Lookin for the closest recipe to a Heineken taste

[shanerich]

I am trying to locate a recipe that yeilds results that taste like a Heineken. Any one that can point in the right direction, it's much appreciated.

 

[Evan!]

I can't help you, but my guess is that you gotta get one of those small mammal traps to catch the skunk first. And I don't envy the guy who has to "milk" him...

 

[PseudoChef]

How many skunk jokes can Evan make in a week?

 

[Evan!]

I know, uncalled for. I just couldn't resist.

Anyway....do you have the ability to lager at colder temps? That's the first step.

 

[Evan!]

How many skunk jokes can Evan make in a week?

the opportunity keeps presenting itself.

 

[Revvy]

the opportunity keeps presenting itself.

Found this for you!

 

[mr x]

In the BYO 150 clone recipes, there is a recipe. It seems somewhat tedious.

 

[Revvy]

Beer tools has a heinie clone recipe...I can't vouch for it...since I wouldn't brew something I wouldn't want to drink myself...but this might give you a starting point.

Heineken clone - Buck's Brew
December 9, 2001

Category Light Lager
Subcategory Premium American Lager
Recipe Type Partial Mash
Batch Size 5 gal.
Volume Boiled 3 gal.
Mash Efficiency 72 %
Total Grain/Extract 6.75 lbs.
Total Hops 1.0 oz.
Calories (12 fl. oz.) 180.4
Cost to Brew $24.38 (USD)
Cost per Bottle (12 fl. oz.) $0.46 (USD)

.25 lbs. Crystal Malt 20°L info
3.25 lbs. Liquid Light Extract info
1.25 lbs. Dry Light Extract info
2 lbs. Rice Flaked info
1 oz. Hallertau (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 60 min. info
1 tablespoons Irish Moss (not included in calculations)
Yeast : lager yeast info

The full recipe and info can be found here.

http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=1218

 

[shanerich]

Thanks Revvy....looks like that recipe is my ticket

 

[paranode]

Flaked rice, it's like the stamp of authenticity for any American-style light beer.

 

[Aclay]

but isn't Henie a german lager?

 

[mr x]

Yeah.

BYO recipe has no crystal or rice. Instead it has acidulated malt, corn grits and carapils. Magnum to bitter/Saaz for aroma. Wyeast 2024 Danish Lager yeast.

 

[Revvy]

but isn't Henie a german lager?

Actually a DUTCH lager. And it's the oldest imported beer in America. I just learned both those factoids on heinie's website.

 

[ChrisS68]

Newbie question: How does one utilize the flaked rice in an extract recipe? Do you steep it with the crystal malts?

Chris

 

[homebrewer_99]

but isn't Henie a german lager?

There's a big difference between Dutch and Deutsch...

 

[jbford]

that byo 150 is a good place to start and makes a darn fine ale when fermented with Nottingham. Fresh ale tastes better than store-bought lagers.

Many of their recipes (as is this one) are way too F'ing tedious. That dilution thing is just stupid.

White corn grits give it just a hint of skunk and a nice lightness without being nasty. (but they do require boiling and mashing)

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Just for the record.... all Heineken is not skunky. If you have a quality beer store near you, a non-skunked Heineken is actually a decent beer. It isn't fantastic, but it isn't that bad either. Just my opinion though, you are still free to think of road kill every time you have one

 

[BierMuncher]

One important ingredient....

20 minutes of Sunshine.

These tasted more like St. Pauli Girl.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

These tasted more like St. Pauli Girl.

LMAO I just laughed out loud at that one!

Maybe that is a BMC trick to using less hops.

O.K. here's what were gonna do... add half the hops we normally do, then expose the beer to extreme UV radiation for 1 hour. Presto, none of our consumers will know the difference. Wah hahaha

 

[Aclay]

There's a big difference between Dutch and Deutsch...

Okay, just call me ignorant:cross: nice research.

 

[bkov]

BYO lists a "Grab My Heinie" recipe in the top 10 recipes thread from 2007 but i can no longer find the recipe
Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Top 10 Recipes

 

[r8rphan]

Resurrecting an old thread here...

FTR.. only green bottled Heineken (sold in America, because for some reason, American consumers actually 'like' the skunky taste/smell) is skunky.. from the can or keg it's a vastly different (better) beer...

This is a clone I want to make in the future... But I'd like to avoid getting into lagers if possible (yet more expense/equipment/space needed)...

So I'm wondering, what would using nottingham or WLP 080 (ale/lager blend) do with such a recipe? Would it be anywhere close to tasting like these Euro lagers?

