Light Beer ... what's your recipe

[Ramps]

Or Lite as they see to call it nowadays

OK It's Darwin days since I made light beer ... after I left and wasn't drinking the stuff like water I found it wasn't worth all the effort when you buy the stuff for $12-14 a slab (sorry I was in Vic at the time) but now well ...

I'd really like a light beer that actually has some taste when I have to drive.

I do realise that alcohol=flavour enhancer but I'm sure I can do better than the commercial varieties.

Any recommendations?

[Glenn_M]

Hi Ramps.
Problem I always had with light beer is that you either start with a low gravity wort and end up with a 'thin' beer that lacks mouthfeel (and often flavour). Alternatively you can start with the normal gravity beer and terminate fermentation early but generally end up with a sweet beer. Neither were satisfactory to me.

I found two methods that were acceptable to me. One was mashing with quite an elaborate temp profile to produce many non-fermentable sugars. This was hit-and-miss and depended much on the malt used and my attention to the mashing! Result was lower fermentable sugars thus lower alcohol yet good mouthfeel. However I abandoned this technique and too variable and time consuming.

Second method was beer blending. This was great. Would basically make two beers one very light (about 2.5%) and blend this with a second 'normal' beer made with a fair amount of medium crystal malt. Result would be about 4% ale. OK for Ales but never cracked a light lager.

Prost.

Glenn

[bpj1968]

To overcome the thin or watery mouthfeel, when i use kit beers I add about 200 grams dry corn syrup. Doens't ferment much and leaves a better feeling beer. Leaves a better head as well. I have never tried to make a lite beer, don't see the point.

[Ramps]

Thanks Glen & Brian :2tsup:

sounds like it isn't an easy one to get around.

The blending idea sounded OK to me til I realised that it was still 4%

I'm temped to find the most flavoursome kit I can find throw a bit of corn syrup into it and see how it comes out ... how does that sound?

[Iain]

I recall reading that the commercial breweries used a heatbulb in a standard brew to evaporate off the alcohol, unfortunately it still tasted like crap.
The other side effect is that it became a volatile diuretic, as I can attest to after consuming a small amount and having a large stretch of busy freeway to travel on in broad daylight.
Sorry I can't help but you can always dilute with lemonade:-

[Glenn_M]

I recall reading that the commercial breweries used a heatbulb in a standard brew to evaporate off the alcohol, unfortunately it still tasted like crap.


Don't know what practice is now but I seem to recall CUB using a vacuum distillation process to remove alcohol from its brew to produce Light Ice. The Sub Zero range of drinks was created to use the alcohol extracted.

They used vacuum distillation as no heat was required which would damage the flavour of the Light Ice. Hard to image damage to that flavour!.

Glenn

[Iain]

Further to my comments, I recall that it was Swan special light, that aenemic .8% alcohol "beer".
Had a peculiar taste, bit like fizzy water, but then maybe it was a homeopathic method with a ratio of 1:1,000,000,000.
AS for Light Ice, Itried it once at a function and thought someone was playing a cruel joke, or trying to poison me.

[Ramps]

I was going bottle my porter this w/e but I don't think it wants to be ... it's still throwing the occasional bubble at me ... I'll see tomorrow.

What I'm getting around to is that I was going to put a light down to ferment ... it might have to wait

I'll keep you all posted

[bpj1968]

Most kit beers still requrie some additional fermentables (sugar malt etc)

With your porter check your Sg over a cuople of days, its the most reliable way. Someties it can still bubble becasue of temperature changes. i.e. the air at the top expands with an increase in temp

[Ramps]

Hi 39YO Brian
thanks for that
I used to do lights in Darwin with just the kit, brewed all right but I can't remember if they tasted any good. As far as the bubbling it has now stopped ... about a day late for a w/e bottling. Might do it tonight. I think I pitched the yeast when it was a bit too warm and it took a bit to get started even though I had rehydrated the yeast.