Ok, please dont kill the newbie .Coors Light...

[danhercules]

Anyone got a Coors light type beer recipe that is an ale?

I got a good friend that LOVES Coors Light. I use to drink that crap too untill I found craft beer.

With saying that, I would love to brew a super light "lager" (really an ale) that could pass for a Coors light. Is this possible?

 

[Teddie]

Liberty pale ale recipe. Use ag or extract. Fement 2 weeks. During bottling add priming sugar and k9p. Will taste alot like coors. RDWHAHB

 

[DrWill]

Anyone got a Coors light type beer recipe that is an ale?

I got a good friend that LOVES Coors Light. I use to drink that crap too untill I found craft beer.

With saying that, I would love to brew a super light "lager" (really an ale) that could pass for a Coors light. Is this possible?

If you don't have the ability to ferment at the temperature lager yeasts like, try a Kölsch strain. At the lower end of its range it will give some nice lager-y flavours.

 

[brewbush]

My opinion is that you will not be able to get close with an ale yeast.
I don't associate Coors with any hop flavor/bitterness and usting these it will be noticable different.

I think the closest would be a lager with corn as an adjuct and extremely lightly hopped.

 

[inthesound]

I second the Kölsch yeast recommendation. It gets nice and dry like a lager, and also throws some faint sulfur aromas that lend itself to seeming like a lager. You could use all pils, or add a little bit of Munich as well. Keep your IBU's low with a 60 and a 30 minute addition.

 

[broadbill]

Light lagers are probably one of the toughest styles to brew, despite the near constant busting on these beers from forum members who have their noses stuck in the air...

I mention this only because you state you are a newbie, this style is tough for experienced brewers...it would be pretty far out of your reach if you don't have things like temp control, good process, good yeast management, etc.

My recommendation is to buy a 30 pack of Coors and save yourself alot of trouble.

 

[Cider123]

Light lagers are probably one of the toughest styles to brew, despite the near constant busting on these beers from forum members who have their noses stuck in the air...

I mention this only because you state you are a newbie, this style is tough for experienced brewers...it would be pretty far out of your reach if you don't have things like temp control, good process, good yeast management, etc.

My recommendation is to buy a 30 pack of Coors and save yourself alot of trouble.

Or a couple bottles of hydrogen peroxide:cross:

Check out Biermuncher's Cream of 3 Crops or Yooper's Fizzy yellow beer recipes. Neither are lagers but they are very light and flavorful ales.

 

[masskrug]

Try a "hybrid" light ale using this yeast:

A unique lager strain which has the ability to ferment up to 65 degrees while retaining lager characteristics. Can also be fermented down to 50 degrees for production of marzens, pilsners and other style lagers.

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

Check out this well-thought out Miller lite clone for some pointers. I think the key points are a long/low temp mash to increase fermentability and most importantly, add amylase enzyme during a secondary fermentation to break down the more complex carbs and allow the yeast to ferment it way down to the level of a light beer. That's how the beer companies make it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/miller-lite-really-triple-hopped-123937/

I don't like Coors light, but I do like a challenge. Good luck!

 

[captainkirk83]

Or a couple bottles of hydrogen peroxide:cross:

Check out Biermuncher's Cream of 3 Crops or Yooper's Fizzy yellow beer recipes. Neither are lagers but they are very light and flavorful ales.

My wife likes cream of three crops and she's a miller light drinker. Very light

 

[HornetSparky]

I think the OP hits a common question for new brewers. Many of us have people in our lives that we love that like beer with very light flavors. I would love to brew an American lager just to demonstrate that homebrew doesn't have to be strongly flavored. However, three attempts in, I can attest that it is a challenge, particularly without the hardware to lager (yet!). Good luck and I would love a report on the results, particularly the koelsch light American lager comparison.

 

[JPrather]

From my experiences as a beer drinker and being around others, It's likely that your friend just prefers really, really, light beers, and isn't really too picky about the specific flavors. So, all of this discussion about trying to emulate a Coors light, or a lager, specifically, may not be all that important.

With that in mind, simply picking a particularly-light ale that can be brewed easily is probably all you need. My gut instinct says that any decent Kolsch recipe is the way to go.

 

[inthesound]

And on that note, a British mild might be a nice beer to try and win some light beer drinkers over with. They're more characterful than american domestic macro, though I would say altogether different, and they're low enough ABV that you can drink them at length.

 

[KyGooglenerd]

Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde is my favorite light ale.

 

[Cyclman]

I was going to suggest a blonde, so +1 on that.

The other recommendations of a cream ale or lightly hopped Kolsch are good ideas too.

 

[estricklin]

Whatever you decide, go ahead and use the lager yeast at ale temperatures, you'll get a lot closer that way than you will using an ale yeast.

Be prepared to deal with adjuncts and have patients when lautering.

Are you an extract brewer?

 

[Pappers_]

Whatever you decide, go ahead and use the lager yeast at ale temperatures, you'll get a lot closer that way than you will using an ale yeast.

I'm not sure of that advice. I've never fermented a lager yeast at ale temps but I have drunk lagers that were fermented too warm and they were fruity messes. A nice clean ale yeast like Nottingham or WLP001 fermented in the low 60s gives a clean, neutral flavor profile.

 

[broadbill]

I'm not sure of that advice. I've never fermented a lager yeast at ale temps but I have drunk lagers that were fermented too warm and they were fruity messes. A nice clean ale yeast like Nottingham or WLP001 fermented in the low 60s gives a clean, neutral flavor profile.

Came here to say this...if you can't do lager yeast right, don't do them at all. You are better off with clean ale yeasts.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

Your goal should be well made cream ale. It will be close enough to what your friend likes but will show that there is more possibilities in beer than BMC. I have DIE HARD BMC friends who love my basic extract cream ale. Trust me cream ale...

 

[brewguyver]

My 0.02 - if you use corn in the recipe, go easy. Don't do what I did and think "hey, I can add more flaked corn and it'll be more like BMC." If you over do it, your beer will taste like corn. Yuck.

 

[JonM]

Here's another tip: I don't know what you do regarding water, but I recently made a very light cream ale using tap water and it was really disappointing because I think the light flavors of the cream ale highlighted the bad stuff/flavors that came from using tap water and/or bad pH, etc.

If you're making a light cream ale, I'd follow the recommendations in here and use RO water with a little calcium chloride and sauermalz.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/