle and drink right away you might taste residual AE. This is the parched taste that disappears in days.

Hope you like it.
 
Schlenkerla said:
Miller Lite Clone - Triple Hopped - AG

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 5.50
Anticipated OG: 1.030 Plato: 7.68
Anticipated SRM: 2.0
Anticipated IBU: 17.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 18.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.85 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.022 SG 5.64 Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
36.4 2.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
31.8 1.75 lbs. Pale Malt(6-row) America 1.035 2
31.8 1.75 lbs. Flaked Corn (Maize) America 1.040 1

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.60 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.75 17.0 60 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade - Iowa Whole 5.75 0.0 0 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade - Iowa Whole 5.75 0.0 Dry Hop

Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Amylase Enzyme 14 Days( 2ndary fermenter)

Yeast
-----

Fermentis US-05 Safale (For Summer brewing)
Chuck's version calls for Wyeast 2007


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 5.50
Water Qts: 7.43 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 1.86 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.35 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 147 Time: 90
Mash-out Rest Temp : 175 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 175 Time: 10

Total Mash Volume Gal: 2.30 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

Notes
-----

The enzyme goes in the 2ndary - DON'T FORGET THIS!!!!

The enzyme makes it dry, so its clean and crisp, plus it boosts the alcohol.

I needed a blow-off on my secondary. It bubbled like crazy for a week.

Awards
------

Served two types at the Des Moines Jimmy Carter Happy Hour both types lasted about 75 minutes.

1st Batch All Cascade

2nd Batch Combination of German Noble Hops

Extract Version:

The book has an extract recipe if you want to try this. To me its not really the same thing since it uses rice. I have not made the extract version. It prolly very close to being more like Bud Light. If you use the AE in the 2ndary it will be very clean and crisp. Beginners should use the S-05 ale yeast ferment as normal with a 2ndary, and then cold condition the bottles for several weeks 3-6 weeks.
Click to expand...

I am brewing this tomorrow... I am using Wyeast 2007...my first lager

I was wondering what temp I need to get my wort in order to pitch the lager yeast... I will ferment at 52...

Also, any idea how a starter made from Pilsen light dme will affect the overall flavor of the beer... It's only a 1.2 liter starter

Thanks
 
A starter that size is not a problem. Let your beer ferment at the yeast mfg'r recommended median fermentation temps until it's going full bore for a few days then let it run out at the low end of the recommended temp. Roughly for three weeks.

You should read the on line website http://www.howtobrew.com

Look at making your first lager.
 

Similar threads

Gadjobrinus
Festbier - first lager back in.
Replies
17
Views
1K
Brooothru
Brooothru
Gadjobrinus
Riggwelter - hops & grist?
Replies
0
Views
505
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
3 potential new - Best, Strong Bitter, Imperial Stout
Replies
14
Views
1K
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
B
Double Hopped Psuedolager
Replies
0
Views
534
Brewsterguy
B
S
Autumn Wheat Ale
Replies
5
Views
1K
kwilson16
kwilson16
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top