Bud clone
- Thread starter fishfool
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I can't seem to find it on their website, but I just got the Midwest (http://www.midwestsupplies.com) catalog today. i was flipping through earlier and they have a Budweiser kit if you are interested.
fishfool said:
WHY?
Tony
Well-Known Member
ORRELSE said:WHY?
I hate saying it, but why indeed? There are too many better beers to clone, as well as any extract kit beer which would excell over Bud...
tnlandsailor
Well-Known Member
You really can't make Bud at home. That's the bad news.
The good news is, you can't make Bud at home.
Budweiser is the lightest of beers, both in color and flavor (what little of it there is). It is hopped so little that I think they put the hops in a bag and just wave them over the boil kettle. The hardest part is that this beer is squeaky clean. I mean polish-the-floor-till-you-can-see-yourself kind of clean. It requires diligence and spot-on procedures that border on ludicrous for the homebrewer. With little to no flavor in the finished product, even tiny little flaws stand out hugely.
Your best all-grain effort will result in a beer that has a much more pronounced malt profile, nicely balanced bitterness, and maybe just a hint of hops in the nose. That would be a much better beer, don't you think?
The good news is, you can't make Bud at home.
Budweiser is the lightest of beers, both in color and flavor (what little of it there is). It is hopped so little that I think they put the hops in a bag and just wave them over the boil kettle. The hardest part is that this beer is squeaky clean. I mean polish-the-floor-till-you-can-see-yourself kind of clean. It requires diligence and spot-on procedures that border on ludicrous for the homebrewer. With little to no flavor in the finished product, even tiny little flaws stand out hugely.
Your best all-grain effort will result in a beer that has a much more pronounced malt profile, nicely balanced bitterness, and maybe just a hint of hops in the nose. That would be a much better beer, don't you think?
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2nd Street Brewery
Well-Known Member
The why is probably because Fishfool likes Bud 
Hey everyone starts out trying to duplicate what they like. I started because I wanted to see if I could make something close to the German lagers that I like to drink. In the course of my brewing however I have expanded my tastes due to contact with these forums and I would hope Fishfool will do the same. I am doing a Kolsch with a Belgium Abby style ale going this Friday and a Schwarzbier as soon as I get my hands on a third carboy.
Just saying don't get down on him for his choice as long as it gets him brewing. He'll come around
Hey everyone starts out trying to duplicate what they like. I started because I wanted to see if I could make something close to the German lagers that I like to drink. In the course of my brewing however I have expanded my tastes due to contact with these forums and I would hope Fishfool will do the same. I am doing a Kolsch with a Belgium Abby style ale going this Friday and a Schwarzbier as soon as I get my hands on a third carboy. Just saying don't get down on him for his choice as long as it gets him brewing. He'll come around
homebrewer_99
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I know I've said this before (so you'll read it again), but the only Bud(var) I brew is from Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic...
BTW, AB doesn't stand for Anheuser-Busch, it's for Almost Beer.
BTW, AB doesn't stand for Anheuser-Busch, it's for Almost Beer.
homebrewer_99
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No, I missed it, but I'm not surprised.
They are just like the burger joints. One place adds one thing to the menu and the others follow suit.
I need to a shirt printed up with the American flag, but the blue field is full of dollar signs.
The caption...America...Land of the Fee!
They are just like the burger joints. One place adds one thing to the menu and the others follow suit.
I need to a shirt printed up with the American flag, but the blue field is full of dollar signs.
The caption...America...Land of the Fee!
Toilet Rocker
Well-Known Member
Bud uses hops?
Bud uses hops?
Only for their commercials.
-walker
FrewBrew
Well-Known Member
fishfool said:
Ive got a suggestion that in the long run will save you money.
Go down to your local homebrew supplier... and buy a brew kit that you've never tried before. (~30-40 bucks)
Stop by 7-11 on the way home, fill up your car (gas prices are gonna go up again...saving money already!) buy 2 30 racks of bud (20 bucks)
brew the homebrew that's NOT bud, and drink the bud, not only will you have saved 10-20 dollars over buying the kit, you'll have a kit brewing while you go through 2 30 racks (rather than 2 cases of home brew)
So: you get more for your money in your homebrew , and more bud beer(?) for your money, that tastes the way you like it (you must like it if you wanna brew it yourself).
breweymccatnip
Member
And here I am, looking for a Budweiser recipe.
I love Bud but that's not the reason I want to make it. My best bro died in Feb and all we drank together was bud- and ate steak tips from Bob's . Strange as it sounds, I want to try to reproduce it in his honor. And even though it may suck, I know inside that he would still be throwing 'em back.
I love Bud but that's not the reason I want to make it. My best bro died in Feb and all we drank together was bud- and ate steak tips from Bob's . Strange as it sounds, I want to try to reproduce it in his honor. And even though it may suck, I know inside that he would still be throwing 'em back.
Brewsmith
Home brewing moogerfooger
I don't have access to it right now, but the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles is very good. Look up Light American Lager. The recipe is basically American 2-row and Flaked rice with a little hops for bittering and American Lager Yeast. For a 5 gallon batch, I'd say it's around 6 lbs of 2-row and about a pound and a half of flaked rice, and enought hops at 60 min for 12-15 IBU's.
The most difficult part of the process is the fermentation. Ferment at 48° F for at least 2 weeks, I'd say don't touch it for a month. After that rack and lager for a couple weeks as close as you can to freezing.
The most difficult part of the process is the fermentation. Ferment at 48° F for at least 2 weeks, I'd say don't touch it for a month. After that rack and lager for a couple weeks as close as you can to freezing.
