Coors clone

[Steveruch]

Geez... why bother? Go to the local store and purchase. Or, don't go to the local store and brew something good!

It's for an experiment that I'm doing that I might submit for publication.

 

[Wayne1]

When I worked for Coors, 25 years ago, they were still using cereal cookers. The cereal used for Banquet was rice. It made up roughly 25% of the grain bill. Now that they are using syrups, I have no idea what the ratio would be.

Coors still does all the malting for their grain. You might be able to get close by using grains from either Colorado Malting Company or Root Shoot Malting. Both of them used to grow for Coors. They may not offer the exact same variety, but it will be grown in the same terroir.

Hops were all whole hops. Hallertau from Germany. Shhot for around 15 IBU. One addition. 60 min.

 

[Broothru]

When I worked for Coors, 25 years ago, they were still using cereal cookers. The cereal used for Banquet was rice. It made up roughly 25% of the grain bill. Now that they are using syrups, I have no idea what the ratio would be.

Coors still does all the malting for their grain. You might be able to get close by using grains from either Colorado Malting Company or Root Shoot Malting. Both of them used to grow for Coors. They may not offer the exact same variety, but it will be grown in the same terroir.

Hops were all whole hops. Hallertau from Germany. Shhot for around 15 IBU. One addition. 60 min.

Thanks, Wayne!

This thread has really sparked my interest. Back in my college years (loooong time ago) Coors was the go to since it was available in state but not in my home state. Later when I was stationed in Florida and Mississippi, my folks would bootleg a few cases when they'd visit. That Coors had such an exotic aura about it.

My fascination with 1960s style U.S. beers ended when I began traveling on/off through Europe (specifically Germany) for the next 40 years and learned what real beer is supposed to taste like. Continental lagers are still my favorite style.

Fast forward to today. My 42 year old son, a health conscious beer loving athletically fit individual, loves craft beers and IPAs but usually only has low-cal Coors in his fridge at home. When he and his family come over for dinner he'll drain my kegerator dry of pales and IPAs but barely touch a lager. I'm thinking a 'Coors' on tap may wean him, so I won't have to brew as many IPAs.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Brooo Brother

 

[mengtx]

Found the link with the quote below before I found this thread.

Our subtle blend of Chinook, Hallertau, Herkules and Taurus hops gives Coors Banquet just the perfect hint of bitterness to offset the malty sweetness.

https://www.coors.com/Ingredients

 

[day_trippr]

I am stunned that they use that many strains, given "subtle" and "hint" are prominent metrics

Cheers!

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Quad Hopped- take that Miller Lite

 

[Nubiwan]

I just made the 3 creams of Budweiser recipe, or whatever @BierMuncher calls it. It's supposed to keep the BMC crowd happy. I did it because I rather wanted to see if I could even make a facsimile of all those North American beers that taste the same. And something for my wife to perhaps appreciate the hobby. SWMBO surfs sometimes.

I use @BierMuncher recipe as a guide. My actual grain bill was
8lbs of 2 row
2lbs flaked rice
2lbs flaked corn
90 minute boil is called for.
I got bored and added my hops around 45, and called it a day at 75 minutes.
hops were crystal and willamette 1 ounce each for 30 minutes / or enough to take it to 15 IBU

Think I have around 6.5 gallons in the fermentor, and I'll end up around 4% ABV. You can use the math and an online recipe builder to get specific volume to target the ABV you'd like. Not sure if this is what everyone does, but I tend target ABV and volumes as I go. Not to fussed if I miss targets, as my mash efficiency is decent.

The ale looks pretty colourless when I take a gravity. Tasted very corny early on. A slight corn taste, or is it aroma, is still present, but I do now have a not too unpleasant light tasting ale at 1.008, which must be just about finished. Carbonation might see off the corn aroma, and leave something palettable.

I made it for wife and friends, but I'll probably enjoy a couple of cold ones when I want to wet my whistle, without a malt overload. If it's any good. Taste in the primary has never let me down, so it promises to be o.k. I'll report back.

 

[Broothru]

I am stunned that they use that many strains, given "subtle" and "hint" are prominent metrics

Cheers!

Ain't that the truth!

