Please don't be pissed!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dave1226

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
62
Reaction score
1
I've been brewing of course for a few years. What want to know is, are there any recipes to make something comparable to bud light? The reason I ask is because a good friend of mine always tries my beer and says it taste great and he likes it. Then he opens his fridge and grabs another bud light. I would like to make something as close as possible to BL so that I can ruin him forever. I just don't understand how one could go from tasting a home brew straight back to BL!
 
You just may have to reconcile with the possibility that your buddy may be beyond help.

What you really need is not a BL clone, but rather something that is close, but better. Obviously, he is not all that enamored with flavorful beer, so you will need to work in a gradual fashion.

Start with either a cream ale or, preferably if you have the ability to ferment at lager temps, something like Northern Brewer's Pre-Prohibition Lager.
 
Light lagers are tough to do well. They have very little to cover any off-flavors. Since they are lagers, temperature control is even more critical than with ales. It's important to use the proper water (generally, distilled or RO water with a wee bit of calcium chloride), pitch a huge starter at 48 degrees, and hold fermentation temperature at 50 degrees for about 10-14 days before raising the temperature for a diacetyl rest. After the diacetyl rest, it should be lagered at 34 degrees or so for about 6 weeks.

If you can do all of that, you can easily make an American light lager. Bud uses rice, I believe, for their adjunct while Miller uses corn. I prefer the corn version, but others like the rice. Flaked corn and flaked rice are readily available.

The idea is to hop just enough to counter the sweet malt, say, 8-12 IBUs. Use a noble hop for bittering, for the most neutral bittering and "cleanest" flavor.

You want an OG of 1.040ish.

I'd use 20% flaked rice or flaked corn, with 80% US two-row. You can use more for a lighter drier beer, even up to 40% adjuncts.
 
+1 to BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde Ale. Fabulous stuff!

Mash a few degrees lower than the recipe states to help dry out the beer a bit more and reduce the sugars left to help reduce the calories. Trim the grist bill a bit and lower the OG to lighten it up a bit more.

Kick the hops up a hair to boost the flavor. Budweiser did in building the Bud Light recipe...
 
Another +1 for BierMunchers Centennial Blonde.
When all my sons BL drinking friends ask for "that beer I like" that is what I serve them. Have 11 gallons fermenting now.
 
Great great great info guys. Thank you so much. Gonna try COTC first and then go from there to see which he likes best. Thanks again guys. Really appreciate it!
 
Unfortunately, I am thinking that your friends problem is that he is too cheap to buy good beer..or too lazy to make good beer. I have a friend that will drink Miller Light ALL day LONG! I had him try a Sweet Water 420, Fat Tire, Sam Adams, Dales, Etc Etc Etc. If I'm buying, he LOVES them. Then I go to his house and it is miller light. When WE (He and I) go out for a beer, he will buy a round of a craft beer. I tell him he needs to go and buy some good craft beer and he states that it is just too expensive. I always laugh because he says that, yet he just bought 2 craft beers in a bar for $12...yet he could have had a 12 pack for $14. People like that will never be able to drink good beer! I actually talked him into making his own because it would be cheaper. He bought a starter kit and all... then he just didn't want to spend the time making it!!! LOL. I don't think you can win with these folks. Lastly, for you to make it or for him to buy it, he will probably just go with the buying route of miller or bud, because it is easy and it is probably cheaper to buy that kind of water...err beer!
 
One of my friends regularly drinks Busch Light but was always excited to try any of my new batches. I recently moved away and saw him when he was driving through. He lamented that he is back to drinking a lot of Busch Light since I moved away. He does drink microbrews as well but given the sheer volume of beer that he drinks, he would go broke if he drank only microbrew. Over the nearly two years that I brewed when I lived in the same town as him he never once asked me to make something akin to a Busch Light. He would never drink a Busch Light or "swill" as he called it when there was homebrew to drink. Friends are friends but it sounds like yours needs a swift kick in the nuts.
 
One of my friends regularly drinks Busch Light but was always excited to try any of my new batches. I recently moved away and saw him when he was driving through. He lamented that he is back to drinking a lot of Busch Light since I moved away. He does drink microbrews as well but given the sheer volume of beer that he drinks, he would go broke if he drank only microbrew. Over the nearly two years that I brewed when I lived in the same town as him he never once asked me to make something akin to a Busch Light. He would never drink a Busch Light or "swill" as he called it when there was homebrew to drink. Friends are friends but it sounds like yours needs a swift kick in the nuts.

