Coors clone

[Steveruch]

Anyone have a recipe that comes reasonably close to regular coors?

 

[bracconiere]

Anyone have a recipe that comes reasonably close to regular coors?

lol, that's the one famous for their water right?

 

[Steveruch]

lol, that's the one famous for their water right?

thank you, your help has been invaluable.

 

[bracconiere]

thank you, your help has been invaluable.

so you're checking out the brew science forum, and what makes Colorado mountain spring water unique?

edit: damn i had it wrong, rocky mountain water, so still...you're going to have to get into water chemistry....

 

[Steveruch]

lol, that's the one famous for their water right?

that would be hamms "from the land of sky blue water".

 

[balrog]

Google says
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/coors-clone-xp-for-dad.148412/

But I would read several before attempting. Take anything in all the reading that is similar, and read all the comments to find what others think. I do not have a great way to lager and would not try, even with all the recent interest in warm fermented lagers.

 

[day_trippr]

that would be hamms "from the land of sky blue water".

Also, Olympia ("It's the water") at least from days gone by (it's now brewed down near LA, with lord only knows what water)...

As for the OP, there are a number of Coors clone recipes, though one surely needs to vett them (I found one with 30% crystal and an SRM over 8, ffs!)...

Cheers!

 

[Steveruch]

Google says
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/coors-clone-xp-for-dad.148412/

But I would read several before attempting. Take anything in all the reading that is similar, and read all the comments to find what others think. I do not have a great way to lager and would not try, even with all the recent interest in warm fermented lagers.

Thanks for the link. I wonder how it came out for him.

 

[bracconiere]

SRM over 8, ffs!

LOL

 

[pvpeacock]

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.

 

[dmtaylor]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/coors-lite-clone-recipe.654372/

 

[BigEd]

Anyone have a recipe that comes reasonably close to regular coors?

OK I'll step into the breech here. First I'll assume you are an all-grain brewer. Frankly I wouldn't attempt this style otherwise. Coors does use halfway decent malt for a megabrewer so I'd suggest a 50/50 blend of German pils and domestic pale malt. From what I understand they use a blend of adjuncts combining corn starch and rice. The hops should be German style. You could use anything like Hallertau, Spalt, Mt Hood, etc either alone or blended. Ferment with a clean lager yeast you like. Wyeast Danish is nice although there are other choices. If doing a single temp mash try 152F/67C, for a two step maybe 148F/64C for 30 minutes then maybe 158F/70C for another 30. Use low mineral, pilsner-like water with 50-75ppm of Ca+ and Cl- and not much of anything else.

Based on 5 gallons US:

3 lbs German pils malt (33.3%)

3 lbs domestic pale malt (33.3%)

1.5 lbs corn starch (16.7%) (mix together dry with the malt before adding strike water)

1.5 lbs flaked rice (16.7%) (mix together dry with the malt before adding strike water)

.5 oz 4.5%AA hops @ 60 min

.5 oz 4.5%AA hops @ 20 min

 

[friarsmith]

February (I think) is the last month to get the Wyeast Rocky Mtn Lager yeast for the year. It's a seasonal/limited edition and a beast for a lager yeast. I brew 3-4 batches from repitched slurries every year after it is released. Just keg'd a Std American Lager w/ it two weeks ago. WLP 840 and 850 are also good options. 840 is a little softer/rounded/malt-fwd and 850 is pretty spritzy/dry. Imperial Organic's Que Bueno would get you in the ballpark too.

The closest I ever got to Coors Banquet was 50% pils, 35% 2-row, 15% flaked maize. Mashed in at 144 for an hour then raised slowly to mash-out over 30 minutes (direct fired). You could probably split the difference w/ a 90 minute single infusion mash at 146-148*. I'm sure Coors uses a higher percentage adjunct than I use. I wasn't "trying" to clone Banquet, just get in the neighborhood and limit the adjunct. Perhaps upping my maize % to 25% in place of some pils and lowering the first rest to 142-4* would get closer. With all that corny goodness you want to be sure to reach full attenuation or it will be icky sweet.

 

[day_trippr]

I gotta say the corn starch thing is hard to fathom given the unlimited supply of liquid corn available...

Cheers!

 

[bstacy1974]

Have you looked at the Cream of Three Crops recipe in the database? It's my understanding that it's a reasonable substitute for nearly any light American lager.

 

[bucketnative]

I gotta say the corn starch thing is hard to fathom given the unlimited supply of liquid corn available...

Cheers!

Yeah, this came up when the internet was going nuts over high fructose corn syrup. Miller Coors had to come out and state, "the corn we use is a liquid corn brewing adjunct, but it is not high fructose corn syrup."

Then, when Bud Light revived the "corntroversy" in 2019 Super Bowl ads, Miller Coors President of Emerging Growth tweeted, "Bud Light uses rice to aid fermentation. We use corn syrup. Interestingly, none of our products use High Fructose Corn Syrup, yet several of ABI’s do. Things that make you go hmmmmm" - https://twitter.com/pjmarino2/status/1092214543923757057

So, break out the Karo!