Recently I got ahold of some Wyeast 1217 PC "Rocky Mountain" lager yeast and decided to take a stroll down Memory Lane to capture lightning in a bottle (he said, dealing in poorly mixed metaphors). Growing up in the 60s on the Missouri side of the Kansas/Missouri border, Coors Banquet was considered the magical elixir (another bad metaphor; sorry) since it wasn't distributed "that far" east. Which might have been a rationale for going to college in Kansas, but I digress. Anyway, Coors was the preferred alternative to Bud, and Miller and Falstaff were what your father, drank, so nobody went there. Fast forward ten years and I'm a Naval Aviator, teaching aspiring young Student Naval Aviators the nuances of jet aircraft and tactical flying while endeavoring to stay alive long enough to enjoy a frosty cold Coors Light Silver Bullet (or three) at the end of the long workday. We used to say that student pilots exhibited a personality trait known as NAFD (No Apparent Fear of Death). In reality, we all had that same defect in our early careers, oblivious to what should have been plainly obvious. In any event, downing some Rocky Mountain spring water after your last hop of the day was a welcome relief.

Today my beer-loving but health conscious son usually has a supply of Coors Light in his beer fridge, stashed behind the craft beers and hop bombs. I hadn't had one in years, but after helping him out on some project he handed me one, and it wasn't that BAD! In fact, it was a lot like a Helles or other light European lagers which are my go-to on hot summer days. So I decided to brew a Coors Banquet as well as a Coors Light and give him a half keg for his kegerator. Since the grains and hops are fairly easy to get, and I already had the yeast, all I had to do was add water. After some searching of recipe data bases and various websites including the Coors site, I formulated my own "consensus recipe" that I though would work. I'm not sure that Taurus and Herkules were common when A. Coors first started brewing in Golden, CO, and I'm damned sure Chinook wasn't, but I included them anyway in the Banquet recipe in 'supporting roles' just because Coors listed them online. I haven't yet brewed the Banquet because it slipped a few positions on the To Brew list, and now I don't have the keg space or the beer fridge space. Clone-worthiness is still TBD.

I did however brew the Coors Light. This was made with floor malted Czech Pilsner, a pound of Pale Ale Malt to add a touch of color, and 14 oz of corn sugar to dry things out a bit. The hops were Herkules and Chinook at :15 minutes for 9.2 IBUs and Mittelfrueh at :05 minus for 2.3 IBUs, total 11.5 IBUs. Ferment, clear, lager. 4.2% ABV, 2.9 est. SRM, 92.8 est. Kcal, est. 3.7 carbs. The keg got tapped 3 days ago when the Pils I had on tap finally kicked. I had bumped the carbonation slightly while it was lagering, and I overshot so it's now settling out while some of the CO2 dissipates. But the TASTE! I know it's cliche, but this really TASTES better than the real thing. Now some might think that's a low bar to have hurdled, but this is as good as any Leichtbier I ever had in Germany, and light years ahead of any Bud or Miller "Lite".

I WAS going to split this one with my son, but somehow I think the Old Man might just end up keepin' it. Naw, I'll probably end up sharing. After all, he's the one that got me interested in home brewing in the first place.

 

[mengtx]

My dad was flying in the air force and we lived on the East Coast for a while. As a child of the West, when he would fly to the West and brought back Coors in the bomb bay of his plane at least one time from there (as wasn't distributed east as mentioned). I believe at least some of it was CL, in fact. The use of the "exotic" beer helped ply some neighbors on an issue. Sadly, later he had hidden the stash in a downstairs fridge when he had a promotion party at our house. The revelers found their way into the utility room downstairs and drank it all. Dad was quite upset.

@Brooothru - saw your similar earlier post on another thread, can't seem to find it now. Coors banquet seems to have flavor to me within its class but not in the hop department. I hadn't tried Coors light in years but tried some recently-and was surprised how fruity it tasted to me. Having said that, I did visit the main CO brewery in person a few years ago. I didn't try CL then, but many other items. I can tell you that from this trip and others to large breweries that put out debatable products: Everything tastes much better there, when ultra-fresh. I don't understand the fruitiness that I tasted in CL, though (yeast change???). I'll have to check again, that might have been another dark horse light beer I tried.

@Wayne1 who had worked for them put earlier in the thread:

Hops were all whole hops. Hallertau from Germany. Shhot for around 15 IBU. One addition. 60 min.

That was years ago, my guess is the new hop mix is based on economics of using super alphas.

Most of what I use for bittering is Magnum at this point due to the school of thought that bittering hops offer no differentiation in taste. I am intrigued after reading about Herkules due to finding this info, though.

