Request: Bud Light Clone Recipe

[nDub]

Drink a case of Bud. Bottle the urine.

Woah there. No giving out trade secrets.

 

[bhardysmith]

Just for the record, B3's light American ale kit is a damn good light beer.

 

[RCCOLA]

Here's one I've brewed several times. Latest was all pils and S-189. Went from1.036-1.005 and is the best batch yet.

1.032-.001, 4.07% ABV
78% Rahr pils
13% Corn starch (Sub Rice here for Bud Light)
6.5% Instant rice (Sub corn here for Miller Lite)
2.5% acid malt
.5 tsp amylase enzyme in primary
W34/70 lager yeast or S-189

The recipe above

All Pils

 

[Gerry_P]

That may be true; I don't know much about the Cry Havoc strain. However, Jamil lists Chris White's source of the WLP840 American Lager strain as Budweiser. The description even matches the character of Budweiser. If I were to set my mind to cloning Bud products, I'd start with WLP840.

Yep, I'm familiar with the Mr. Malty chart, it's a great resource. I'd go with the 840 too, just to play it safe. I read the story about the Cry Havoc strain in one of Papazian's books. It would be kinda funny if White Labs was selling the same strain with 2 different names. Using the 2 strains in separate batches of the same recipe would be an interesting experiment for someone besides myself to try.

 

[tamac38]

I have been working on the same thing. People find out I brew and ask me if I can brew a bud lite. I've come close but with more flavor. Will get it together and send you the recipe I have developed.

 

[Pershey]

Just so you know you can't liqour back with regular water it must be de-airated liquor I would suggest just making it lower gravity to prevent a 2-trans-nonenol taste like paper. Also, for a "light" beer use amyloglucosidase enzyme it's the only thing that will allow a yeast to attenuate down far enough. About .998 so take that into consideration.

 

[lilleypad1]

Why would anyone want to make a Bud Light clone?

 

[Gavin C]

Why would anyone want to post to a thread on a topic in which they have no interest.

One of life's little imponderables I suppose.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Yep, I'm familiar with the Mr. Malty chart, it's a great resource. I'd go with the 840 too, just to play it safe. I read the story about the Cry Havoc strain in one of Papazian's books. It would be kinda funny if White Labs was selling the same strain with 2 different names. Using the 2 strains in separate batches of the same recipe would be an interesting experiment for someone besides myself to try.

Indeed. I'm not opposed to such an experiment. I like light lagers as well as the usual gamut of ales and maltier lagers.

 

[NinjaBear]

Not sure where "here" is for you, but I am in Utah and the beer (sold in grocery stores and on tap) is 3.2%ABW, which equals 4%ABV.

It's 3.2% ABV not ABW.

I think it's a local law, since decades ago, before I was old enough to drink, they used to have to label anything higher as "strong" stamped on the can top.

Note: If you really want to mimic Bud Light you'd have to actually ferment a higher ABV wort (probably around 1.080) and then dilute with 50-60% water at packaging time.

Kal

I've heard that they do this as well. Which is why I'm thinking of making a very weak wort and using Surly's method of raising ABV without adding malt flavor with corn sugar.

 

[kal]

Why would anyone want to make a Bud Light clone?

Challenge. It's difficult to get a very light tasting lager right.

Kal

 

[NinjaBear]

Not sure where "here" is for you, but I am in Utah and the beer (sold in grocery stores and on tap) is 3.2%ABW, which equals 4%ABV.

It's 3.2% ABV not ABW.

I think it's a local law, since decades ago, before I was old enough to drink, they used to have to label anything higher as "strong" stamped on the can top.

Note: If you really want to mimic Bud Light you'd have to actually ferment a higher ABV wort (probably around 1.080) and then dilute with 50-60% water at packaging time.

Kal

I've heard that they do this as well. Which is why I'm thinking of making a very weak wort and using Surly's method of raising ABV without adding malt flavor with corn sugar.

 

[mike_57401]

3.2 ABW is the normal definition of "three-two beer". Look it up.

In addition to WLP 840, Wyeast 2007 is commonly accepted to be the AB strain.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Challenge. It's difficult to get a very light tasting lager right.

Kal

and also keep it that way, found that out the hard way, perfect beer until it sat on co2 too long, the best thing to do is when its perfect, bottle that bad boy and save it

 

[dkennedy]

Here's one I've brewed several times. Latest was all pils and S-189. Went from1.036-1.005 and is the best batch yet.

