I'll say it, I don't care: I like Heineken and want to find a clone recipe

[highgravitybacon]

I've read quite a few recipes that purport to be a "clone" of Heineken. I don't necessary want to "clone" it but something similar would be good enough.

Let's start with my impressions on it. I like the tallboy cans:
Sweet malt aroma with faint hoppyness. Nobleish. Touch of spice (faint.)
Lightly gold in color.
Medium effervescence.
Sweet initially with a clear noble hop, like saaz, tettnang, etc.
Finishes dryer than the taste, but still a teensy bit of sweetness.
Medium body.
Slight bitterness, but very low. Finishes with almost no lingering hop bitterness. Balance is toward the malt, but some hop aroma and flavor present.

Many recipes include flaked corn. Not sure I'm getting any corny in this. Could be, but I don't wonder if the sweetness isn't diacetyl or perhaps a touch of DMS. Some recipes don't have any late addition hops. It's got a very clear late addition hopping going on.

Heineken is apparently a 1.044-1.048 beer with about 23 IBUs. The corporate website says the "Main Ingredients" are "Water, barley, yeast and hops." However, they don't say if it contains anything else. I don't know if by 'Main' ingredients they mean they include any adjuncts, or if that means they're referring to kettle finings or clarifying agents. So for all I know, it could contain adjuncts.

Based on the taste, I would have guess a lower IBU than the 23. Maybe 15-18.

So enough blather. Thoughts:

97% pils malt
3% carapils
Mash at 153F

Maybe 12 IBU at 60 min. Sterling.
Sterling at 20 min for 6 IBU
Sterling at 1 min for 2 IBU
WLP830 <- what I have on hand.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Off the cuff, I'd add a little Vienna for a slight malty touch.

 

[Glynn]

there's a recipe for it in byo mag 250 classic clones edition

 

[highgravitybacon]

there's a recipe for it in byo mag 250 classic clones edition

I don't have that book.

 

[Glynn]

iIl post the procdure later but it uses a multi-mash and decoction mash

virtual og 1.045
fg 1.006
ibu 21
srm 4
abv 5%

8 lb pilsner
5 oz acidulated malt
4 oz carapils
2.4 lb corn grits

.41 oz magnum 60 min 16% 6.6 aau
.13 oz saaz 15 min
wyeast 2024 or wlp850

1 gal dearated water for blending

here is the mash part of the recipe. good luck, im sure theres a better or at least easier way to do this
combine grits and 1 lb crushed pilsner and set aside

1. mash remaining at 131 with 12 qts water
2. make a cereal mash by adding 5 qts water to grit mixture and heat to 158 and hold for 5 min then heat to a boil stirring consistently, boil for 15 min
3. while cereal mash is heating up heat main mash and bring up to 140 and hold for 15 min
4. add cereal mash to main mash and hold at 152 for 45 min, then heat to 170 transfer mash to lauter tun and recirculate for 20 min then voluf.
5. sparge with enough water so that after a 90 min boil you have 5 gal
6. follow hopping
7. ferment at 53 until terminal gravity and then raise to 60 untill diacetly is gone. chill to 30 - 40 and lager for 4 - 6 weeks.
8. dilute with 1 gal dearated water to bring vol up to 6 gal and bottle or keg.

 

[Beernik]

I think there is a recipe in Clone Brews. I'm not sure where my copy is.

 

[Cyclman]

Drinking More Fun Blonde as I write this, I think it might give you something close to what you're looking for: Fermentables 8.5 lb (3.86 kg) German Pils malt 2.0 lb (0.9 kg) American pale malt 13.0 oz (369 g) dextrose (corn sugar) Hops 0.5 oz (14 g) Northern Brewer hops, 9% a.a. (60 min) 0.6 oz (17 g) Northern Brewer hops, 9% a.a. (20 min) 0.7 oz (20 g) Willamette hops, 5% a.a. (20 min) 0.5 oz (14 g) Willamette hops, 5% a.a. (0 min) Yeast White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale yeast, Wyeast No. 3787 Trappist High Gravity yeast Brewers Specifics Mash grains at 152° F (67°C) for 60 minutes Batch sparge at 168° F (76° C) Bring to a rolling boil and add 13.0 oz (369 g) dextrose Boil 90 minutes and add hops at specified intervals from end of boil Chill wort to 65° F (18° C) and pitch yeast Ramp temperature to 75° F (24° C) over 36 hours Finish fermentation at 75° F (24° C) Keg at 2.5 volumes of CO&#8322; or bottle condition with 4 oz (113 g) corn sugar

It is delicous and very "lagerish" for a Blonde.


Boil Time: 90 minutes

Original Gravity: 1.065 (15.9° P)

Final Gravity: 1.015 (3.8° P)

SRM: 4°

IBU: 42

ABV: 6.7%

Brewhouse Efficiency: 75%

 

[Glynn]

ok added mash part to recipe

 

[highgravitybacon]

So, the plot thickens. Here's an email I found on the internet purported from the Heineken people. This helps get to the bottom of the Heineken mystery ingredients:

Thanks for emailing HEINEKEN USA!

We understand the importance of nutrition to our consumers as they enjoy our products responsibly. The ingredients used in the production of Heineken Lager beer are water, A-yeast, malted barley and hops.

There are no additives or preservatives in our products. Our beers are made from all natural ingredients, which are GMO-free. All of our products are pasteurized and formaldehyde free.

