Mexican Lager Recipe

[Rob2010SS]

Hey peeps. Looking for a light, mexican lager recipe similar to Corona Light. My wife's easy drinking, low calorie beer of choice is Corona Light and she's been asking me to make one. Never done a lager but I do have the temp control ability for fermentation.

I've been looking at some recipes, like the one in the link below, but they all seem to be a bit old and I can't find anything newer. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/mexican-lager-cerveza.30885/ I saw some comments about this one being a bit sweet and I don't want that. Not sure if the corn just needs to be decreased or what.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to tweak the above recipe to make it less sweet, more corona like? Or does anyone have a mexican lager recipe that they've proved out and really like?

Thanks.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I haven’t made it yet but Zymurgy had one last summer.

You can adjust sweetness by bumping up the the 60 min hop addition by 5-10%. Or conversely you could drop the og slightly while keeping the ibu’s the same.

 

[catdaddy66]

This is one that I made last year and liked a lot...

10 lbs U.S. two-row
1.0 lb flaked corn
0.5 lb CaraPils® malt
1.5 lbs Agave nectar

Kazbek hops (60 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% alpha acids)
Kazbek (15 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% alpha acids)
Kazbek hops (5 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% AAU)

WLP810 (San Francisco Lager) or your favorite lager yeast


Step by Step:

Mash at 152° for 75 min

Sparge 15 min at 168°

Boil time is 60 minutes. Ferment for 14 days at 50 °F (10 °C), then transfer and lager for 4 weeks at 40 °F (4.4 °C).

Feel free to sub any hop variety you prefer.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Obviously, with the agave nectar it's pretty different, but how does the base beer compare with a corona?

 

[Rob2010SS]

I haven’t made it yet but Zymurgy had one last summer.

You can adjust sweetness by bumping up the the 60 min hop addition by 5-10%. Or conversely you could drop the og slightly while keeping the ibu’s the same.

Thanks, might try that. Might try decreasing the corn addition a bit as well?

This is one that I made last year and liked a lot...

10 lbs U.S. two-row
1.0 lb flaked corn
0.5 lb CaraPils® malt
1.5 lbs Agave nectar

Kazbek hops (60 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% alpha acids)
Kazbek (15 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% alpha acids)
Kazbek hops (5 mins) (1.0 oz, 4.1% AAU)

WLP810 (San Francisco Lager) or your favorite lager yeast


Step by Step:

Mash at 152° for 75 min

Sparge 15 min at 168°

Boil time is 60 minutes. Ferment for 14 days at 50 °F (10 °C), then transfer and lager for 4 weeks at 40 °F (4.4 °C).

Feel free to sub any hop variety you prefer.

Thanks for the recipe. Stupid question, with the agave nectar it's obviously pretty different, but how does the base beer of this compare with a corona?

 

[catdaddy66]

Thanks, might try that. Might try decreasing the corn addition a bit as well?



Thanks for the recipe. Stupid question, with the agave nectar it's obviously pretty different, but how does the base beer of this compare with a corona?

Agave nectar will ferment completely as honey does. I didn't find any noticeable flavor with it but it dried the beer out a bit.

Not sure what it is vs Corona but decreasing the base malt to 8#'s should lighten up the flavor a bit. I am not a light beer (or light ANYTHING) fan so I don't try for that profile... ever.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Alright, 2nd question...

I see a lot of people say to transfer the beer to secondary prior to lagering. Is this necessary? This kind of goes against my logic of no secondary...

 

[Dcpcooks]

The corn should lighten the body and add abv with just a bit of flavor. it’s cheap which is why the big guys use it $$$

Personally I don’t use a secondary or drop yeast unless I really need to but I will for Big lagers that need several months aging. I’d rather leave a light lager on the yeast and minimize any exposure to air. There isn’t much to hide behind in any light Lager and oxidation is my primary concern after recipe development when I’m brewing to style.