"becks" Style Europen Lager Help

[tjhart78]

Have just started drinking the standard Cooper's European Lager I bottled about 3 months ago and am very happy with it. Made it according to the standard recipe. Just wondering if anyone could suggest a recipe to make an even better European syle lager closer to Becks or Heiniken?

 

[brettprevans]

well a fairly basic Becks Extract clone is

Becks Extract Clone
3.5kg Light LME
200g Crystal Malt
30g hallertau @ 60mins (bittering)
25g hallertau @ 2mins (aroma)
saflager yeast

so you could use a tin of coopers euro lager and
200g Crystal Malt
20g hallertau @ 15mins (bittering)
10g hallertau @ 10mins (flavour)
25g hallertau @ 2mins (aroma)
saflager yeast

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Have just started drinking the standard Cooper's European Lager I bottled about 3 months ago and am very happy with it. Made it according to the standard recipe. Just wondering if anyone could suggest a recipe to make an even better European syle lager closer to Becks or Heiniken?

Go to the Brewcraft webpage where I think they have their own recipes for a lot of beers using Brewcraft ingredients.

I can't remember the last time I had a Becks or Heinikin, so I can't recall how they tasted. European lagers to me are lightish in malt flavour but have a sharpish hop bite, making them simple session beers.

What did the Coopers European taste like in comparison to a Becks ? Maybe a better yeast and some hop additions (Saaz maybe ?) on a tin of the CEL will get you closer to what you want.

I'm brewing a European Ale using Munich malt, Wyeast Euro Ale yeast and Perle - tastes great in the fermenter but will "lager" for a few months before sending it out to the world. Simple but looking good now .

 

[Hutch]

Have just started drinking the standard Cooper's European Lager I bottled about 3 months ago and am very happy with it. Made it according to the standard recipe. Just wondering if anyone could suggest a recipe to make an even better European syle lager closer to Becks or Heiniken?

I haven't made this particular kit as yet, however there's a few suggestions I can make.
First, get a good lager yeast. You can't go past the Swiss Lager yeast from Craftbrewer (AKA S-189). Alternatively one of the other dry Saflager yeasts would be almost as good. Ferment it between 9-12degrees for optimal results.
Secondly, you should do a short hop-boil with one of the classic Euro hops - Hallertau, Hersbrucker or Czech Saaz (20gm for 10 minutes, + 20gm @ flame-out). This will also add a few IBU's to the kit, bringing it up to around 25, which is similar to the commercial examples.
Thirdly, you could also add some specialty grain such as Melanoidin (which requires a mini-mash), or carapils which only requires a steep. Ideally you should replace the brew-enhancer with a mini-mash of the equivalent amount of German Pilsner malt (say 1.5kg weyermann pils), but only if you're comfortable with mini-mashing. This will give the most authentic Euro-pilsner flavour, and you'll be surprised how good a brew it makes!

Good luck :icon_cheers:
Hutch.

 

[samhighley]

so you could use a tin of coopers euro lager and
200g Crystal Malt
20g hallertau @ 15mins (bittering)
10g hallertau @ 10mins (flavour)
25g hallertau @ 2mins (aroma)
saflager yeast

That's going to end up with a very low OG.

I assume you meant to include some malt extract with this recipe?

Sam

 

[boingk]

A fairly simple recipe that I like which mates swear tastes like Heineken:

1.7kg Lager kit [I prefer Wal's line of concentrates]
500g light dried malt extract
250g dextrose
250g maltodextrin
150g Munich grain
10-15g Tettnanger @ 15min.
10g Tettnanger @ 2min.

Prepared in the usual way, the only thing stepping this up from a regular kit brew would be the grain soaking. Dump the grain in a saucepan and fill with boiling water. Stir for a minute or two, then leave with the lid on for 15-20 minutes while you get everything else ready. Strain the grain out and throw the liquid into the fermenter. Throw grain away, although you may choose to rinse it again if you like.

Hops are just simmered on the stove in a saucepan.

