Mexican Beer, Eventually

In August 2007, I bought a beer kit for “Mexican Lager” from the closest thing I have to a LHBS. I wanted to see what would happen if I took a can and made it up as is, with no extra grain, hops and scant love and attention.

The kit comprised 1.8kg of extract, sachet of unbranded yeast, and a sachet of beer enzyme. Being only a pseudo lager, it was fermented at ale temperatures. I was skeptical about getting anything lager-like at the end.

The extract that was easily poured from the can tasted sweet. I ran my finger down the inside of the can to see if I’d got out all the extract – I hadn’t – and the extract living on the edge had an unbelievably overpowering taste of soap. John Palmer writes this is due to oxidisation

Beer brewed with extract syrup more than a year old will often have a blunt, stale, even soapy flavor to it. This is caused by the oxidation of the fatty acid compounds in the malt.  How to Brew, Ch. 3.

After cringing, wincing and drinking several pints good beer to tone down the effect to less than traumatic, I continued making up the kit.  I boiled up the extract in 3.5l of water for 15 mins and added some Irish moss for the last 10 mins. (Irish moss, damn, I knew I couldn’t stick to just using the kit and following kit instructions.)

Five mins to flamout, I added 150g DME, and 600g of table sugar, fully aware that this is considered by many to produce a cidery taste. This beer was an experiment, and a chance to see how bad things could be. The beer was then chilled in the kitchen sink filled with cold water, dumped in the fermenter, topped up to 23l with cold water from the tap (no boiling etc.) and the yeast and beer enzyme added. SG 1,033.

I was surprised the colour was very pale, especially for an extract brew (I’d guess 8 EBC) and the mouthfeel really thin.

When the beer was ready to bottle, I added some Klarvit clarifier, shook the bucket vigorously for 20s and let it stand for 48h. As I’d not used clarifing agents before, I wanted to see the effect on the beer, and in particular, to find out if there is enough yeast left afterwards to carbonate the beer after priming.

After 48h, I racked off the beer into my bottling bucket contaning 160g of dextrose, boiled in a little water. After racking there was a large gelatinous solid cake at the bottom. I was impressed! All that from just 5ml of clarifier. FG: 1.004 – beer enzymes.

The bottled beer was slighly cloudly, but this cleared up magnificently after a week. Though the beer was not carbonated enough and required a full two weeks before it was adequately carbonated. So it seems there was considerably less yeast than normal, although still enough to get the job done if you’re not in a hurry.

But was the beer any good? Here’s what I thought:

30/08/07 – bottled 23l with 160g corn sugar. Tastes very weak, like watered down beer. Though no unpleasantness, slight bitterness in aftertaste.

31/08/07 – tried a bottle. Not very clear, and quite fruity notes, and something musky/sulphur. Maybe it was the clarifying agents?

03/09/07 –more carbonated and much clearer, though needs more carbonation. Very thin body, and slightly tart. Tastes more like regular light beer, with less musky flavour than before. Poured a 3 finger head which dissipated in a few minutes. Liquorice? Bitter aftertaste that lingers for at least half an hour.

14/09/07 – Aroma: slightly malty, some sulphur. Appearance: clear, watery, medium golden colour. Generous head lasts a few minutes. Flavour: starts sweet, finishes medium-dry with bitter aftertaste. Mouthfeel: light bodied, crisp, assertive carbonation.

Well, the last entry understates the aftertaste. It was dreadful, and lingered for ages. This beer was dubbed “the dirty mexican” and became the booby prize in various games. I couldn’t give it away.

I tasted the occasional bottle in the weeks and months that followed. The aftertaste was still there, altough began to diminish over time. Then after 4 months, the page turned. Well, it was still just OK beer, but now it was at least drinkable. Only a hint of that aftertaste, which blended in with the unreal artificial lime flavouring that tastes like liquorice and smells like gin. But the beer was really clear. I could watch tv through the bottle.

So, a pseudo lager can be brewed, but at least with the can I used, it takes at least as long as doing it the proper way!

An afterthought: It did taste like lager, with fruitiness lessening over time, so I wonder if the unbranded yeast was a dried lager strain?