Big Ideas for Small-Scale Craft Brewing: Don’t Miss a Full-Day of 10 Live Online Seminars at the 2026 NanoCon. Register now and Save 25%!

recipe

Clearwater Brewery’s Clearwater Light clone

Clearwater Brewery has since closed their doors, but their legacy lives on with this light ale recipe.

Clearwater Light clone
Clearwater Brewery, Florida

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.041  FG = 1.010
IBU = 17  SRM = 4  ABV = 4%

Ingredients

0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) two-row pale malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) wheat malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) Carapils® malt
1 lb. 1 oz. (0.48 kg) light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Muntons Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
4.25 AAU Hallertauer hops (60 min.) (1.1 oz./31 g at 4% alpha acid)
1 AAU Saaz hops (10 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g of 4% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast (1 qt./~1 L yeast starter)
7/8 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step

Place crushed malts in a nylon steeping bag and steep in 3.0 qts. (2.8 L) of water at 150 ºF (66 °C) for 30 minutes. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts. (~1.5 L) of water at 170 °F (77 °C). Add water to make 3 gallons (11 L), stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil.

Add Hallertauer hops and boil for 60 minutes total. Add the liquid malt extract and Irish moss with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add Saaz hops with ten minutes left in the boil.

Cool wort in brewpot to around 70 °F (21 °C), transfer to fermenter and add water to yield 5.0 gallons (19 L). Aerate wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C) until complete (7 to 10 days). Transfer to secondary or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. Warm condition for a few weeks at room temperature and store cold.

All-grain option: Omit extract and mash 7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) of pale malt along with specialty malts in 11 qts. (10 L) of water to get a single-infusion mash temperature of 155 °F (68 °C) for 45 min. Sparge with hot water (at least 170 °F/77 °C) and collect 5.0 gallons. of wort. Add 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of water and boil for 90 minutes. Use the hopping and fermentation schedule above.

You might also like…

recipe

Bronze Ale

In the March-April 2007 issue of BYO, I used a beer I called my copper ale as an example in an article on balancing beer recipes. This is a

recipe

Thunder Island Brewing Company: Vitamin K Kölsch

This light yellow German-style ale is no longer brewed by Thunder Island, but you can brew it at home for a fresh, crisp brew for the summer

recipe

Rauchbier

recipe

Saint Arnold Brewing Co.’s Summer Pils clone

Saint Arnold Summer Pils is a Munich-style Helles with a delicate, sweet malt taste complemented by an abundant hop aroma and flavor.

Continue reading – Enter your email to log in or register

New to Brew Your Own? Create a free account to get our weekly newsletter and two free article webpage visits every month.

Yes! I would like to receive new content and updates.