Newbie Advice For A Corona/boags Classic Blonde Style Replica

[neo__04]

Hey all,

Resonably new to the brewing scene.

One of my favourite beers would be a your standard corona extra we buy from the pubs or bottleshops.
I'm looking for a way to replicate it as closely as possible. I've only been brewing around 6 weeks so i've only ever done kit beers. I have tried 2 variations of a Brewcraft mexican cerveza and I wouldnt recommend this kit to anyone. Both brews are very bitey, not really to my liking.

Can anyone recommend a decent recipe/kit to try and match the flavour of a corona?
Also can anyone recommend a good kit to the style of a Boag's classic blonde?

Thanks in advance

 

[JestersDarts]

G'Day mate - welcome to the forum :icon_cheers:

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hey all,

Resonably new to the brewing scene.

One of my favourite beers would be a your standard corona extra we buy from the pubs or bottleshops.
I'm looking for a way to replicate it as closely as possible. I've only been brewing around 6 weeks so i've only ever done kit beers. I have tried 2 variations of a Brewcraft mexican cerveza and I wouldnt recommend this kit to anyone. Both brews are very bitey, not really to my liking.

Can anyone recommend a decent recipe/kit to try and match the flavour of a corona?
Also can anyone recommend a good kit to the style of a Boag's classic blonde?

Thanks in advance

Step 1. Unzip fly
Step 2. Pull out manhood.
Step 3. Pee in tally
Step 4. Add soda water
Step 5. Put in fridge until cold.


Te he he.

Seriously - have a look for an extract recipe for a corona clone in the recipe db - there are plenty there and if you find the kit "too bitey", reduce the quantity of hops recommended in the recipe. The only way you are going to get it more to your liking is to customise the recipe yourself.

For a partial extract brew, find a recipe where the main ingredients are:

Light Dry Malt Extract (LDME on the recipe db)
Galaxy or Cascade Hops.


I tend to like Nottingham Dried Yeast - it eats up lots and I generally get thin bodied beers, without much fruity esters whilst brewing at ale temps.

Good luck and welcome to the game.

Goomba

 

[Acasta]

Have you tried coopers cerveza? I made that up with 1kg BE2 when i started and it came up thin bodied like a corona, the taste wasn't spot on but its not bad. My Corona/sol drinking friends liked it. It wasn't amazing but i like ales with alot of hops at the moment.

I wouldn't add to much extra malt, as BE2 has some in it, if you want a thin bodied brew. Also, ale yeast US-05 can help get that lager character, at ale temps.

 

[J Grimmer]

Have you tried coopers cerveza? I made that up with 1kg BE2 when i started and it came up thin bodied like a corona, the taste wasn't spot on but its not bad. My Corona/sol drinking friends liked it. It wasn't amazing but i like ales with alot of hops at the moment.

I wouldn't add to much extra malt, as BE2 has some in it, if you want a thin bodied brew. Also, ale yeast US-05 can help get that lager character, at ale temps.

Ditto, for a lighter flavoured beer it was pretty good.

 

[Wonderwoman]

I too would reccommend trying the coopers cerveza with 1 kg of BE2 or light DME... it's pretty light flavoured and easy to drink.

If you want it to taste like corona though, I wouldn't suggest using galaxy or cascade hops as this will have way too much flavour (sorry i'm not a big fan of corona), I'd maybe go for saaz...not sure if that will really be to style for a corona clone, but it should provide a nice subtle hop aroma.

 

[WarmBeer]

Step 1. Unzip fly
Step 2. Pull out manhood.
Step 3. Pee in tally
Step 4. Add soda water
Step 5. Put in fridge until cold.
...

<sarcasm>

Inspired

Original

Constructive

Needed

</sarcasm>

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

<sarcasm>

Inspired

Original

Constructive

Needed

</sarcasm>

Sorry, I had to do it. I got new-to-forum baited when I got here, I figure I'm allowed to do it once. A chuckle at the expense of your first/near first post is a rite of passage. I saw someone at the start of the week with a far worse description of Boags Blonde.

I'm now cured, though.

@OP - sorry if I caused any offense.

 

[petesbrew]

The Coopers Cerveza & Canadian Blonde kits are worth a shot for what you're after.
I reckon these two kits are good base kits for building on.

 

[Bribie G]

beers like Corona are really hard to do as a kit or extract because they are so clean and mild that there is nothing to hide behind. I would also recommend the Coopers kit plus a kilo of brew enhancer 2 and for the hops, use the same hop that Corona uses, which is Galena

Just boil up 15g in a half litre of water that you have added a couple of dessertspoons of sugar - boil gently about 30 mins and allow to cool (covered) and tip into fermenter. Also +1 for the use of US-05.