 

[Broothru]

Based on 5 gallons US:

3 lbs German pils malt (33.3%)

3 lbs domestic pale malt (33.3%)

1.5 lbs corn starch (16.7%) (mix together dry with the malt before adding strike water)

1.5 lbs flaked rice (16.7%) (mix together dry with the malt before adding strike water)

.5 oz 4.5%AA hops @ 60 min

.5 oz 4.5%AA hops @ 20 min

In all my years of home brewing I've never brewed with corn starch as an adjunct or fermentable. I don't know why. I guess it never occurred to me to use it. Corn sugar, dextrose, flaked corn, even corn meal, sure, but never corn starch. Only used it in cooking when I was trying to thicken a sauce. So I did a little research, and ended up jumping down a rabbit hole. I won't bore you with the details but I did gain new knowledge and insight into enzymes and saccharides, which I thought I'd already had at least a 'working' knowledge as they relate to brewing.

But amidst all the technical data and scientific papers I never found any practical discussion about the use of corn starch in beer brewing instead of corn sugar or pure dextrose. From what I could ascertain they all appear to do the same thing since they are all basically the same thing (dextrose). So are they directly interchangeable? Can each be used as one-for-one replacements in a recipe? Since the Coors clone recipe in this thread specifically states "corn starch" instead of corn "sugar" is there any perceptible difference in the finished beer?

I understand that "sugar" is the catch-all for "saccharides", and that starches are polysaccharides, but is there a significant difference in the specific percentage of one sugar (dextrose) over the others that would dictate using corn starch over corn sugar in a recipe? Or is this just a semantic difference without discernible distinction?

Brooo Brother

 

[dwhite60]

I think Pappazian had a light lager type recipe in "Complete Joy of Homebrewing". "Un-American Light Lager" possibly?

Think it used cornstarch too.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[JLeuck64]

Here my friend please try making this tried and true HBT recipe:
Blonde Ale - Centennial Blonde (Simple 4% All Grain, 5 & 10 Gall)

Those of us who know the taste of Coors also know this bone stock recipe will get you somewhere in between a Coors Light and a Coors Banquet ( ;

Those of us who have tried this base recipe using a different yeast strain (or two) know it can taste like a Pacifico or a PBR or even a Rainer just by changing the yeast strain. Crazy huh?!

 

[day_trippr]

"This reminds me of what a local craft brewery might come out of the gates with to win over a new market."

Circa 2007. Times have certainly changed

Cheers!

 

[MrPowers]

Coors is my Dad’s favorite beer. I’ve spent the better part of 2 years and a dozen or so batches trying to get it nailed down. I got very close before I deviated into my own thing.

The best starting point for you is:
RO/Distilled water. Add enough CaCl to get to 50ppm calcium. No other minerals.

Grain bill (whatever it takes to get to 1.045-46)

85-90% Rahr 2-Row/Pilsner (or similar blend of 2-Row/Pilsner malts)

10-15% Flaked Corn

0-5% Weyerman Carahell/Briess Caramel 10

Hops: Something mild/noble (Mittelfruh/Mt. Hood/Tradition/Magnum/etc...) @ FWH to 18-20IBU

The closest yeast you can get that is regularly available is 2278 Czech Lager or its Omega/Imperial equivalents. Wyeast does occasionally release the actual coors strain to homebrewers (2105 Rocky Mountain Lager). That’s what really makes coors taste like coors. If you can find someone that has the strain banked, that is your best bet.

As far as yeast handling, pitch a LOT of active and healthy yeast )At least 2-2.5mil/plato) and ferment as cold as you can.

It helps a LOT if you are able to employ the basic brewing techniques of low oxygen brewing. Soft boil, step mash, clear wort, etc... this beer doesn’t HAVE to be brewed full low oxygen, but it really benefits from it if you can.

Edit: It looks like Wyeast 2105 Rocky Mountain Lager is actually available as a private collection release right now. I just ordered 4 packages to give this beer a go again.

 

[Broothru]

Coors is my Dad’s favorite beer. I’ve spent the better part of 2 years and a dozen or so batches trying to get it nailed down. I got very close before I deviated into my own thing.

The best starting point for you is:
RO/Distilled water. Add enough CaCl to get to 50ppm calcium. No other minerals.

Grain bill (whatever it takes to get to 1.045-46)

85-90% Rahr 2-Row/Pilsner (or similar blend of 2-Row/Pilsner malts)

10-15% Flaked Corn

0-5% Weyerman Carahell/Briess Caramel 10

Hops: Something mild/noble (Mittelfruh/Mt. Hood/Tradition/Magnum/etc...) @ FWH to 18-20IBU

The closest yeast you can get that is regularly available is 2278 Czech Lager or its Omega/Imperial equivalents. Wyeast does occasionally release the actual coors strain to homebrewers (2105 Rocky Mountain Lager). That’s what really makes coors taste like coors. If you can find someone that has the strain banked, that is your best bet.

As far as yeast handling, pitch a LOT of active and healthy yeast )At least 2-2.5mil/plato) and ferment as cold as you can.