I have never made this, but I have the book in front of me.
For extract:
5 pounds light LME
1.3 pounds rice syrup
Hallertau (4% AAU) 60 minutes
WLP840 or Wyest Pilsen
FULL BOIL, if doing partial boil, adjust hops accordingly. Also, with a partial boil, the beer will be much darker.
Use three packages yeast, or make an appropriate starter. Ferment at 50 degrees, and then lager at least 4 weeks. Carbonate at 2.5 to 3 volumes.
AG:
6.8 pounds 2 row or 6 row
1.7 pounds flaked rice
Mash at 149 for 90 minutes, boil for 90 minutes.
For extract:
5 pounds light LME
1.3 pounds rice syrup
Hallertau (4% AAU) 60 minutes
WLP840 or Wyest Pilsen
FULL BOIL, if doing partial boil, adjust hops accordingly. Also, with a partial boil, the beer will be much darker.
Use three packages yeast, or make an appropriate starter. Ferment at 50 degrees, and then lager at least 4 weeks. Carbonate at 2.5 to 3 volumes.
AG:
6.8 pounds 2 row or 6 row
1.7 pounds flaked rice
Mash at 149 for 90 minutes, boil for 90 minutes.
juvinious
Well-Known Member
Of course it depends upon the occasion. When I'm relaxing at home or eating something good, I prefer not to drink Bud, Coors or Miller. But after laboring outside under the hot sun in the summertime, guzzling one ice-cold Coors Light after another has its merits.
I've read Orfy's write-up before and it is a great write up with good descriptions and advice. Admittedly, I've been tempted to do a Light American Lager just to see if I can do it.
For Bud, I would use only rice adjuncts, like in the recipe Yooper listed. I don't think Bud uses any corn like some of the other American Lagers (Hamm's comes to mind as having a corn note). Rice seems to be a cleaner flavor.
ezboarderz
Well-Known Member
There is honestly no reason to ever brew this. Thats like learning how to cook and then popping in a microwave dinner.
I think it's more like really liking a microwave dinner and wanting to cook it from scratch. Certainly there are MANY things that you could cook that would be better.
ezboarderz
Well-Known Member
good point. Whats next? a conguama clone?
From Brewing Classic Styles:
Lite American Lager (extract)
5.0 lbs Light LME (2.2L)
1.3 lbs Rice syrup (0L)
0.61 oz Hallertau 4.0% 60 min
WLP840 (3 tubes), Wyeast 2007 (3 packs), or Saflager S-23 (3 packets)
OG 1.038
FG 1.007
10 IBUs
2 SRM
4.1% ABV
Boil 60 min
Pre-boil volume 7 gal
Pre-boil gravity 1.032
Ferment at 50F, lager at least 4 weeks, carbonate to 2.5 to 3.0 volumes.
All-grain: Replace light extract with 6.8 lbs American 2-row or 6-row malt. Replace rice syrup with 1.7 lbs flaked rice. Mash at 149F. Lengthen rest to 90 minutes to fully convert. Lengthen boil to 90 minutes to reduce DMS.
Lite American Lager (extract)
5.0 lbs Light LME (2.2L)
1.3 lbs Rice syrup (0L)
0.61 oz Hallertau 4.0% 60 min
WLP840 (3 tubes), Wyeast 2007 (3 packs), or Saflager S-23 (3 packets)
OG 1.038
FG 1.007
10 IBUs
2 SRM
4.1% ABV
Boil 60 min
Pre-boil volume 7 gal
Pre-boil gravity 1.032
Ferment at 50F, lager at least 4 weeks, carbonate to 2.5 to 3.0 volumes.
All-grain: Replace light extract with 6.8 lbs American 2-row or 6-row malt. Replace rice syrup with 1.7 lbs flaked rice. Mash at 149F. Lengthen rest to 90 minutes to fully convert. Lengthen boil to 90 minutes to reduce DMS.
Bob
Well-Known Member
Interesting. The BCS recipe has more malt than I'd imagine. The big-name American Lager beers use much more than 20% adjunct; some of the lighter beers exceed 50%. Hell, the Brooklyn Lager in my drop-down uses more adjunct than that - it's at 30%.
It's a hell of a challenge to brew a flawless Light American Lager. I can't do it, that's for sure. Not to brag, but I've got all the gear, the knowledge and the experience. While I can brew it, it's simply not as consistent as the original (maybe 30% of my attempts have been on a par with the commercially-available stuff).
But you get down with your bad self. Do the BCS recipe, ferment according to the instructions for the yeast of your choice. I've had good success with Wyeast 2035 and White Labs WLP840. I like to pitch a whole lot of yeast slurry from a stepped starter, and pitch at the ferment temperature - 50-55F. I'm a Noonan disciple for fermentation; if you really want to do this, go out and get a copy of Brewing Lager Beer by Greg Noonan.
Cheers!
Bob
It's a hell of a challenge to brew a flawless Light American Lager. I can't do it, that's for sure. Not to brag, but I've got all the gear, the knowledge and the experience. While I can brew it, it's simply not as consistent as the original (maybe 30% of my attempts have been on a par with the commercially-available stuff).
But you get down with your bad self.
Do the BCS recipe, ferment according to the instructions for the yeast of your choice. I've had good success with Wyeast 2035 and White Labs WLP840. I like to pitch a whole lot of yeast slurry from a stepped starter, and pitch at the ferment temperature - 50-55F. I'm a Noonan disciple for fermentation; if you really want to do this, go out and get a copy of Brewing Lager Beer by Greg Noonan.Cheers!
Bob
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