# Tsingtao Clone



## tatmattd (19/6/06)

Does anyone have a recipe or suggestions for an extract 'Tsingtao' clone? I'm making my first step from ales into lagers and wouldn't mind giving this one a go! Thanks


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## devo (19/6/06)

tatmattd said:


> Does anyone have a recipe or suggestions for an extract 'Tsingtao' clone? I'm making my first step from ales into lagers and wouldn't mind giving this one a go! Thanks




no sorry mate but the beer brings back some memories. B) When I first turned legal drinking age my local bottle shop used to stock cheap slabs of the stuff. I think I was paying about 70 cents a can.


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## tatmattd (19/6/06)

I know what you mean. When I was fifteen a cousin gave me a bottle of black douglas and a beer stein to carry into a party. It gives me the shakes just remembering that hangover


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## sinkas (19/6/06)

Judging by the reviews on ratebeer (10%ile), cloning this beer would not neccessarily be a worthwiile endeavour.


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## tatmattd (19/6/06)

A lot of the reviews I've read are by Americans who seem to only have access to a watered down less hoppy version.


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## DJR (19/6/06)

You will need to use rice syrup as you're doing extracts - as far as i can tell tsingtao uses rice as well as barley malt.

Other than that should be a standard pale lager recipe, so use some clean lager kit like cooper's brewmaster lager or morgan's blue mountains lager and use some w34/70 or s23, bit of extra steeped hops for aroma, ferment cold and preferably lager it in the fridge for 3-4 weeks before bottling.

It's always too hard to clone brews, especially using extract. Just get something going in that style and you should be happy. Usually ends up turning out better anyway - because as homebrewers it costs no more to take a bit of care with the process.


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## tangent (19/6/06)

i didn't think this beer had a hop aroma?
maybe try the rice syrup


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## wessmith (19/6/06)

Yep, Tsing Tao uses up to 35% broken rice in a cereal mash. There are at least 5 or so different brews all under the same name. The one we get here is an export only version at 5%. The strongest (and most flavoursome) we have had in China is 4.2% but it is the exception. Order a Tsing Tao in a restaurarnt and you will probably be served a 3.8% version - at room temp........ or a 2.9% Yuck!

We are back in China again later this week and will be seeking out more unusual beers, or if all else fails, a Heinekin which is a VERY consistant brew in China.

Wes


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## Stuster (19/6/06)

Have you tried Tsingtao Dark, wes? :chug:


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## bconnery (19/6/06)

tatmattd said:


> Does anyone have a recipe or suggestions for an extract 'Tsingtao' clone? I'm making my first step from ales into lagers and wouldn't mind giving this one a go! Thanks


This isn't exactly a clone but I brewed one for a mate who likes Tsingtao and other asian lagers so I had a stab. 
It does require a mini-mini mash type deal, unless you were to go the syrup option, as it uses rice. 
I have no doubt that I did not get everything I should from the rice and that there are great holes in my technique used but the end result was a tasty lager which my mate loved so who's complaining?

2kg Light LME.
500g Light DME. 
100g Crystal malt
500g rice
350g Dextrose
50g Saaz.
Saflager s-23 yeast. 
23L batch

Boiled rice for 30 mins. Minimashed/steeped with Crystal for 45. (You should use a mashing grain such as pilsner malt here according to what I read but as you can see I didn't) 
Sparged. 
35g [email protected]
LME and DME @15
15g Saaz @5
10g Saaz & Dextrose @end (Dextrose was only because I felt I was going to be a bit short on OG). 
Racked after 1 week. Botted after 2

OG 1038
FG 1008
I bottled with 190g Dextrose bulk primed.


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## tangent (19/6/06)

err, does that recipe have any enzymes to break the rice starches down?
you need some malt in there instead of crystal to convert the rice


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## tatmattd (19/6/06)

Thanks all for the help! I'll get started this weekend.


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## berazafi (19/6/06)

sorry guys to go a little off topic, but are you saying that if i put plain rice into my mash i will get sugers out of it, is there anything i would need to add or change

Just thinking this could be a nice dry lager to make for the hot summer


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## tatmattd (19/6/06)

I was advised to use stuff called Rice Malt, whatever that is maybe someone else would know more about its use.


