Expert: Keith Patton - 10/25/2007

Question
 me and my boyfriend just started to home brew what do you think is the easyest beer to make that has a close taste to bud or busch thanks

Answer
Connie:

First, you probably know the difference between a Aager and an Ale.  An ale is definetely easier to make than a Lager.  Busch and Bud are the american interpretation of the german pilsner.  We have taken it a step farther and removed more of the nutritious stuff like protein from the beer to make it lighter in body.  We also drink it about 20-30 degrees colder than the germans do, letting the brewer reduce the amount of hops (the bittering agent) which is the most expensive ingredient.  Hops taste more bitter at lower temperatures.  So if you make a german beer and it tastes too bitter, let it warm up a bit.

Back to your question.  Since Bud and Busch are lagers they need to be brewed with lager yeast and fermented around 40 degrees.  This means you have to have a dedicated refigerator for your fermenter.  Then they need to be stored for up to 2-4 weeks at ner freezing.  This is to clean up the flavor profile to remove compounds that would give it something other thatn the clean lager taste profile.  This is not easy to do.  Bottom line is look at the costs.  It is hard to brew beer at home for the price of a can of Bud or Busch.  It is harder still to reach the clean flavor profile of the thin watery american brews.  On the other hand it is easy to brew Ales. They will be a little more fruity than you like but you can go to the brew supply store and look for the cleanest fermenting ale yeast, then use a light bodied pale ale recipe.  This should give you something near what you are looking for.  In the pale ale recipe, substitute a bit of flaked rice or corn (ask your brew supply guy for suggestions) for some of your extract or grain in your recipe.  This will lighten up the beer nearer to what you want.
Back to pricing.  Making ales is easy because you don't need the extra fridge, and the prices for a 6 pack are nearly a dollar a bottle.  I make belgian ales because they rung  $7-9 a bottle retail  $15 in a bar, I can make them for $1. Quite a difference, and mine are just as good as the originals.  Do a search for the type of beer you want on google and add clone to the phrase  for example  "busch beer clone recipe"  see what yo might get.

Hope this helps
Keith