I found an ingredients list. No proportion breakdowns but it lists the same ingredients for both banquet and CL:

Water, Barley Malt, Corn Syrup (Dextrose), Yeast, Hop Extract

From 2013, this thread (including @Wayne1 ) substantiated that they had changed to rice Coors clone question . From a previous communication I had with Coors years ago (prior to 2013), at that time they were using a starch syrup product in many beverages, I believe it was wheat-based. So it's apparent they make periodic recipe changes, even to the top sellers ostensibly for quality, but probably more for economic/marketing reasons. I find that interesting from a product and marketing perspective. Separate brewery, same idea-Shiner Bock has also had one if not two recipes changes in the last 10 years, and is a shadow of its former self to me. Luckily I have a recipe for the old version and brew it occasionally.

 

[couchsending]

Have a fiends who’s family grows Barley for Coors in Idaho. Highly highly doubt they’re importing European barley for their beer.

I believe Coors is fermented in the 60s with a bunch of head pressure. Then there’s all the enzymes they probably use.

Thinking some “recipe” will get your anywhere close is IMHO complete nonsense.

I can’t get over the isoamyl acetate in Coors personally.

That being said their yeast is phenomenal. It’s said to be the Andechs strain. It’s hands down the easiest lager yeast I’ve ever used. Ferments outs in 5-7 days at 50, drops like a rock, and is insanely clean. Cleaner right after fermentation than any lager yeast I’ve ever used. Blows me away that it’s not more readily available.

 

[mengtx]

Yeah, I've had an old packet of the yeast (it's a seasonal) I bought as a novelty and just did a starter. Chugging away after a few days. That's why I looked into this thread. I'm just going to make an American Lager with it due to the heat, mixed adjuncts at this point.

 

[Broothru]

Have a fiends who’s family grows Barley for Coors in Idaho. Highly highly doubt they’re importing European barley for their beer.

I believe Coors is fermented in the 60s with a bunch of head pressure. Then there’s all the enzymes they probably use.

Thinking some “recipe” will get your anywhere close is IMHO complete nonsense.

I can’t get over the isoamyl acetate in Coors personally.

That being said their yeast is phenomenal. It’s said to be the Andechs strain. It’s hands down the easiest lager yeast I’ve ever used. Ferments outs in 5-7 days at 50, drops like a rock, and is insanely clean. Cleaner right after fermentation than any lager yeast I’ve ever used. Blows me away that it’s not more readily available.

Totally agree on the yeast. My first choice for "works fast, drops clear, tastes clean" yeast has been Nottingham at 62F, but I must say this Wyeast 1217 PC did the best job of finishing clean and dry (although I cheated with amyloglucosidaise in the mash and corn sugar in the boil), and it conditioned to Near Brilliant clarity within two weeks using no finings. Glad I overbuilt the starter and farmed a clean liter from the fermenter.

The barley is North American-grown Metcalf IIRC, which I also believe may be what Weyermann uses (Metcalf) in their Floor Malted Bohemian, so it may be closer than otherwise might appear. The high temperature/under pressure fermentation tracks with what virtually all the high volume mega brewers are doing anymore. Do you suppose that might be the source of the isoamyl acetate? I'm not picking that up, but I might not be as sensitive to it.

Brooo Brother

 

[Wayne1]

All of Coors barley is proprietary.

Here is a link to some discussion of 2020 barley varieties: 2020 Malting Barley Varieties

When I was at Coors, 25 years ago, all the hops used in the Golden brewery were whole leaf. I guess with all the mergers, things have changed. At least back then, Coors malted all their barley.

Weyermann's Floor Malted Bohemian Barley is malted by Ferdinand Brewery Ferdinand Brewery in Benešov

 

[couchsending]

Totally agree on the yeast. My first choice for "works fast, drops clear, tastes clean" yeast has been Nottingham at 62F, but I must say this Wyeast 1217 PC did the best job of finishing clean and dry (although I cheated with amyloglucosidaise in the mash and corn sugar in the boil), and it conditioned to Near Brilliant clarity within two weeks using no finings.

1217 PC is Stone’s ale yeast.

You mean 2105? I believe wlp835 is also the same yeast. It act’s exactly the same and tastes pretty similar.

I just transferred my 2nd batch with 2105 that followed about 6 with 835. Best lagers I’ve ever made and I’m probably on 35 or so total. Actually drinking some of the beer that I didn’t transfer (gonna krausen it with the beer I’m brewing now) and it’s crazy how good it tastes at 11 days since pitch. Sure it’s gonna benefit from lagering but man is it crazy good already. Way faster maturation it seems than any other strain I’ve used.