It helps a LOT if you are able to employ the basic brewing techniques of low oxygen brewing. Soft boil, step mash, clear wort, etc... this beer doesn’t HAVE to be brewed full low oxygen, but it really benefits from it if you can.

Edit: It looks like Wyeast 2105 Rocky Mountain Lager is actually available as a private collection release right now. I just ordered 4 packages to give this beer a go again.

Nice recipe. One question: is the 18-20 IBU first wort the only hops addition; i.e., no flavor/aroma hops? The overall bittering rate of ~20 IBUs does sound about right, but I'm surprised there aren't any in the late boil or hop stand.

Brooo Brother

 

[FloppyKnockers]

 

[artichoke]

All grain process, something like 60% North American 2-row, 40% adjunct (corn, rice or a mix of both) soft water, and ferment cold with a huge pitch of an appropriate lager strain. I like Wyeast 2007. Hops for bittering only.

A key to getting the right "flavour" in this style is to brew and ferment it as a high strength base beer and then dilute it with water at packaging. I describe in detail this process in one of my blog posts (link is in my profile) and have had good competition success using this approach.

Good luck!

- AC

 

[grampamark]

One thing that Coors has that nobody else has is their malt. The company uses several proprietary varieties of Moravian malt. All of these varieties are grown under contract by farmers who are contractually prevented from selling, or otherwise sharing, any of their production.

Anyone trying to clone Coors might want to use one of the Moravian style pilsener malts. Both
Briess and Weyermann produce those and Viking pilsener might also be an option.

Unless you know someone who grows barley for Coors, and is willing to slip you a few pounds under the table, you ain’t gonna lay your hands on any Moravian 69 or Bill Coors 100. And, even if you got some, you’d have to malt it yourself.

 

[MrPowers]

Nice recipe. One question: is the 18-20 IBU first wort the only hops addition; i.e., no flavor/aroma hops? The overall bittering rate of ~20 IBUs does sound about right, but I'm surprised there aren't any in the late boil or hop stand.

Brooo Brother

There definitely aren’t any late hops in the beer. In fact, if you brew it low oxygen, there may be too much hop character with just the FWH addition and you would need to sub in some hop extract.

Edit: That said, I am a fan of a small 15 minute and small flameout addition in my variation on the recipe.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Anyone have a recipe that comes reasonably close to regular coors?

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

 

[MrPowers]

All grain process, something like 60% North American 2-row, 40% adjunct (corn, rice or a mix of both) soft water, and ferment cold with a huge pitch of an appropriate lager strain. I like Wyeast 2007. Hops for bittering only.

- AC

I think 40% corn is way too high for coors banquet. I wouldn’t be surprised if the original had 10% or less. For coors light, 40% adjuncts is probably about right.

I am intrigued about your high gravity brewing and diluting process though, I may have to go check that out.

One thing that Coors has that nobody else has is their malt. The company uses several proprietary varieties of Moravian malt. All of these varieties are grown under contract by farmers who are contractually prevented from selling, or otherwise sharing, any of their production.

Anyone trying to clone Coors might want to use one of the Moravian style pilsener malts. Both
Briess and Weyermann produce those and Viking pilsener might also be an option.

Unless you know someone who grows barley for Coors, and is willing to slip you a few pounds under the table, you ain’t gonna lay your hands on any Moravian 69 or Bill Coors 100. And, even if you got some, you’d have to malt it yourself.

While it is true that coors has some proprietary barley strains, I would still say that 90% of the “Coors” flavor comes from their yeast strain. If you haven’t used 2105 before, try it and see what I mean.

Using a continental malt like Weyermann tastes great in the style, but it doesn’t have the same character that an american grown 2-Row/Pilsner has.

 

[Broothru]

There definitely aren’t any late hops in the beer. In fact, if you brew it low oxygen, there may be too much hop character with just the FWH addition and you would need to sub in some hop extract.

Edit: That said, I am a fan of a small 15 minute and small flameout addition in my variation on the recipe.

I'm trying to incorporate as much LoDO as I can and believe it helps to enhance hops flavors and bitterness. I'm thinking a 'softer' hop like Mittlefrue for ~20 IBUs split between FWH, late addition or hop stand. Something like a 4% AA hop, mostly German pilsner malts paired with a clean, dry finishing lager yeast.

Could it be that Continental style lagers are making a comeback?

Brooo Brother

 

[MrPowers]

I'm trying to incorporate as much LoDO as I can and believe it helps to enhance hops flavors and bitterness. I'm thinking a 'softer' hop like Mittlefrue for ~20 IBUs split between FWH, late addition or hop stand. Something like a 4% AA hop, mostly German pilsner malts paired with a clean, dry finishing lager yeast.

Could it be that Continental style lagers are making a comeback?

Brooo Brother

German Hersbrucker/Saphir/Tradition are my personal favorites, but any of the more mild hops (Mittelfruh, Tettnang, Saaz, Mt. Hood, Liberty, etc...) would be great in the style!

Continental lagers are most definitely making a comeback!