Love the simplicity, and the Tyranena glassware!

 

[penginpunk]

I have it straight from the mouth of a certain brewer who used to work for Budweiser and left to brew for a certain Escondido brewery that the mash is 60% barley (probably 6 row) and 40% rice with a 3 hour long mash to really let the enzymes go to town and lower the body.
IBU target is around 10ish.

Have fun.

 

[RCCOLA]

Love the simplicity, and the Tyranena glassware!

Thanks. It also had acid malt for pH adjustment to 5.3 mash pH, RO water w/ 50ppm Ca from CaCl2. Not as difficult to get this beer to taste good as people say. An experienced brewer should be doing the things that'll get you there. Mash pH, proper ferm temps, sanitization, etc.

 

[GrogNerd]

pilsner has way too much flavor for a BL clone

 

[Curtis2010]

You will be trying to make the hardest style beer to replicate at the homebrew level IMO..... Recipe has to be perfect, mash perfect, water chemistry perfect, Cleanest yeast, perfect temp control, and a way to filter out all yeast. If you can get those you may only get close...

Very true. When I think of the brewmasters for BMC, I think those guys really earn their paycheck. Because, unlike a craft brewer, they must brew EXACTLY the same beer every time. Even a slight variation would cause a huge uproar in their customer base.

So, despite the flak the OP is taking, this is a big homebrewing challenge. Esp without all the tech the BMC brewmasters have. Being consistently successful at it would be a very impressive accomplishment.

 

[GrogNerd]

not so exact. there is some variance from batch to batch

wish I could find it again, but I saw a documentary on Budweiser's entire brewing process where, near the end, Official Taster Dude (yes, that's his title ) sampled from like 17 different batches and would instruct the brewers on how much of each of those batches to blend to get the final product

 

[schematix]

Any batches of the "premium" products that are out of spec end up being blended and packaged as busch/busch light/natty light. Drinking those beers is playing a roulette of sorts. They can all be cross packaged and cross blended based on what's available. There is a recipe for each, but since the target market for those products only cares about the alcohol in the can, they put whatever is available in the finished beer tanks in it.

 

[Gameface]

It's 3.2% ABV not ABW.

I think it's a local law, since decades ago, before I was old enough to drink, they used to have to label anything higher as "strong" stamped on the can top.

You should look a little closer. There are several states with a "3.2" beer law and in all of them they are measuring using the ABW scale. The major breweries already have to modify their beer to the 3.2%ABW standard for certain markets, I highly doubt they are also making a 3.2%ABV beer just for one state.

In fact, I recently read that Oklahoma might abandon the 4%abv requirement, and if they did that the major beer makers would most likely stop making that product all together.

 

[GrogNerd]

I think Utah state law has a limit on ABV, and their bud is in the 3% range... I want to say I saw it on Drinking Made Easy or another show.

Nope. Also by weight

http://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html

You should look a little closer. There are several states with a "3.2" beer law and in all of them they are measuring using the ABW scale. The major breweries already have to modify their beer to the 3.2%ABW standard for certain markets, I highly doubt they are also making a 3.2%ABV beer just for one state.

In fact, I recently read that Oklahoma might abandon the 4%abv requirement, and if they did that the major beer makers would most likely stop making that product all together.

this has come up before in this thread. it is 3.2% ABW

 

[kitemanks]

My 2 cents, and its not hard to make something close.... 2 row, Corn not rice, and pilsener yeast. The corn, and yeast are really big. The starter has to really be big and active too. If you under pitch the off flavor will make it taste like home brew.... proper airation, and yeast nutrients of course, along with low 50s fermentation temps. Another big factor is to rinse your filter pads with star san to get the oils out and they purge the star san yes purge it also with just water out of the filter pad. Then filter. Dont worry about water from the filter watering down the beer...... because its well watered down beer. If you do get some off flavors they are there to stay the best thing to do is put it in indirect sunlight and skunk it so it tastes like Corona or Landshark.

 

[douglasbarbin]

the off flavor will make it taste like home brew

ipe:

 

[tootal]

this has come up before in this thread. it is 3.2% ABW

At AB we used to have a dock that was for 3.2 only. It went to Kansas and the Military. It was marked 3.2 so that the do gooder's thought they were keeping folks from getting drunk but as mentioned it was ABW. Just marketing. So the 3.2 was actually 4% ABV and a Bud Light today is just 4.2%. So there's not much difference between the two.

