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Recreating Strohs?

I'm just a beer-lover who hasn't tried his hand at home-brewing yet. I have some questions though I hope some of you can shed some light on.

Stroh's was my favorite American beer in the 70s and 80s. They subsequently went under, and sold their brand & operations to Pabst. The taste I had of Stroh's after the Pabst acquisition was nothing like the experience I'd had before.

Do you folks ever try to reverse-engineer commercial beers? Do the brewmeisters of subsumed companies ever give out their recipes? Can they even be reproduced in a home brewery?

The thing I liked about Stroh's was that it was crispy and sweet. The only other similar domestic brew I've had is Leinenkugel, though they are still quite different.

Thanks for any info.

BLink "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

- Richard Feynman

Reply to
Brian Link
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Yes, yes, and yes (all indifferent circumstances). Many companies give out the ingredient list of their beers, but not always the exact recipe. Regarding reverse-engineering, there are homebrew books out with many recipes of all sorts of commercial beers. Some come very close to the target and some do not. Most any can be reproduced at home, however, some of them would be on the "advanced skills" level of homebrewing, rather than something a beginner could do.

You can make a crisp and sweet beer at home. There are specific grains and other ingredients that you can add that will add sweetness. The "crisp" character you mentioned is usually associated with lagers (which Stroh's was), rather than ales. Lagers are more time consuming to make and require extra equipment (coolers/refrigerators/etc), so many homebrewers don't make lagers (although you can get close in some cases without all the gear).

So, yes, it would be possible to reproduce "Stroh's" for the most part. You might even make one that you like better. However, most homebrewers would put lagers like Stroh's on the intermediate or slightly advanced level of homebrewing. Certainly possible to do, but probably not while a beginner (tho' I have seen some determined beginners do it). Ales (milds, stouts, pale, porter, bitter, india ale, etc) are what most people begin with.

Derric

Reply to
Derric

Hi Derric, A friend and I started

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to promote the homebrewing craft and to provide practical information on home brewing. Please, check out the site and let us know what information you would like to see there and any other comments. We will really appreciate it. Cheers, Irwin

Reply to
irwin.garcia

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