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The Brew Mentor

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I'm making a recipe for Cinco de Maya.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/edit/1128617
I want to base it on a simple mexican lager, but with a bit more flavor.
The plan is 5.5% and 55 IBU's
About 70% pils, 20% corn and 10% vienna.
Simple bittering addition to about 20 IBU and then a lot of late additions of Sabro ( neo mexican hop) including dry hopping at day 2.
Doing it with Cali ale yeast @62°
Light and hoppy water profile.
Want to serve at Big Brew Day or sooner

Thoughts?
 
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I'm making a recipe for Cinco de Maya.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator
I want to base it on a simple mexican lager, but with a bit more flavor.
The plan is 5.5% and 55 IBU's
About 70% pils, 20% corn and 10% vienna.
Simple bittering addition to about 20 IBU and then a lot of late additions of Sabro ( neo mexican hop) including dry hopping at day 2.
Doing it with Cali ale yeast @62°
Light and hoppy water profile.
Want to serve at Big Brew Day or sooner

Thoughts?
Looks like a great beer! I've never used Sabro hops before, and had to look them up. Sounds very interesting for sure. Have you used them before? Be sure to check back in with the final product!
 
I would be inclined to use a bit lower IBU target. 55 might be a bit much for a Mexican lager style, given that you’ll likely be in the 1.050-1.055 OG range. That gives you a BU/GU ratio of 1.0, which may be more bitter. If you dropped the IBU’s to about 35, that would put you in the bitterness range of a German Pilsner. Then you could add flavor through dry hopping.

Of course, this all depends on your personal taste and what you like to drink.
 
I would be inclined to use a bit lower IBU target. 55 might be a bit much for a Mexican lager style, given that you’ll likely be in the 1.050-1.055 OG range. That gives you a BU/GU ratio of 1.0, which may be more bitter. If you dropped the IBU’s to about 35, that would put you in the bitterness range of a German Pilsner. Then you could add flavor through dry hopping.

Of course, this all depends on your personal taste and what you like to drink.

Really the only thing Mexican lager style is the grain bill.
The goal is 55, both in IBU's and ABV as Cinco de Maya is 5/5.
The beer itself is more of a big APA or a more sessionable IPA.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/edit/1128617
 
I may even go with 5 ingredients.
Still debating on the pils or to go with Briess Brewer's malt as it has a real nice sweetness to it.
I haven't done the water yet.
 
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Looks like a great beer! I've never used Sabro hops before, and had to look them up. Sounds very interesting for sure. Have you used them before? Be sure to check back in with the final product!
Never used the Sabro before either, but the descriptors sound great!
I found them when I was looking for Mexican Hops and they sounded interesting. There's also Medusa, Zappa and another one.
My Brewcraft rep is bringing me some Cryo Sabro samples today!
 
I used Sabro in whirlpool and dry hop recently because I couldn't get Amarillo. I wasn't crazy about it at first, but it was really good after a few weeks conditioning in the keg.
 
I like it!
But it's Cinco de Mayo not Maya...need to get that straightened out right off the bat.
Only thing I'd say is maybe more Vienna to push it into a little bigger malt profile with that much IBUs. More like a rich Vienna Lager like some of the heavier Mexican beers are modeled after. I'd even consider getting some Munich in there and boosting the color to get towards a "Texas Bock" (Shiner Bock, et al) malt profile.
 
I like it!
But it's Cinco de Mayo not Maya...need to get that straightened out right off the bat.
Only thing I'd say is maybe more Vienna to push it into a little bigger malt profile with that much IBUs. More like a rich Vienna Lager like some of the heavier Mexican beers are modeled after. I'd even consider getting some Munich in there and boosting the color to get towards a "Texas Bock" (Shiner Bock, et al) malt profile.
Mayo, Maya... Potato, patato, haha sorry!
Interesting, going to a bigger malt profile, hmmm, I'll think about that one.
Thanks for the correction and input.
 
