Killians clone??

[jesse]

I have a friend who's birthday is on halloween.. she's having a party and for a gift i said i would try to brew her a clone of whatever she likes.. killians... Any recipe info?? batch size of 15 gal.

 

[pirate252]

I love Killians actually, and I order all my supplies from these guys, awesome prices and service, and they also happen to have a Killians clone kit, in extract, partial mash, or full mash, whihcever you like! They have lots of other commericial clones too.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_323&products_id=1783

 

[jesse]

I love Killians actually, and I order all my supplies from these guys, awesome prices and service, and they also happen to have a Killians clone kit, in extract, partial mash, or full mash, whihcever you like! They have lots of other commericial clones too.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_323&products_id=1783

sounds like you might work for them...

 

[pirate252]

Haha, no just really like them

 

[Professor Frink]

I've brewed the Irish Red Ale from Midwest homebrew, it's a good kit.

 

[z987k]

I have a friend who's birthday is on halloween.. she's having a party and for a gift i said i would try to brew her a clone of whatever she likes.. killians... Any recipe info?? batch size of 15 gal.

Note that killians is a lager, if you want to do it to style. Most people especially if you're new to brewing don't have a spare fridge for lagering.

 

[JnJ]

Agreed with above, the AHS kit is a lager kit.

 

[bigben]

i used to like Killian's...until I found out that Coors brews it.

 

[jfrizzell]

i used to like Killian's...until I found out that Coors brews it.

Funny how that knowledge changed the taste of the beer.

 

[JnJ]

I don't care who makes a beer, if I like it, I like it. Guess I'm not a snob yet.

 

[the_bird]

From lots of accounts, Killians' has changed a lot over the years. Last time I had it, it struck me as without a lot of character (it used to be one of my favorites). But, if she likes it, that's cool - we've got to keep out ladyfriends happy

 

[newell456]

If you want it to be "authentic" you could do a lager, but ]Killians was originally and ale, and then Coors made it a lager and colored it red artificially:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killian's

Anyway, I like Killians and have made a few Killian-esque ales. If you want to do a Killians-like ale or need to go ale because of time restraints, the key is to use a low amount of hops and use an English Ale yeast so it ends up a bit sweet. For example, a medium bodied red with 1 oz of Willamette bittering and 1 oz split for flavoring and aroma ends up reminscent of Killians in my book.

 

[jesse]

I'm not much of a kit guy.. I was just wondering if anyone could take a stab at the the ingredients.. What kind of malts??Hops??I'm thinking like......................
20% vienna
20% munich
40% pale malt (2 row)
5% flaked rice
5% honey malt
6% crystal 60
2% corn sugar
Hops I'm thinking northern brewer for bittering and fuggle for aroma and flavor. 16 for ibu"s ...going to mash low and slow
Not sure about the yeast just yet...Any suggestions on anything will be helpful

 

[Sixbillionethans]

Since Killian's is an Irish Red Ale knockoff, I would suggest actually brewing an Irish Red Ale, instead of brewing a lager cuz that's all Coors knows how to do.

I like the use of vienna and munich...good call. I'd get a tiny bit of chocolate/roasted malt in there.

Hop it with some English hops (EKG or Willamette) instead of NB...that's a german hop and will make it too spicey.

You want malty, so go with a poor attenuating yeast like 1968 or 1272. Or go for dry and use the Guinness strain to be more Irish. If you use the Guinness strain, mash on the high side to increase your non-fermentables.

You brew up something like that and your friend is going to start liking real beer and everyone at the party will be drunk and happy.

 

[killian]

From lots of accounts, Killians' has changed a lot over the years. Last time I had it, it struck me as without a lot of character (it used to be one of my favorites). But, if she likes it, that's cool - we've got to keep out ladyfriends happy

I have to agree with the bird,
I prefer Irish Red Ales my self but then again I just got my temperature controller recently so lagers here I come. I may just brew my Killians' red ale as a lager with the same grain bill.
the thing that sucks for me is if I ever do get the chance to open my own brewery I cant put my last name on it.
sorry I not much help here.
you better get brewing if this is gonna be a lager!

 

[Germey]

From lots of accounts, Killians' has changed a lot over the years. Last time I had it, it struck me as without a lot of character (it used to be one of my favorites). But, if she likes it, that's cool - we've got to keep out ladyfriends happy

My experience was the same, but I honestly can't tell you if the beer is different or if it is just our collective tastes and standards changing. Remember when Sierra Nevada's Pale was just crazy hoppy? When I liked Killians, I was also drinking Henry Weinhards, Ranier, and Hieneken, just looking for some sort of character (even if it was skunk).
Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[newell456]

I'm not much of a kit guy.. I was just wondering if anyone could take a stab at the the ingredients.. What kind of malts??Hops??I'm thinking like......................
20% vienna
20% munich
40% pale malt (2 row)
5% flaked rice
5% honey malt
6% crystal 60
2% corn sugar
Hops I'm thinking northern brewer for bittering and fuggle for aroma and flavor. 16 for ibu"s ...going to mash low and slow
Not sure about the yeast just yet...Any suggestions on anything will be helpful

I actually am a big Killian's fan (even though it is made by Coors). There was a bar about one block from where I lived in college that had $5 pictures of Killians in the late 90s, so I try to make some beers like Killians and find it to be a very nostaligic drink.

I have used both Irish ale yeast and English ale yeasts with ambers and have found English Ale yeasts to be more Killian-esque because they leave a bit more residual sweetness, and I find Killians to have a fair amount of underlying sweetness, although not overpowering. The Wyeast liquid English Ale yeast works really well, and it would be perfect for a group of non-homebrewers because it floculates so well that you'll think the beer was filtered. One ounce of Nothern Brewer (per five gallons) will seem like very little for homebrewers, but it could seem a bit hoppy for non-brewers. Try a Killians just before brewing, and you'll find it has very, very little hops. My two cents is that if you're brewing a Killanesque beer for non-brewers (or for people that aren't beer connosiuers), you might want to cut back from less than a full ounce for bittering or use something like Willamette or Saaz. Regardless, Northern Brewer won't be overpowering and might be a good compromise between what a crowd or Killlians fans would like and something with a little more character without pushing the envelope too much for a crown pleaser.

I am very interested in hearing what you do and how it works.

 

[somecallmetim]

There was a bar about one block from where I lived in college that had $5 pictures of Killians.

That seems like a bad deal to me...