Beach Bum Lager

Search for a Corona clone recipe and you’ll find snark.

I’ve searched for Corona clones and found a few, however I’ve mostly found craft beer snobs.  Previous attempts were with an ale yeast and resulted in a cream ale. This is an attempt to use those notes and the notes of others who have tried before and make changes where appropriate.

Grain Bill / Fermentables

  • 6 lbs 2-Row Pale Malt
  • 2.5 lbs Flaked Maize
  • 0.5 lbs Caramel 20

Hops

  • 1 oz Galena (13.8AA)

Yeast

  • WLP 940

Target Stats

  • OG 1.046
  • FG 1.012
  • ABV 4.5%
  • IBU 16.48
  • SRM 3.87

Final Stats

  • 5.5 Gallons
  • OG 1.049
  • FG 1.012
  • ABV 4.86%

Prior to Brew Day

Prepare yeast starter.

Brew Day

Heat 7 gallons of water to 157°.

Gently dough in grains until all grain is covered by water.

Mash grains at 152° for 1 hour.

Remove “grain bag” and allow grains to drain.

Add 0.2 oz Galena hops and continue boil for another 45 minutes.

Add 0.2 oz Galena hops, add yeast nutrient and whilfloc tablet and continue boil for 15 minutes. (This is a good time to drop in the wort chiller.)

Reduce wort temperature to 150° and add 0.6 oz Galena hops and continue dropping wort temperature.

Once wort temperature reaches 68°, take OG reading and continue to reduce wort temperature to 50°.

Sufficiently aerate and transfer to primary fermenters.

Pitch yeast starter into one fermenter and dry yeast into the other.

 

Lager, rest and enjoy!

Notes:

  • April 25, 2018, Brew Day
    • Adjusted mash pH to 5.21 using 5/8 tsp citric acid.
    • The temperature would not drop below 68°, even after pre-chilling the water entering the immersion chiller.
      • Carboy was put into heat sink water bath that was cooled to 40° in the fermentation chamber.
    • Two hours later, pitched yeast into 48° wort.
    • Fermentation chamber is set to 52° with acceptable range of 50° to 53°. (hd 2°, cd 1°) Carboy is in a heat sink to mitigate temperature swings
  • 24 hours, lots of airlock activity and thin krausen has formed. Heat sink temperature has increased from 48° to 52° overnight due to warm external temperature.
  • 30 hours, heat sink temperature is 53.2°, refrigerator is running and krausen is now 1/2″ thick and completely white.
  • 38 hours, heat sink temperature is 50.1°, krausen remains 1/2″ thick and has the normal look of a progressing fermentation.

  • 94 hours, krausen has started dropping out. Started raising fermentation chamber temperature 10° per day until reaching 68° for a diacetyl rest.
  • 5 days, raised temp to 72°, oops, dropping back to 68°.
  • 7 days, started dropping the temp to 33° and the took a FG reading at 1.012. Fined with gelatin at 51.1°.
  • 9 days, transferred to keg to lager.
  • 14 days, bottled two gallons and transferred the keg to the kegerator to force carb.