Brü It Yourself | BRÜ LITE

Author: Andy Carter

As the US craft beer industry expanded in the last two decades, the enthusiasm for bold flavors was matched only by the vitriol expressed at “macro” brewers and their flagship product– American Light Lager. Often characterized by self-proclaimed beer aficionados as insipid, watery, and tastes-like-piss, it seems some lovers of the craft have recently adopted a more mature perspective, recognizing the precision required to make a good American Light Lager and even admiring the result.

How did American Light Lager come about? The definition of “light” has varied over time, but it’s generally used to describe a beer with reduced caloric content. While Coors briefly produced a light lager in the 1940s, it wasn’t until the mid-70s that Miller Brewing introduced Miller Lite along with the “tastes great, less filling” slogan, which ultimately inspired other large commercial breweries to create their own beers targeted at health-conscious consumers. By the 1990s, American Light Lager from the likes of Budweiser, Miller, and Coors accounted for more sells than any other beer in the United States.

Reducing the caloric content of beer is primarily driven by reduced alcohol content, as ethanol has 7 calories per gram whereas non-alcoholic carbohydrates contribute just 4 calories/gram. However, given consumer expectations of alcohol content per serving, reducing the non-alcoholic carbohydrates is critical in the production of American Light Lager, and one way to achieve this is through the use of non-malt-derived enzymes. When paired with a low mash temperature and the use of highly fermentable adjuncts like corn and rice, it’s possible to make a beer that’s kinder on the belly without sacrificing flavor… at least in theory.

| Making BRÜ LITE |

My goal being to create a lower calorie lager in the vein of a Brülosophy favorite, I opted for a base of Pilsner malt with a bit of dextrose and a single CO2 hop extract addition, as Miller Lite lists corn syrup and hop extract as ingredients in their recipe.

BRÜ LITE

After collecting the water for this batch and setting my controller to heat it up, I weighed out and milled the grain.

Once the water was properly heated, I incorporated the grist then set the controller to maintain a relatively low mash temperature of 145°F/63°C, which was intended to encourage maximum dryness.

During the mash rest, I weighed out the minerals and hop extract that would be added to the sweet wort pre-boil.

After the 90 minute mash rest, I removed the basket of grains and fly sparged until my pre-boil volume was reached.

With the sweet wort collected, I set my controller to full power, added the minerals and hop extract as soon as a boil was reached, then proceeded to boil the wort for 60 minutes before chilling it on its way to a sanitized Delta FermTank.

A refractometer reading showed I was right at my target 1.035 OG.

At this point, I placed the filled fermenter in my chamber and left it alone for a few hours to finish chilling. Once it had dropped to my desired fermentation temperature of 50°F/10°C, I pitched a rehydrated pack of Saflager W-34/70 along with White Labs Ultraferm enzyme.

Following 5 days of active fermentation, I raised the temperature in the chamber to 60°F/16°C to promote complete attenuation. The beer was left alone for another 9 days before I began to gradually reduce the temperature by 5°F/3°C every 12 hours until it reached 40°F/4°C. A hydrometer measurement taken a week later showed the beer reached a rather dry 0.997 FG

I let the beer sit one more night before pressure transferring to a CO2 purged keg.

The filled keg was placed in my keezer, burst carbonated, and left to lager for 7 weeks before it was ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

People hold strong opinions when it comes to mass-market American Light Lager—whereas some enjoy the cloyingly sweet apple flavor of Bud Light or the refreshing wateriness of Coors Light, others prefer the delicate nutty malt character of Miller Lite. As a fan of Fine Pilsner myself, that was the loose inspiration for this batch of BRÜ LITE, and I was quite pleased with the outcome. I got a blend of fresh baked bread, crackers, and hay on the nose with no noticeable fermentation or hop character. The flavor was similarly lacking in anything from yeast or hops, presenting rather a slight doughy malt note that was otherwise very clean.

Despite its low FG, I perceived a reasonable body in BRÜ LITE, it wasn’t thin or watery at all, though curiously, it was a bit sweeter than I desired. Curious to know some objective details about this beer, I sent a sample into Oregon Brew Lab for analysis.

BRÜ LITE ANALYSIS RESULTS

After reviewing these results, it occurred to me that perhaps the sweetness I detected was a function of the higher than expected alcohol in the beer. Even at the OG and FG I measured of 1.035 and 0.997, respectively, this beer was right around 5% ABV, and the lab measured ABV of 5.24% puts it a whole 1% higher than Miller Lite. For my next batch of BRÜ LITE, I’ll likely remove a portion of the Pilsner malt and dextrose to reduce the alcohol and calories, while also slightly increasing the amount of hop extract to counter the sweetness I perceived.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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