Coors Banquet Recipe

1. Crush & Heat

Crush the grains (pilsner malt and Carapils) coarsely. If using flaked corn, no crush needed. Heat about 6 gallons of brewing water to achieve a strike temperature that will result in a mash temperature of 150°F (about 162–165°F strike, depending on system and grain temperature).

2. Add crushed grains and flaked corn to the mash tun and stir to avoid clumps. Hold the mash at 150°F for 60 minutes for good fermentable sugar conversion and a moderately dry profile consistent with a light golden lager.

3. After 60 minutes, perform an iodine test to confirm conversion. If converted, raise mash temperature to 168°F for a 10-minute mash out to improve lautering if desired.

4. Recirculate first runnings until clear (vorlauf), then begin collecting wort. Sparge with the reserved ~2 gallons of water heated to ~170°F to rinse remaining sugars from the grain bed until you collect enough pre-boil volume (aim for ~6.5–7.0 gallons of wort pre-boil to account for boil-off and reach 5.0–5.25 gallons in the fermenter).

5. Bring wort to a vigorous boil and start a 60-minute timer. Add 0.5 oz Saaz hops at the start of the 60-minute boil for bittering.

6. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc and the 0.25 oz Saaz hops for late aroma/finish. Maintain a rolling boil to sanitize and concentrate the wort.

7. At flameout, optionally chill the wort quickly to 68–70°F using a wort chiller. If you plan to ferment at true lager temperatures, you can chill to the recommended fermentation pitch temperature for your yeast (see yeast directions).

8. Cool the wort to the yeast's recommended pitch temperature. For ale-like lager yeast (e.g., Saflager W-34/70) you can pitch at 50–55°F (10–13°C). For ale strains used warm-fermentation of lager style, pitch at the yeast vendor's recommended temperature. Aerate the wort well (shake, stir, or oxygenate) and pitch the hydrated/appropriately prepared yeast and 1 tsp yeast nutrient.

9. Ferment at 50–55°F (10–13°C) for about 10–14 days until primary fermentation subsides and final gravity approaches target (around 1.010–1.012 expected for a 4.2% ABV target depending on mash and attenuation).

10. For a cleaner lager profile, perform a diacetyl rest: raise temperature to 62–65°F (17–18°C) for 48 hours near the end of primary fermentation, then cold crash gradually to near 34–40°F (1–4°C) over 2–3 days and hold for 7–14 days to clarify and condition. If you prefer a quick ale-style schedule, you may simply ferment and cold crash, but lagering improves clarity and smoothness.

11. When fermentation is complete and beer has cleared to your liking, prepare priming sugar: dissolve 3.25 oz (measured) corn sugar in 12 oz boiling water, cool, and add to bottling bucket. Rack beer gently on top of the priming solution to avoid oxygen pickup. Add a pinch of salt if using, dissolved in the priming mixture or added to the batch to round the minerality slightly (optional).

12. Bottle and cap. Condition at 65–70°F (18–21°C) for 10–14 days to carbonate, then cold condition (lager) at 34–40°F (1–4°C) for a week to further clarify if possible.

13. Serve chilled in a clean glass. Pour gently to leave sediment in the bottle. Expect a light golden color, crisp malt backbone, subtle corn dryness, low hop bitterness and a clean lager finish roughly matching a 4.0–4.5% ABV golden lager.