 

[ncar0842]

I made a similar brew using 2 x cans of Coopers mexican Cerveza which were on sale at coles. NO additional malt or sugar required. I added a teabag of Saaz finshing hops to balance out the extra malt. Made to 23 L.

Ultimately the final product is very similar colour to Corona ( I even bottled it in clear bottles). It has a little more flavour than the real thing (in my opinion it is better, as I find corona too watery).

All up this only cost me about $14 and it is popular with the unadventurous corona drinkers I know.

I have made other cervezas with BE1 and found them far too watery.

 

[neo__04]

Hey,

Thanks for all the replies. Great to get some much useful information in such a little time.

I actually have a Cooper mexican cerveza kit sitting there, so ill try it next.
When u say brew enchance 2, ive seen a coopers one which u can get anywhere, but brewcraft ones etc are available ab brewing shops. Are they a similar thing? Think it has light malt, dextrose, corn syrup.. That sound right?

And with the hops, If i made the kit as above, would you notice a huge difference with and without the hops?
Not really 100% up with all the different hops and there role in brewing.

Thanks heaps, Great forum.

 

[ncar0842]

Coopers Brew Enhancer 1: 250g maltodextrin + 750g dextrose.
Coopers Brew Enhancer 2: 250g maltodextrin + 250g LDME + 500g dextrose.

Coopers BE2 is usually the go because it contains more malt (LDME), giving your beer more body, whereas BE1 will result in a thinner beer. Most home brew shops have a variety of pre mixed sugars like these to suit different purposes. Best to ask their advice.

With regards to hops, there are lots of different varieties each which impart different characteristics on your beer. If you are just starting out with kits an easy way to tweak/improve your beer is to get a hop "tea bag" ($3-$4), put it in a cup of hot/boiling water for 10 minutes then throw it all into the fermenter before you add your yeast. This can give help give your kit a fresh flavour/aroma. Some kits get a bit stale after several months in a can and need some livening up!

 

[neo__04]

awesome. thx again for the info.

Another beginner related question.

What temperature should i be brewing these kit beers at?

The instructions under the lid of the Coopers Mexican cerveza says the yeast included will work fine from 18 - 32 degrees,
but recommends between 21 - 27. I have done about 6 brews to far and was told by the brew shop to aim for around 24 degrees.
I have 2 x barrels and an immersion heater for each. So i have no probs keeping the right temperate. But what is the recommended temp
that everyone uses?

Also should i throw out the kit yeasts and buy a few of somethin better to keep in the fridge till ready to use?

Thanks again for the help

 

[.DJ.]

best to ferment those yeasts (which are Ale yeasts) at about 18-20.

To improve your beers, buy at Ale yeast at your LHBS called US-05. Will imnporve them out of sight. Again ferment low (17-18) fr a clean flavour

 

[outbreak]

Get yourself a fridge or something to keep your fermenting temp stable. Once I did that my beers started tasting so much better! If you don't keep your temp stable you will get some weird flavors that you obviously don't want in a beer like this.

 

[petesbrew]

If you can find a cool area in your house/garage you should be fine without the fridge.

As DJ said, 18-20 (or low 20's) and Safale US-05 for the yeast. There's other Safale yeasts (english, wheat, belgian, lager) but US-05 (american ale) is suited to the kit's you've got.

edit: and just leave that heater to the side.

 

[earle]

If you can find a cool area in your house/garage you should be fine without the fridge.

This does depend on where you are though. Update your location in your profile Neo and we can give more specific suggestions.

 

[neo__04]

Hey, once again, thx for the replies

Changed my location. Warrnambool, Victoria, on the coast. gets down to 8 or so degrees at night. max at the moment is like 17 during the day. lol and rain

The shed gets pretty cold at night, but the house stays pretty good. I've been brewing inside in the laundry so far.

I've been a bit slack with a non alcoholic ginger beer brew, its been sitting in the barrell for about a week cause i havent had time to do anything with it, but interestingly i just check it and with no heating, its sitting around 17 degrees.

Would that mean inside may be the perfect temperate for those yeasts u mention?

 

[earle]

Sounds like it. While fermenting the yeast will produce some heat so its likely that a fermenting brew will sit at 18-19C which is pretty good as long as its fairly stable - you want to avoid large swings in temp.