Based on yeast calcs (if they’re even right) I shoot for around 2m/ml/*plato. Pitch at 46 set to 48, end of day 1 bump to 50 until 1* from terminal when I’ll up it to 53/54.

One thing I will say is you have do everything to dry a beer out with it. It definitely doesn’t attenuate quite as much as other strains.

 

[Broothru]

1217 PC is Stone’s ale yeast.

You mean 2105? I believe wlp835 is also the same yeast. It act’s exactly the same and tastes pretty similar.

I just transferred my 2nd batch with 2105 that followed about 6 with 835. Best lagers I’ve ever made and I’m probably on 35 or so total. Actually drinking some of the beer that I didn’t transfer (gonna krausen it with the beer I’m brewing now) and it’s crazy how good it tastes at 11 days since pitch. Sure it’s gonna benefit from lagering but man is it crazy good already. Way faster maturation it seems than any other strain I’ve used.

Based on yeast calcs (if they’re even right) I shoot for around 2m/ml/*plato. Pitch at 46 set to 48, end of day 1 bump to 50 until 1* from terminal when I’ll up it to 53/54.

One thing I will say is you have do everything to dry a beer out with it. It definitely doesn’t attenuate quite as much as other strains.

You are precisely right, sir! Wyeast 1217 PC is the yeast I used the same week I brewed an IPA that is on my other tap, next to the Coors Light knock-off (with the Wyeast 2105) on the other tap beside it. I must be brewing too much during this pandemic. They're both quite nice, however.

I also was wrong about the Metcalf barley. Coors uses Moravian barley grown under contract by U.S. growers, that was imported for Coors in 1936 from the Bohemian region of what is now the Czech Republic. The major Bohemian barley malt is "Malz" (Bojos). What's unclear to me is whether "Moravian" is a proper noun or an adjective for Malz/Bojos. In any event, it one of those "M" words that is NOT Metcalf, which is a U.S. developed barley grown mostly in western states and Canada. So I guess my "Coors Light" is like a Pilsner Urquel brewed with an American lager yeast of questionable (secret, possibly German, once or twice removed) lineage made from US/Canadian grains with probably the wrong water chemistry.

But is DOES taste good.

 

[Broothru]

All of Coors barley is proprietary.

Here is a link to some discussion of 2020 barley varieties: 2020 Malting Barley Varieties

When I was at Coors, 25 years ago, all the hops used in the Golden brewery were whole leaf. I guess with all the mergers, things have changed. At least back then, Coors malted all their barley.

Weyermann's Floor Malted Bohemian Barley is malted by Ferdinand Brewery Ferdinand Brewery in Benešov

Absolutely fascinating article Ferdinand Brewery. Thanks for posting. Also very much enjoyed your earlier post on your work at Coors. It's what motivated me to revisit some old recipes and brew my latest attempt at copying the original.

 

[David17]

When they started making Coors Light in Virginia instead of Golden, CO, they changes their advertising from "Pure Rocky Mountain Spring Water" to "The Spirit of the Rockies." I had to laugh.

Even before that, they were brewing high gravity Coors Light in Golden and shipping it by rail car to Virginia to be blended with Virginia water and bottled/canned/kegged.

Coors was honest. See AB InBev for "Belgium Brewing Heritage" for Hoegaarden. Thankfully, the real H is still available in the miserly 11.2oz cans. For the craft beer aficionados, Sierra Nevada has a VA brewery. My very limited experience is no water chemistry duplicates the original. Miller did this in the late '70s with Lowenbrau and had to stop it. Then Hanneken's Red Stripe went through the same idiocy along with St. Pauli Girl (another ABINBEV mistake showing they know nothing about brewing and beer except the profits). As with wine, there is terroir.

I've tasted Coors Light in Ireland. It was a vastly better beer brewed in Burton-on-Trent. Did they do RO water there? Doubt it.

 

[bracconiere]

(another ABINBEV mistake showing they know nothing about brewing and beer except the profits)

 

[friarsmith]

I can’t vouch for what the big boys do, but some low mineral water, a grain bill of 85% Canadian or Idaho pilsner malt and 15% maize, with a big pinch of Liberty hops early and late kettle, fermented with WLP840 or 940 makes a helluva drinkable beer. And if it is a Coors-ish knockoff, so be it.