 

[Newsman]

Here's one I've brewed several times. Latest was all pils and S-189. Went from1.036-1.005 and is the best batch yet.

1.032-.001, 4.07% ABV
78% Rahr pils
13% Corn starch (Sub Rice here for Bud Light)
6.5% Instant rice (Sub corn here for Miller Lite)
2.5% acid malt
.5 tsp amylase enzyme in primary
W34/70 lager yeast or S-189

The recipe above

All Pils

Holy crap! That's CLEAR!!!

 

[casualbrewer]

Here is a pic of a light lager that i just recently kegged a little less than 2 weeks ago. I put a bud light behind it so you can get an idea of how it looks. I have been trying for a while now to make a light lager with many failures. This I consider a success! Tastes actually like a michelob ultra lol. It is much harder to make a flavorless beer than a flavorful one IMO. Recipe is below:

4.5 pounds 2 row
1.5 pounds 6 row
2 pounds flaked rice
Used WLP840 even though it burned me before.... This time I had perfect temp control

Distilled water with 1/2 tsp calcium chloride added
Mash adjusted to 5.15 ph using an acid blend
Long slow progressive mash. Mashed in at 120 degrees and slowly ramped it up to my target mash temp of 148 degrees. Let it sit there for 45 minutes or so and then slowly ramped it up to 160 degrees. This is all BIAB, full volume, no sparge. 84% brewhouse on this one if I remember. Fined with Gelatin and put it on tap. Still has a couple weeks until it hits perfection but right now it is a very dry, crisp, flavorless lager.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

LOL ... "it's my best flavorless beer yet?" too funny

 

[mike_g08]

Casualbrewer - what was your hop schedule?

 

[Curtis2010]

not so exact. there is some variance from batch to batch

wish I could find it again, but I saw a documentary on Budweiser's entire brewing process where, near the end, Official Taster Dude (yes, that's his title ) sampled from like 17 different batches and would instruct the brewers on how much of each of those batches to blend to get the final product

Yes, but in the end they blend to get exactly the same end product (many rum distilleries do the same). The need to do a final blend also illustrates how hard this is to do. The brewers for BMC are educated, experienced pros, using the ultimate in brewing tech...and even they need the OTD and blending to get it right!

We've all known guys like the OPs (future?) FIL. Many of them could fill in for the OTD. They will only drink exactly their favorite beer and spit out anything else (I used to keep BMC swill in stock for some friends like that).

So, I think the OP is likely setting himself up to fail...even if he succeeds...think about it: if this guy becomes his FIL and he succeeds then he has to brew this crap forever. If he fails (very likely) and marries her then he has to take **** from his FIL forever. If he succeeds and does not marry her, then she might have to put with crap for letting him go (sweet revenge?). If he fails and does not marry her, then hes the bonehead brewer that was banging the dads daughter.

The OP is taking a risk here, for the sake of brewing, we should be proud of him. :thumbup:

 

[RCCOLA]

I'm gonna give my $.02 on the idea of an exact BL clone. Those are my beers in post #123 and I brew mostly lagers. May have brewed 1 ale in the last 4 years. That very pale top beer was rice and corn adjunct. The bottom is all pils. The all pils beer (bottom one) tastes similar to Coors Banquet. I prefer it to the adjunct version.

The adjunct beer tastes similar to many light beers. I brewed it for my dad who is a ML drinker. I had my neighbor try it before my dad came to visit. He slams BL one after another every night and on weekends.

We poured mine and a can of BL into glasses and tried them side by side. His words: "Yours tastes good. Mine(the BL) doesn't smell too good. Sips--doesn't taste too good either" Prolly the first time he had his nose in a glass of his own beer. BL smells and tastes like DMS/cabbage to me and he noticed it w/o prompting from me.

Dad came up and drank some of the light beer then tried my house lager which is a dead ringer for Modelo Especial. A full bodied gold lager. He fell in love with it and drank it exclusively from then on.

I say, brew what you like to drink and stock BL in the fridge. Don't try to please those who are stuck in the "Coke vs Pepsi" mindset. All you'll do is be upset when the FIL turns his nose up at your hard efforts. I also think you'd have to purposefully cause DMS to form during the brewday and that would be ridiculous.

I tell people who ask about my beer "This beer is similar to...." If they don't like the beer that I mention then I just tell them that they probably wouldn't like what I have.

 

[casualbrewer]

Casualbrewer - what was your hop schedule?

