Name: Montana’s BBQ & Bars Budweiser Recipe
Cook time: 24 h
Total time: 24 h
Yield: 48 servings
Ingredients: 5.25 lbs Pilsner malt (or pale lager malt); 2.25 lbs Flaked rice (or rice syrup solids); 0.5 lbs Corn (adjunct) - cracked or flaked; 0.5 oz Saaz hops (bittering); 0.25 oz Saaz hops (flavor/aroma); 1 tsp Liquid or powdered brewer's yeast nutrient; 1 tsp Irish moss or whirlfloc; 1 pkg American lager yeast (clean-fermenting strain); 5 gal Water (brewing); 3.5 oz Priming sugar (corn sugar/dextrose) for bottling; 1 tsp Gypsum (calcium sulfate) or brewing salts; 1 each Campden tablet (optional, to remove chlorine)

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Thoroughly sanitize all brewing equipment (kettle, fermenter, airlock, siphon, bottles) with a no-rinse sanitizer. Cleanliness is critical to produce a clean, lager-style beer.

Sanitation

Heat 3.5 gallons of your brewing water to about 165°F (74°C). If using chlorinated tap water, add the Campden tablet 24 hours before brewing or add it to water and let sit for 15 minutes to dissipate chlorine. Add gypsum and stir to help emulate a neutral/soft mineral profile typical of Budweiser.

Water treatment

Combine crushed pilsner malt, flaked rice and cracked/flaked corn in a mash tun. Add the 165°F water to reach a mash temperature of about 152°F (67°C). Hold the mash at 150–154°F (66–68°C) for 60 minutes to convert starches to fermentable sugars. Stir occasionally and check temperature, adjusting with gentle heat or insulation as needed.

Mash

Raise the mash temperature to 168–170°F (76–77°C) for 10 minutes (mash out) to stop enzymatic activity. Sparge with 170°F (77°C) water to collect approximately 5 gallons of wort in the boil kettle.

Mash out and sparge

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil. Add the bittering Saaz hops (0.5 oz) at the beginning of a 60-minute boil. With 10 minutes remaining, add Irish moss/whirlfloc and the flavor/aroma Saaz hops (0.25 oz). Also add yeast nutrient with 10 minutes left. Maintain a moderate vigorous boil to promote a clean finish and help with protein coagulation.

Boil and hop additions

At the end of the 60-minute boil, rapidly chill the wort to 50–55°F (10–13°C) for a lager fermentation. Use a wort chiller (immersion or counterflow) or an ice bath if necessary. Aim to cool as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of off-flavors.

Cool wort

Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter. Aerate/oxygenate the wort well (shake, splash, or use pure oxygen) to support healthy yeast growth. Rehydrate or prepare the American lager yeast per package directions and pitch when wort is around 50–55°F (10–13°C). Ferment at 50–55°F (10–13°C) until active fermentation subsides (typically 7–10 days).

Pitch yeast and primary fermentation

After primary fermentation slows, raise the temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 48 hours to allow the yeast to reabsorb diacetyl. Then chill the beer to near-freezing (35–40°F / 2–4°C) and lager for 4–8 weeks to mature, clarify, and develop a clean lager profile.

Diacetyl rest and lagering

Prepare priming sugar by dissolving 3.5 oz (100 g) of corn sugar in 1 cup boiled water; cool and add to sanitized bottling bucket. Rack beer from fermenter to bottling bucket, mixing gently with priming solution to evenly carbonate. Bottle into sanitized bottles and cap. Condition at room temperature for 2 weeks, then chill and enjoy. Alternatively, keg and force carbonate.

Packaging

Serve very cold in a clean glass. This recipe is an approximation to achieve a clean, light-bodied American-style lager similar to Budweiser. For commercial-level clarity and lightness, advanced processing (filtration, lager yeast strains, specific adjunct dosing, and large-scale oxygen management) is required.

Budweiser

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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