Lets Start up the Hate

[BWE]

If you really want to brew a Bud Light, go for it. I don't know why you would go through the trouble since you can buy a case for not much money and it will taste just like the real thing.

Great point. Same reason people climb a mountain instead of catching a chopper. (Though a chopper would be expensive). I enjoy the act of brewing. I enjoy going for something and accomplishing it. Same reason we wanted to go to the moon..... OK, to far.... lol. You get my point though. Brewing is fun. I like BL. Best of both worlds.

 

[WestMichBrewer]

Here is the recipe I found and a picture of the beer. I used gelatin to clear it up (the glass is frozen) Its crystal clear, light, and crisp.

Doing a Google search, I can see that BL is 4.2% ABV and uses rice in addition to barley malt to lighten the body.
I can't find any reference to what hops are used, but I would imagine they use a blend of hops and only as a bittering charge, so it doesn't matter so much what they use.
Maybe go with a clean bittering hop that doesn't have a great deal of flavoring, magnum or galena for instance.
I'm not sure what to recommend for yeast. I've heard, and kind of agree, that BL does have a bit of an appley note, so a lager yeast that can produce some fruitiness.

Good luck!

 

[brewprint]

For the price of Bud, I would say it's easier to purchase a case than to brew it. That is unless you have the set up to lager.

I cut my teeth on that stuff back in the day but I've come to these questions:

Taste great? Less filling?

It doesn't taste good and it fills me up

Maybe when I quit brewing I will change my view.

 

[aprichman]

Any type of Protein Rest? I've read after mash out some bring it to 120°F for 10 minutes or so.

If you're using malt sourced from the US I wouldn't bother with a protein rest. If you want to do a protein rest you would do it BEFORE raising the temperature to convert the starch into fermentable sugar. Mash out would be the last step, which increases the temperature to such a degree that the enzymes (which are driving these processes) become denatured.

FWIW I'm a somewhat seasonal drinker of styles.

I usually stop craving beer in early February and take a break. In mid - late March, as soon as we get our first warm day, I start back up with mostly lagers and blondes outside of a Guinness or two on St. Patty's Day. By early May when things start to get really warm I find myself drinking more IPAs. IPAs turn into IIPAs by late Summer and my palate starts to crave fall seasonals. By mid September I'm getting excited to drink Oktoberfests and other fall seasonals. Around Thanksgiving it's time for winter warmers and stouts, as the winter season goes on the stouts turn Imperial and then Bourbon aged. After January starts I find myself drinking more whisky and less beer. By February I'm hardly drinking any beer. I feel like I've been in this cycle for the last 6-7 years. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where there are lots of interesting local seasonals and German imports are readily available in all supermarkets.

Best of luck to you in your pursuits.

 

[NTexBrewer]

Here is my Light Lager recipe.

Keeps my Father-in-Law happy and the day I bottle this beer I brew a bigger lager or a RIS and pitch the slurry.

This recipe originated from a BYO article for a Schlitz clone. I first brewed the partial mash recipe and then changed it to an all grain recipe. The partial mash recipe had the dextrose addition and I just left it since I do stovetop BIAB which allows me to reduce the grain volume.

I have brewed this recipe 4 times and have gotten consistent results with my OG and FG.

5.5 Gallon

4 lb. American 2-Row
3 lb. American 6-Row
1 lb. Flaked Corn
1 lb. Dextrose (late addition)

Single Infusion mash at 153 degrees for 1 hour
I use RO water with 0.25 tsp of Gypsum per gallon of mash water.

Liberty Hops for 17 IBU's at 60 minutes (Usually 0.95oz)

60 Minute Boil
OG 1.046
FG 1.009
4.8%

Yeast - 2 Packs of Saflager 34/70

Ferment at 55 Degrees
D rest at 65
Cold Crash to 40 for a few days. I don't need to fine this beer as it has always come out crystal clear.

I bottle my beer so after the cold crash, I bottle and let it carbonate for 3 weeks at 70. I use Northern Brewers Priming calculator and prime for 3Volumes. I then "bottle lager" in my fridge for a few weeks.

This beer made it to the second round of the 2015 Bluebonnet Brewoff. I know that other light beers use rice solids so you could substitute the rice solids for the flaked corn.

 

[BWE]

Here is my Light Lager recipe.

Keeps my Father-in-Law happy and the day I bottle this beer I brew a bigger lager or a RIS and pitch the slurry.

This recipe originated from a BYO article for a Schlitz clone. I first brewed the partial mash recipe and then changed it to an all grain recipe. The partial mash recipe had the dextrose addition and I just left it since I do stovetop BIAB which allows me to reduce the grain volume.

I have brewed this recipe 4 times and have gotten consistent results with my OG and FG.

5.5 Gallon

4 lb. American 2-Row
3 lb. American 6-Row
1 lb. Flaked Corn
1 lb. Dextrose (late addition)

Single Infusion mash at 153 degrees for 1 hour
I use RO water with 0.25 tsp of Gypsum per gallon of mash water.

Liberty Hops for 17 IBU's at 60 minutes (Usually 0.95oz)

60 Minute Boil
OG 1.046
FG 1.009
4.8%

Yeast - 2 Packs of Saflager 34/70

Ferment at 55 Degrees
D rest at 65
Cold Crash to 40 for a few days. I don't need to fine this beer as it has always come out crystal clear.