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## wessmith (19/6/06)

Hi Stuster, yes but several years ago and cant for the life of me remember the taste profile. Very hard to find in China outside of the breweries hometown I'm told. Would be inline with the standard Chinese "Yellow beer, Dark beer and Wheat beer" offerings. 

Wes




Stuster said:


> Have you tried Tsingtao Dark, wes? :chug:


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## Darren (19/6/06)

berazafi said:


> sorry guys to go a little off topic, but are you saying that if i put plain rice into my mash i will get sugers out of it, is there anything i would need to add or change
> 
> Just thinking this could be a nice dry lager to make for the hot summer




You need to boil the rice first.

cheers

Darren


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## Stuster (19/6/06)

wessmith said:


> Hi Stuster, yes but several years ago and cant for the life of me remember the taste profile. Very hard to find in China outside of the breweries hometown I'm told. Would be inline with the standard Chinese "Yellow beer, Dark beer and Wheat beer" offerings.



It was three or four years ago for me but I remember it as a good, easy drinking dark beer. The ratebeer crowd reckon it's a Schwartzbier and give it a good rating, here. I thought it was fairly easy to find now. Most larger cities have massive malls and hypermarkets like Carrefour where you can get most things these days.


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## wessmith (19/6/06)

Will see what we can find. Certainly plenty of microbreweries but will try the packaged variety. Standout last visit was at the Ramada at Pudong airport - Franziskaner Hefeweissbier! Have yet to see an English ale in China though!

Wes



Stuster said:


> wessmith said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Stuster, yes but several years ago and cant for the life of me remember the taste profile. Very hard to find in China outside of the breweries hometown I'm told. Would be inline with the standard Chinese "Yellow beer, Dark beer and Wheat beer" offerings.
> ...


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## Millet Man (19/6/06)

wessmith said:


> Will see what we can find. Certainly plenty of microbreweries but will try the packaged variety. Standout last visit was at the Ramada at Pudong airport - Franziskaner Hefeweissbier! Have yet to see an English ale in China though!



As I recall Qingdao (Tsingtao) was a German trading post before the English moved in, some nice architecture still around the water front. Local brewing started from a German lager tradition with the addition of rice.

Some beer I had up in Manchuria had so much rice they added yellow food colouring so it wasn't transparent. But when it's only 18 RMB (@ A$3) for 10 long necks - cheaper than buying water and slightly better. :beer: 

Chinggis beer from Mongolia was much better than Tsingtao IMHO.

Cheers, Andrew.


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## Lukes (20/6/06)

berazafi said:


> sorry guys to go a little off topic, but are you saying that if i put plain rice into my mash i will get sugers out of it, is there anything i would need to add or change
> 
> Just thinking this could be a nice dry lager to make for the hot summer




I recently purchased the flaked rice from G&G it goes strait into the mash.
Makes a great asian / mexican / american clone
It's a lot less hassle than boiling rice.

Luke


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## hopmonkey (27/6/06)

not really a recipe but having spent some time in hong kong and having drunk a lot of tsing tao, the clone recipe in 'Clone brews' aint half bad. I recommend it! Do a search on amazon


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## bconnery (27/6/06)

[quote name='tangent' date='Jun 19 2006, 07:00 PM' post='135277']
err, does that recipe have any enzymes to break the rice starches down?
you need some malt in there instead of crystal to convert the rice
[/quote]

[quote
(You should use a mashing grain such as pilsner malt here according to what I read but as you can see I didn't) 
[/quote]

I didn't have any, so I gave it a go with what I had. 
It may not have been anywhere near ideal. Which would probably be one of the reasons for the relatively low OG but it is a tasty beer never the less, and fairly close to the style.


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## Jim - Perth (27/6/06)

I tried this beer at the Tsingtao brewery last year straight from the tap & can't say it was a favourite. Certainly contained a large measure of rice which doesn't enhance it's taste.
I tried it again in Hong Kong earlier this year from a bottle where it was even less palletable.
I think that there may have been a recipe on the old Goliath discussion board - not sure whether this still exists.
I'll try & clip a photo or two of the Tsingtao brewery in Qingdao if I can work the attachment thingy.


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## Jim - Perth (27/6/06)

Here's a photo of the old part of the brewery.


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