Does he realize that you generally can drink half the amount of good beer compared to crap light to get the same desired effect? He wouldn't go nearly as broke as he realizes. Unless he drinks for volume only, in which case he needs to grow up a little.
 
Try the Centennial Blonde in the recipe section.

Trust me he will not like it . My cousin is a Bud Light drinker . he says most of the beers taste like rotten fruit in them . flavors from the yeast or hops , who knows . But he did not like the centennial. I think he liked the cream ale and the cream of three crops better .
 
Ever drink a light beer ? Almost no flavor at all . The cheaper stuff is made by using half water and the Bud is made light by yeasts or what ever they are that eat up the sugars that normal yeast do not eat making it less calories and of course as a result removing flavors . then they water it down . With tasteless distilled water no doubt .

what you need is a cream of three crops without all that corn in it . Cut the corn , that cuts most of the flavor in it . That would make a very light drinking beer that would still have more flavor than a bud light . Light drinkers do not like a lot of flavor .
 
There is a lot of great advice here. My first american lager I used 6 row and flaked maize. I used whitelabs southern german lager yeast slurry as a 24 hour yeast starter with an american lager yeast never took off. It is on tap now and is very crisp and tastey! I'm currently fermenting Jamil's recipe for his classic american pilsner except I added quick grits in place of flaked maize and mashed for 90 minutes at 148F. I used the slurry of my previous american lager. I really enjoy making the style. I think you will also. If you follow Yooper's advice I'm sure you can make a great beer that you and your friends will enjoy. I built a 4 tap kegerator and enjoy having one or two lighter styles on tap.
 
I have a brother in law that is a BL drinker, which did not like anything I gave him for years. He surprised me with his favorite alternate beer, Dueschettes Black Butte.They all come around, but don't waste a whole beer on him till he does. Give only sample when he is on the way to your fridge.


Cheers
 
The centennial blonde in the recipe forum is good, however, it is not a crisp lager like Bud Light. Although you can use Nottingham yeast as a lager, but it will not be "as close as possible" to BL like the OP wants. I think Yooper has the greatest advice to get the OP in the right direction.
 
Trust me he will not like it . My cousin is a Bud Light drinker . he says most of the beers taste like rotten fruit in them . flavors from the yeast or hops , who knows . But he did not like the centennial. I think he liked the cream ale and the cream of three crops better .

My brother-in-law is like this. I've had him try every beer imaginable to get him to like something besides Labatts Blue Light. He doesn't like anything. Any hint of hop or malt flavor and he squishes up his face in disgust. The only beer he kinda liked was SN Imperial Pilsner and I can't get that anymore.
 
I no longer pander to these knuckleheads. If they are coming to my place I tell them that I have plenty of home brew and they *might* like it - but if you are looking for BMC you might want to stop at the store :) I usually have some milder beers on hand .. ambers, browns, cream ales, ordinary bitters, but I am not going to bow to their limited taste preference. If my brew schedule is off and I need to buy beer, they know that will not likely be a light American commercial lager.
 
Light lagers are tough to do well. They have very little to cover any off-flavors. Since they are lagers, temperature control is even more critical than with ales. It's important to use the proper water (generally, distilled or RO water with a wee bit of calcium chloride), pitch a huge starter at 48 degrees, and hold fermentation temperature at 50 degrees for about 10-14 days before raising the temperature for a diacetyl rest. After the diacetyl rest, it should be lagered at 34 degrees or so for about 6 weeks.

If you can do all of that, you can easily make an American light lager. Bud uses rice, I believe, for their adjunct while Miller uses corn. I prefer the corn version, but others like the rice. Flaked corn and flaked rice are readily available.

The idea is to hop just enough to counter the sweet malt, say, 8-12 IBUs. Use a noble hop for bittering, for the most neutral bittering and "cleanest" flavor.

You want an OG of 1.040ish.

I'd use 20% flaked rice or flaked corn, with 80% US two-row. You can use more for a lighter drier beer, even up to 40% adjuncts.

READ THIS^^^ then

Buy Jamil's book on Brewing Classic Styles.