Just one noble hop addition to get about 12 in. The beer really doesn't showcase one particular flavor.

 

[casualbrewer]

I'm gonna give my $.02 on the idea of an exact BL clone. Those are my beers in post #123 and I brew mostly lagers. May have brewed 1 ale in the last 4 years. That very pale top beer was rice and corn adjunct. The bottom is all pils. The all pils beer (bottom one) tastes similar to Coors Banquet. I prefer it to the adjunct version.

The adjunct beer tastes similar to many light beers. I brewed it for my dad who is a ML drinker. I had my neighbor try it before my dad came to visit. He slams BL one after another every night and on weekends.

We poured mine and a can of BL into glasses and tried them side by side. His words: "Yours tastes good. Mine(the BL) doesn't smell too good. Sips--doesn't taste too good either" Prolly the first time he had his nose in a glass of his own beer. BL smells and tastes like DMS/cabbage to me and he noticed it w/o prompting from me.

Dad came up and drank some of the light beer then tried my house lager which is a dead ringer for Modelo Especial. A full bodied gold lager. He fell in love with it and drank it exclusively from then on.

I say, brew what you like to drink and stock BL in the fridge. Don't try to please those who are stuck in the "Coke vs Pepsi" mindset. All you'll do is be upset when the FIL turns his nose up at your hard efforts. I also think you'd have to purposefully cause DMS to form during the brewday and that would be ridiculous.

I tell people who ask about my beer "This beer is similar to...." If they don't like the beer that I mention then I just tell them that they probably wouldn't like what I have.

What is your recipe for especial? It may be my favorite adjunct lager. I just tried to clone it using 2 row, a little Vienna, and flaked corn. Fermented using wlp940. It is pretty good even though I haven't lagered it yet. Actually just had Mexican last night.... I really think model is just 2 row, corn, and a small amount of crystal malt for the color.

 

[NinjaBear]

You should look a little closer. There are several states with a "3.2" beer law and in all of them they are measuring using the ABW scale. The major breweries already have to modify their beer to the 3.2%ABW standard for certain markets, I highly doubt they are also making a 3.2%ABV beer just for one state.

Well, they all say "by volume" so…

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1466251150.542542.jpg

 

[lawless317]

I'm curious as to if he liked it or not
I understand all the why clone bud light statements because I hate it
I'm very picky with my beer
But I also understand that people like what they like
My father was a Schaefer guy until they left Brooklyn and he has been drinking Bud ever since
He's a Vietnam vet and has been drinking for longer than I have been alive so although I disagree with his taste I feel I have no right to ridicule him. Etc
If I could clone bud for him I would do it in a heartbeat

 

[GrogNerd]

what is that a picture of?

Utah
http://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html

Under Utah law "alcoholic beverages" include all hard liquor, spirits, wine and beer. Beer and other malt beverage products that exceed 3.2% alcohol by weight or 4.0% by volume are considered "liquor", and beer with an alcohol content of 3.2% or less is defined as "beer".

Colorado
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Beer Code.pdf

12-46-103. Definitions. Definitions applicable to this article also appear in article 47 of this title. As used
in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Fermented malt beverage" means any beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or
decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any similar product or any combination thereof in water containing not less
than one-half of one percent alcohol by volume and not more than three and two-tenths percent alcohol by
weight or four percent alcohol by volume; except that "fermented malt beverage" shall not include
confectionery containing alcohol within the limits prescribed by section 25-5-410 (1) (i) (II), C.R.S.

I would post the others (Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma) but it's too friggin early on a Saturday morning to be doing research for an internet argument

 

[BobOki]

It is still lagering, but I tried a test pour. It had a little sour or c02 flavour, so it might need more time or less c02, it is lagering at 10psi. Well the aftertaste was spot on, so we will see in another week or so.

View attachment 1466261770074.jpg

 

[Saboral]

Where's the beechwood?

 

[RCCOLA]

What is your recipe for especial? It may be my favorite adjunct lager. I just tried to clone it using 2 row, a little Vienna, and flaked corn. Fermented using wlp940. It is pretty good even though I haven't lagered it yet. Actually just had Mexican last night.... I really think model is just 2 row, corn, and a small amount of crystal malt for the color.

My recipe was not intended to be a clone, it just ended up tasting like Especial. Someone in this thread played around with my recipe but mine is extremely close. I tasted mine next to Modelo and they were nearly indistinguishable.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=292266