 

[Ovidsmuse]

How cold can you get? If you use a Kolsch yeast and ferment in the low 60s you might fool some people. But you won't get the clarity without a cold crash at the very least, though it should clear in bottles with some time in the fridge.

 

[JLem]

Newbie question: How does one utilize the flaked rice in an extract recipe? Do you steep it with the crystal malts?

Chris

That's a good question. I'm surprised to see a recipe include flakes rice with extract - I am pretty sure that flakes rice needs to mashed. Steeping the rice won't really do anything for you other than perhaps add some haze. I have no experience with it though so I might be wrong (happens from time to time)

Sent from my iPod touch using HB Talk

 

[r8rphan]

How cold can you get? If you use a Kolsch yeast and ferment in the low 60s you might fool some people. But you won't get the clarity without a cold crash at the very least, though it should clear in bottles with some time in the fridge.

I've lately been pitching at around 62-63 degrees, and the ferment ranges from 62-66, sometimes creeps up a bit higher...

In another thread, someone mentioned a white labs called Cry Havoc, that is a lager yeast that ferments at Ale temps..

So there's a couple avenues to try...

I might try a 5G batch using the base grains from the heine clone recipe, with all the recommended hops additions, and then pitch one of these two yeasts and see what happens... I might even do a ten, and try both...

Or nottingham fermented at 63 or so...

It would likely be drinkable I would think, even if it doesn't taste like what I'm trying for... As long as it's a waste of money and time on something that can't be drank, it's worth a try..

What do you think? An ale from the same base grains and hops still be good?

 

[Ovidsmuse]

Lager yeast that ferment at Ale temperatures are often used in "California Commons" aka Steam Bear. They can be very clean and that could be a good option, though I'm not familiar with the Cry Havoc strain. You would still need to lager the yeast if you want to get a nice clear beer, unless you can filter it.

 

[AntiBeerSnob]

Everybody likes to say Heineken has a "skunk taste", but I have only ever tasted one or two skunked Heinekens, and it was from the single 12 fluid ounce glass Heineken bottles, or the 24 fluid ounce glass bottle Heinekens that nobody ever buys which causes them to sit on the shelf for along time and get skunky. If you want a skunk beer. Try Corona Beer. That is why everybody puts a lemon or lime in Conona Beer. It hides the taste of the skunkyness from the Mexican water use to brew the Corona Beer, and from the skunkyness from sunlight exposure too.

 

[daytraitors]

Is there a legitimate Heineken clone that uses just Barley, hops, and water? I don't think rice is an ingredient in their product.

 

[IslandLizard]

Is there a legitimate Heineken clone that uses just Barley, hops, and water? I don't think rice is an ingredient in their product.

You're absolutely right, there are NO adjuncts in the original Heineken Pils/Lager. Now a Light Heineken may.

From Clone Brews (1998):

5 gallons
OG 1.051-1.054
FG 1.011-1.013
IBU 24
SRM 3-4
5% ABV

9.25 lb German 2-row Pilsner Malt
4 oz German Light Crystal Malt 2.5°L (I guess you could use CaraFoam/CaraPils instead)

Mash at 150F for 90 minutes

Boil for 90' with:
11 gr Northern Brewer 8% AA (3 AAU)
19 gr German Hallertau Hersbrucker 3% AA (2 AAU)

At 10' add:
7 gr German Hallertau Hersbrucker 3% AA
1/2 tsp Irish Moss

They recommend WY 2042 (Danish Lager), or secondly WY 2247 (Danish II Lager), both at 42-52°F, but any clean lager yeast should work fine at their own recommended temps.

Needless to say, do not use an ale yeast or a lager yeast at (near) ale temps.



Addendum

The 2010 Edition of the book contains these changes:

• 4 oz German Light Crystal Malt 10°L (CaraHell) instead of the 2.5°L Crystal.
• WY 2007 (Pilsen Lager) as an alternative to WY 2042.
• Lager for 1 month: Once terminal gravity has been reached, start lagering at 45F, decreasing slowly to 34F over 2 weeks.

 

[prankster1590]

Heineken starts with a wort of 11,8 plato (1,048). So to get a 5% beer you need about 80 to 81 attenuation to 1,010. You also need lighter malts since its color = 7 EBC (3.55 SRM). It has 23 IBU's of Bitterness.

I would like to see a waterprofile for heineken, a Mash schedule (since it has a light body) and I would like to know what kind of Hops they are most likely to use for their beers.
In the early days they sold there beer as Bavarian beer so maybe the use a bavarian waterprofile.