Heineken Lager does not contain any of the following as an ingredient or used as part of the process to produce the beer:

Wheat, rye, oats, corn (maize), spelt, kamut, crustaceans and their products, egg and egg products, fish and fish products, milk and milk products (lactose), nuts and sesame seeds and their products, peanuts and soybeans and their products, added sulphites (sulfites) in concentrations of 10 mg/kg or more, celery, or mustard

Cheers,

HEINEKEN USA Consumer Affairs

So that all but rules out all the imitation crab meat I had in my recipe. Back to the drawing board.

 

[GuldTuborg]

imitation crab meat

Thought that would be in there for sure!

More seriously, good luck with the clone. I don't have anything meaningful to contribute to the recipe, but I hope it turns out well.

 

[beernutz]

I'm brewing something close to the Clone Brews Heineken recipe tomorrow which is a really simple one. For 5 gallons it calls for 9.75 lbs Pilsner malt and .25 lbs 10L crystal malt. No corn, no wheat. It uses Hallertau and Northern Brewer for bittering for then Hallertau for aroma. It calls for either Wyeast Dutch lager or Pilsner lager yeast and I'm using the latter. I'm doing essentially that recipe except I'm using Saaz for everything and maybe add a bit of caramunich for malt complexity.

OG 1.052-3, FG 1.012-3, IBU 24, SRM 3-4, ABV 5%. Should make for a tasty summer beer.

 

[Freedomfan]

I brewed a European Lager recipe few years back and virtually everyone who drank it thought it tasted a lot like Heineken. I thought it was somewhat similar and was a very tasty beer.

European lager

A ProMash Recipe Report


Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.055
Min IBU: 18 Max IBU: 25
Min Clr: 3 Max Clr: 5 Color in SRM, Lovibond

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

Batch Size (Gal): 12.50 Wort Size (Gal): 12.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 20.50
Anticipated OG: 1.050 Plato: 12.45
Anticipated SRM: 3.0
Anticipated IBU: 22.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 82 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
68.3 14.00 lbs. Pilsener 1.038 2
31.7 6.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) 1.036 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.50 oz. Spalter Select Pellet 4.10 17.3 60 min.
1.50 oz. Spalter Select Pellet 4.10 5.1 15 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP830 German Lager, Fermented at 50 degrees for 3 weeks. lagered in the kegs for 60 days at 29 degrees, force carbed to 2.8 volumes of CO2.


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

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 20.50
Water Qts: 32.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 8.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.56 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 150 Time: 75
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 0


Total Mash Volume Gal: 10.00 (includes mash-out water)

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

I did a single infusion batch sparge.

 

[BeerGrylls]

Maybe they say crustaceans because they don't use diatomaceous earth to do their filtering. They're not actually shells of crustaceans but instead a type of algeal phytoplankton. A lot of commercial breweries use it. The claim is that it doesn't impart anything into the final liquid, but if you're exposed to the stuff and inhale it you can get very very sick.

 

[dyqik]

Maybe they say crustaceans because they don't use diatomaceous earth to do their filtering. They're not actually shells of crustaceans but instead a type of algeal phytoplankton. A lot of commercial breweries use it. The claim is that it doesn't impart anything into the final liquid, but if you're exposed to the stuff and inhale it you can get very very sick.

I'm almost certain that that's mentioned because of kosher rules rather than anything else...

 

[highgravitybacon]

I brewed a European Lager recipe few years back and virtually everyone who drank it thought it tasted a lot like Heineken. I thought it was somewhat similar and was a very tasty beer.

European lager

A ProMash Recipe Report

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.055
Min IBU: 18 Max IBU: 25
Min Clr: 3 Max Clr: 5 Color in SRM, Lovibond

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

Batch Size (Gal): 12.50 Wort Size (Gal): 12.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 20.50
Anticipated OG: 1.050 Plato: 12.45
Anticipated SRM: 3.0
Anticipated IBU: 22.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 82 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
68.3 14.00 lbs. Pilsener 1.038 2
31.7 6.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) 1.036 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.50 oz. Spalter Select Pellet 4.10 17.3 60 min.
1.50 oz. Spalter Select Pellet 4.10 5.1 15 min.

Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP830 German Lager, Fermented at 50 degrees for 3 weeks. lagered in the kegs for 60 days at 29 degrees, force carbed to 2.8 volumes of CO2.

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

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 20.50
Water Qts: 32.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 8.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.56 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 150 Time: 75
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 0

Total Mash Volume Gal: 10.00 (includes mash-out water)

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

I did a single infusion batch sparge.

Excellent. I will give this a go. What maltster was your pils? I think its all malt, but a very flavorless malt blended with a continental pils. I get a saazer type aroma and flavor, but spalt might be better. Interesting.

I have a batch going but used something like 83% best malz pils, 14% maize, 3% carahell. Sterling at 60 and 20. Santiam at 5 min. 23 ibu. 1.050 og, wlp838 yeast.

 

[BeerGrylls]

I'm almost certain that that's mentioned because of kosher rules rather than anything else...

Hmm, that sounds a little more plausible.

 

[Freedomfan]

Excellent. I will give this a go. What maltster was your pils? I think its all malt, but a very flavorless malt blended with a continental pils. I get a saazer type aroma and flavor, but spalt might be better. Interesting.

I have a batch going but used something like 83% best malz pils, 14% maize, 3% carahell. Sterling at 60 and 20. Santiam at 5 min. 23 ibu. 1.050 og, wlp838 yeast.

I used Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner which is my go to Pilsner Malt. I use the German Spalt hops in a few different beers. They are somewhat similiar to Saaz which I also use on occasion but have a less grassy/earthy component to them in my opinion. The aroma is pretty mild so if you're looking for assertive hop Aroma there are better options. If you decide to brew it let me know if you have any questions.