I have a mother that ONLY drinks Budweiser. I always have had a clean batch that tastes good, but there was always too much "flavor" for mom (although dad took care of that batch!).

This year was a huge success. I brewed a batch that was blind tasted to be "better than Bud". I based it on Jamil's light American Lager recipe, but lightened it a bit (lower OG). I used flaked rice.

It was actually way easier than it was made out to be - but I am an anal b@stard...

Fermentation temps are critical, as is a huge starter to dry the beer out, just as Yooper said: She's pretty much right all the time, though :rockin:
 
Brewing Classic Styles
Recipe: 01 Lite American Lager TYPE: All Grain
Style: Lite American Lager
---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------------------
SRM: 2.0 SRM SRM RANGE: 2.0-3.0 SRM
IBU: 9.0 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 8.0-12.0 IBUs
OG: 1.038 SG OG RANGE: 1.028-1.040 SG
FG: 1.006 SG FG RANGE: 0.998-1.008 SG
BU:GU: 0.239 Calories: 124.8 kcal/12oz Est ABV: 4.1 %
EE%: 70.00 % Batch: 5.00 Imp gal Boil: 5.83 Imp gal BT: 90 Mins

---WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS----------------


Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 7.8 oz Total Hops: 0.60 oz oz.
---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs 12.6 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.1 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
1 lbs 11.2 oz Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2 20.0 %


Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 9.19 Imp qt of water at 159.8 F 149.0 F 90 min

---SPARGE PROCESS---
>>>>>>>>>>-RECYCLE FIRST RUNNINGS & VERIFY GRAIN/MLT TEMPS: 72.0 F/72.0 F
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD BOIL CHEMICALS BEFORE FWH
Fly sparge with 4.38 Imp gal water at 168.0 F

---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.032 SG Est OG: 1.038 SG
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.60 oz Hallertauer [4.05 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 9.0 IBUs


---FERM PROCESS-----------------------------
Primary Start: 31 Aug 2011 - 7.00 Days at 44.0 F
Secondary Start: 07 Sep 2011 - 7.00 Days at 50.0 F
Style Carb Range: 2.50-2.80 Vols
Bottling Date: 14 Sep 2011 with 2.7 Volumes CO2:
---NOTES------------------------------------
 
Brewing Classic Styles
Recipe: 01 Lite American Lager TYPE: All Grain
Style: Lite American Lager
---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------------------
SRM: 2.0 SRM SRM RANGE: 2.0-3.0 SRM
IBU: 9.0 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 8.0-12.0 IBUs
OG: 1.038 SG OG RANGE: 1.028-1.040 SG
FG: 1.006 SG FG RANGE: 0.998-1.008 SG
BU:GU: 0.239 Calories: 124.8 kcal/12oz Est ABV: 4.1 %
EE%: 70.00 % Batch: 5.00 Imp gal Boil: 5.83 Imp gal BT: 90 Mins

---WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS----------------


Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 7.8 oz Total Hops: 0.60 oz oz.
---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs 12.6 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.1 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
1 lbs 11.2 oz Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2 20.0 %


Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 9.19 Imp qt of water at 159.8 F 149.0 F 90 min

---SPARGE PROCESS---
>>>>>>>>>>-RECYCLE FIRST RUNNINGS & VERIFY GRAIN/MLT TEMPS: 72.0 F/72.0 F
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD BOIL CHEMICALS BEFORE FWH
Fly sparge with 4.38 Imp gal water at 168.0 F

---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.032 SG Est OG: 1.038 SG
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.60 oz Hallertauer [4.05 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 9.0 IBUs


---FERM PROCESS-----------------------------
Primary Start: 31 Aug 2011 - 7.00 Days at 44.0 F
Secondary Start: 07 Sep 2011 - 7.00 Days at 50.0 F
Style Carb Range: 2.50-2.80 Vols
Bottling Date: 14 Sep 2011 with 2.7 Volumes CO2:
---NOTES------------------------------------
 
Frankly, I wouldn't waste time on him. If YOU want to brew a nice light beer, that's different. Chances are you won't be able to make a light lager style beer that will please him. In that case, you better be prepared to finish off whatever you make yourself!

Light lagers are tough to brew and the recipe here that claim to be similar re usually still a bit heavier and more flavorful. Let him buy his BL if he wants to save money or just drink that. There isn't anything wrong with BL if that's what he likes.
 
Back
Top