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If you keep the water very soft (R/O) and keep most of the bittering additions to a whirlpool, 55 IBU with a 1.055 gravity is doable and quite pleasant. The beer should emphasis hop flavor over hop bitterness. As JA mentioned, the malt backbone needs to come up to stand up to the bitterness and hop flavor, otherwise the beer is lop sided (may have to drop the corn).

The idea is great, but your going to have to present this to the public, not to mention make money doing it.
 
Interesting, going to a bigger malt profile, hmmm, I'll think about that one.
A number of good Mexican beers push closer to the darker end of the Vienna Lager spectrum or even into the light Amber lager. Keeping the corn is a good idea but body that's too light may seem overly hopped at 55 IBU. There are plenty of "hoppy lagers" these days but they're usually on the lower end of the IBU range.
For your beer I picture something along the lines of a Yuengling/ light amber colored, with a softer, more estery yeast profile but retaining the rich corn/malt base flavor of the best Mexican imports. A good shot of big hop flavor and smooth bitterness to finish on the palette would be quite nice.
 
Cinco de Mayo
I thought it was El Sinko de Mayo: :rolleyes:

Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Veracruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.


This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.


The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.


The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo
.
 
I thought it was El Sinko de Mayo: :rolleyes:

Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Veracruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.


This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.


The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.


The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo
.
Quote of the Day - “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” — Abraham Lincoln
 
I'm not sure if you've made this beer yet, but Sabro is a pretty widely used hop in Australia, and after a few months of it being new, every tried to steer clear of it now.

It's EXTREMELY dominant, especially as a dry hop, so be careful as to how much you're using and with what. From what your grain bill looks like, it is basically a traditional American/NA lager, and Sabro will just bust right through it. You won't taste anything but it.

Talus is the daughter of Sabro, wild fermented, and a lot more depth and usage than Sabro. If you're looking for something region specific, I'd use the daughter Talus, versus Sabro.
 
So I haven't brewed this yet, but the plan is to brew it tomorrow. That can change.

I like the idea of bringing up the malt profile a bit, but definitely want to keep the corn in it.
I will also still use the Cali Ale Yeast as I have it in rotation and It ferments very clean at ~62°
I do have Kolsch yeast in rotation that I could use, but that would be very different than what I was envisioning. That actually might pair well with it as a Fruity, Hoppy Pale ale.
I'm a little concerned with the comment from CW above on how dominant the Sabro is, but I'm still going with it.

So as it is, It will be most like or leaning towards a Brut IPA. Dry, firm bitterness and very hoppy.

If I build up the malt backbone, I'd likely add some Munich and a medium Crystal malt ( C-60 or cara-munich). Then increase the bittering addition and move the hops back to ~ 5,0 and a whirlpool @ 180° or so. I could do this clean with cali yeast or bring out the fruit more with the Kolsch yeast.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/edit/1131041

OK, any thoughts on this now?
 
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Kolsch yeast is quite dry, any FG lower than 1.010 will seem dry. I really like using it. I would maybe use them both? I like to combine yeasts, although I don't do it often.

My friend and I did a collab beer with Verdant and K 97, and we loved it.

Trust your gut. You know what you like best, and I'm sure others will enjoy it as well
 
I brewed this beer on 3/25/21.
I ended up changing the malt profile a bit and using the Kolsch yeast.
I checked it last Saturday and the flavor is spot on, but the nose was a little light for what I was targeting, so I added a second round of dry hopping (Citra/ Sabro mix). Definitely Coconut on the nose, but not as assertive as the descriptors said.
I'll keg this on Saturday and It'll be ready next week.
I'm pleased so far but carbonation will really change and bring out more aromatics.
Cheers,
Brian
 
Kolsch yeast is quite dry, any FG lower than 1.010 will seem dry. I really like using it. I would maybe use them both? I like to combine yeasts, although I don't do it often.

My friend and I did a collab beer with Verdant and K 97, and we loved it.

Trust your gut. You know what you like best, and I'm sure others will enjoy it as well
FG 1.012
 

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