I bottle my beer so after the cold crash, I bottle and let it carbonate for 3 weeks at 70. I use Northern Brewers Priming calculator and prime for 3Volumes. I then "bottle lager" in my fridge for a few weeks.

This beer made it to the second round of the 2015 Bluebonnet Brewoff. I know that other light beers use rice solids so you could substitute the rice solids for the flaked corn.

Wow that looks great!! Think I may try this. Thanks!

 

[BWE]

I've got a bunch of idea's now. Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm now looking deep into Water. I live in Waco. Not sure if anyone on here lives there as well.... but the water is awful. Not sure what the profile is, but it doesn't matter. It tastes terrible by itself. Wouldn't dream of putting it in beer. I've always used Ozarka so, I'll probably go with that again. I know I can manipulate water any way I want, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'll get Palmers book read and go from there.

 

[passedpawn]

[troll thread moved to DRMM]

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Any type of Protein Rest? I've read after mash out some bring it to 120°F for 10 minutes or so.

No, I haven't tried anything like that yet.

I also used this method works beautifully. There is a large thread on this..but honestly just read the directions and follow it....everyone kept trying to make changes and wondered why it didn't work lol

http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/

 

[ajdelange]

I poured Bud Light in a few plain brownies, capped them, and noted the cap as a 2015 Lager. It was favorable by a beer snob acquaintance of mine with only a few critiques. I laughed at him because he's a dumb.

I love to tell the story of the party I got invited to a couple of years back. I didn't have anything really good to bring but, as I was working on a book chapter on beer color, I took a not too outstanding VMO, put some into each of two growlers, added a dollop of Sinamar to one and asked people to compare and contrast these two 'similar' lagers. There were BJCP Master beer judges, pro's from Victory and Gordon Biersch and many others of the local beer cognoscenti present. I could not believe the BS I got. Vanilla notes in this one, ribes in that one... One little gal was very apologetic, said that she really didn't know much about beer and was only there because of her boyfriend but that she really couldn't taste any difference at all. Remember the story about the emperor?

Several of those people have not spoken to me in over a year and I have not been invited back but it was well worth it - a treasured experience for sure! And it certainly validated the statement that I had heard Charlie Bamforth (the editor of the book) make in a lecture: "We taste with our eyes."

 

[BWE]

[troll thread moved to DRMM]

Troll thread? I purchased a lifetime Membership to Troll... Right...

 

[jddevinn]

I've been seeing this method as a suggestion. It may be a good one, idk... But I'm hoping to be able to accomplish this through natural brewing, not post brew additions. I don't know about the Michelob Ultra attempt though. May have to resort to this.

You don't think that the "big" light lagers are brewed to a concentrate and then have water added??

 

[BWE]

You don't think that the "big" light lagers are brewed to a concentrate and then have water added??

You know, I really don't know. Are they? I'd like to know for sure. Can you shoot me a link or something on that topic? I looked at AB's web-sight on there method and it says nothing about adding water.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

I'm no expert but I've often thought it would be harder to make those types of beers. The lighter a beer is the more you can't hide any issues you have in your process. I've never tried a clone recipe but my guess is that it can't be easy.



But the best reason to brew one of these beers is because then your friends won't get absolutely wrecked when they come over for a party. I have Coors Light fans who drink my beer and I wish they wouldn't. They can't can't handle the ABV. Slowly I'm adding more low ABV beers to my rotation.

This is why I started brewing my 3.5-4% saison. Still high of flavor but light on alcohol and $$. I've been looking at adding a mild as my colder weather low abv beer.

 

[brewprint]

I love to tell the story of the party I got invited to a couple of years back. I didn't have anything really good to bring but, as I was working on a book chapter on beer color, I took a not too outstanding VMO, put some into each of two growlers, added a dollop of Sinamar to one and asked people to compare and contrast these two 'similar' lagers. There were BJCP Master beer judges, pro's from Victory and Gordon Biersch and many others of the local beer cognoscenti present. I could not believe the BS I got. Vanilla notes in this one, ribes in that one... One little gal was very apologetic, said that she really didn't know much about beer and was only there because of her boyfriend but that she really couldn't taste any difference at all. Remember the story about the emperor?

Several of those people have not spoken to me in over a year and I have not been invited back but it was well worth it - a treasured experience for sure! And it certainly validated the statement that I had heard Charlie Bamforth (the editor of the book) make in a lecture: "We taste with our eyes."

Haha I love this!

 

[jddevinn]

You know, I really don't know. Are they? I'd like to know for sure. Can you shoot me a link or something on that topic? I looked at AB's web-sight on there method and it says nothing about adding water.

I doubt that A/B would publish as part of their process. However from all the "How to brew commercially" sources I've read brewing at a higher gravity than target and then diluting with sterile, dearated water is useful in large scale "production plant" style brewing both for economics and consistency. Typically for American Lagers and typically combined with other post fermentations adjustment to color, aroma and flavor.

From Brewing Science and Practice:

 

[Boleslaus]

I doubt that A/B would publish as part of their process. However from all the "How to brew commercially" sources I've read brewing at a higher gravity than target and then diluting with sterile, dearated water is useful in large scale "production plant" style brewing both for economics and consistency. Typically for American Lagers and typically combined with other post fermentations adjustment to color, aroma and flavor.

From Brewing Science and Practice:

You learn something new every day. I wonder how a diluted HG beer would taste compared to an identical traditionally brewed beer.