Heineken clone

(undiluted base beer)
(5 gallons/19L, all-grain)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.007
IBU = 25 SRM = 5 ABV = 6%

(post-dilution = 6 gallons/23L)
virtual OG = 1.045 FG = 1.006
IBU = 21 SRM = 4 ABV = 5%

This classic Dutch lager available in green bottles across the world is still brewed using the same recipe since first made available in 1873.

Ingredients

8 lbs. (3.6 kg) Pilsner malt
5 oz. (0.14 kg) Weyermann acidulated malt
4 oz. (0.11 kg) Carapils malt
2.4 lbs. (1.1 kg) corn grits
2 tsp. Irish moss
1/4 tsp. yeast nutrients
6.6 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./12 g at 16% alpha acids)
0.13 oz. (3.5 g) Saaz hops (15 min.)
Wyeast 2024 (Danish Lager) or White Labs WLP850 (Copenhagen Lager) yeast (3 qt./~3 L yeast starter at SG 1.030-1.040)
2 tsp. Polyclar (fining agent)
1 gallon (3.8 L) deaerated water (for blending)
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

Heat 12 quarts (11 L) of water to 142 °F (61 °C) in your kettle. Set aside corn grits and one pound (0.45 kg) of Pilsner malt. Stir remaining crushed grains into hot water and mash at 131 °F (55 °C). Make cereal mash by combining 5 quarts (4.7 L) of water with grits and crushed Pilsner malt. While main mash is resting, begin heating cereal mash to 158 °F (70 °C). Hold cereal mash at 158 °F (70 °C) for 5 minutes, then heat to a boil, stirring constantly.

Boil cereal mash for 15 minutes. After main mash has rested 15 minutes, begin heating it to 140 °F (60 °F). Stir this mash as well. (If you don’t have a brewing partner, save yourself some headaches and make the cereal mash immediately before mashing in the main mash.) Hold main mash at 140 °F (60 °C) for 15 minutes. Stir cereal mash into main mash and adjust temperature to 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 45 minutes, then heat to 170 °F (77 °C). Transfer mash to lauter tun (and rinse out your kettle). Recirculate wort for 20 minutes, then begin running off wort.

Heat sparge water to 190 °F (88 °C) and monitor the temperature of the top of the grain bed. When it reaches 170 °F (77 °C), add cool water to sparge water to cool it to 170 °F (77 °C). Collect wort until the specific gravity of the final runnings is below 1.008 or the pH climbs above 5.8. Add enough water so you will yield 5 gallons of wort after a 90 minutes boil — around 6.5–7 gallons (25–26 L) for a reasonable evaporation rate. Add a pinch of calcium (CaCl2 or gypsum) at the beginning of the boil. Add hops at times indicated in recipe and Irish moss and yeast nutrients with 15 minutes left in the boil.

After boil, cool quickly and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitch yeast sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 53 °F (12 °C) until terminal gravity is within 3 gravity points of final gravity. Let temperature rise to 60 °F (16 °C) and let rest until diacetly is gone. Cool to 30–40 °F (-1.1–4.4 °C) and lager for 4–6 weeks. Add 2 tsp Polyclar to beer the night before you keg or bottle it. Dilute 5 gallons (19 L) of base beer to 6 gallons (23 L) of finished beer by blending base beer with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of deaerated water. Package in keg or green bottles.

Partial mash option: Replace all of the malts and corn grits in the all-grain recipe with 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) 2-row Pilsner malt, 13.6 oz. (0.39 kg) Laaglander light dried malt extract, 2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg) Coopers light liquid malt extract, and 1 lb. 7 oz. (0.65 kg) brewers corn syrup. Reduce Magnum hop addition to 5.4 AAU (0.33 oz./9.6 g) and the Saaz hop addition to 0.11 oz. (3.1 g). Put crushed Pilsner malt in a nylon steeping bag. In a 2-gallon (8-L) kitchen pot, heat 3 quarts (~3 L) of water to 169 °F (76 °C), turn off heat and dunk steeping bag. Steep grains for 45 minutes at 158 °F (70 °C). While grains are steeping, heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 180 °F (82 °C) in your brewpot. When steep is over, add 2 quarts (2 L) of hot water from kettle to the “grain tea” in the steeping pot. Remove grain bag and place in colander over brewpot. Pour the diluted “grain tea” through the grains in the steeping bag. Discard grain bag, add dried malt extract and corn syrup to the liquid in the kettle and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, wait until the foam subsides and then add hops and begin timing the 60-minute boil. With 15 minutes left in boil, add Saaz hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrients, then turn off heat and stir in the liquid malt extract. Resume heating once the extract is completely dissolved. After boil, cool wort quickly and transfer to fermenter. Add water in fermenter to make 5 gallons (19 L). Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.