Ferment the lot at cool temps [under 15'C] for the best result. Note that this will take longer than usual fermentation. If you can't get these temps, don't worry as it'll be alright if brewed under 18 or 20'C also.

As an aside, if you can't get the maltodextrin just use 500g malt extract with 500g dextrose.

Cheers - boingk

EDIT: A good start to a Becks style beer would possibly be just the kit, 1kg LDME and exchange the hops for Hallertau. Either that or get a 3kg lager kit and then add the hopping. Easy as!

 

[Hutch]

Prepared in the usual way, the only thing stepping this up from a regular kit brew would be the grain soaking. Dump the grain in a saucepan and fill with boiling water. Stir for a minute or two, then leave with the lid on for 15-20 minutes while you get everything else ready. Strain the grain out and throw the liquid into the fermenter. Throw grain away, although you may choose to rinse it again if you like.

Looks like a nice simple recipe, other than the fact that you don't boil the liquor from the Munich grain!!!
This is not good practice, as the grain contains bacteria, and the resulting liquor needs a good boil to kill these nasties, and to precipitate the proteins out. Also, Munich grain should be mashed at 65-70 degrees for and hour to convert the starch to sugar, and not boiling water - this extracts tannins and kills the enzymes in the malt.

Not meaning to nit-pick - better you know this now, before you start increasing the amount of grain you use, and lead to all sorts of problems in your beer.

 

[sponge]

So a mashing is basically a controlled steep for an hour? And you use those non-steeping grains in replace of malt extract?

Just curious as i now have a thermometer probe which i use for steeping and also the new inductor cooktop we got allows you to keep things at a fairly constant temp so i wouldnt mind trying a mash soon.


Cheers, Sponge

 

[boingk]

Cheers Hutch - I'm just going on the info I got in a handout sheet from the Country Brewer outlet down the road. I haven't had a problem with the method so far, however...but will definitely keep it in mind for later.

I'm only using the Munich grain for flavouring...so I'm guessing it won't be imparting much to the batch I've just done to that recipe [Tettnang Tantalizer in my sig]?

 

[Hutch]

Hey Sponge and boingk,

A mash is basically a controlled steep for at least an hour. The temperature is important, as it determines how the enzymes convert the starch into fermentable or non-fermantable sugars. At the low end (63deg) you will get mainly fermentable sugars, and and up with a crisp, dry beer. At the upper end (70deg) you will get more non-fermentable sugars, and end up with a sweeter, more full-bodied beer.

Certain grains require a mash to convert the starch to sugars. Other grains only require a steep for 15-20 minutes in 70deg water to help disolve the already-present sugars from the grain.
Craftbrewer website lists many different grains, and also indicates which ones require a mash or a steep. Very useful info I reckon.

So you would replace some of the malt extract with appropriate grain, and extract the sugars using either a steep or mini-mash, depending on the grain used. There is nothing wrong with mashing grains that only require a steep, it just takes a little longer.
A simple method to "mini-mash" is to heat your water on the stove to around 73 degrees (a good thermometer helps here), turn off the heat, add your grain and stir it in. The sloppy porridge will have a temperature around 67 deg. Place the pot in an oven pre-heated to 70deg, and leave there for an hour. Very simple!

After this you rinse the liquor from the grain (sparge) with more water around 75degrees, to extract the sweet liquid from your grains.
There is plenty of good info here on mini-mashing if you plan to go down this path. Palmer's book is a great place to start link.
Enjoy the fun of mashing - and making your house smell like a brewery!!!

 

[brettprevans]

just in case your interested, I actually mash my specialty grains if I have the time. its piss easy.

 

[greg_549]

Have just started drinking the standard Cooper's European Lager I bottled about 3 months ago and am very happy with it. Made it according to the standard recipe. Just wondering if anyone could suggest a recipe to make an even better European syle lager closer to Becks or Heiniken?

If you sign up with 'brewcraft' (free) my local brew shop, they send you a catalogue every month or two outlining some clone beer recipes. good stuff, i imagin you could sign up online or just try snooping around the site.