Suggestions to improve a Mexican Cerveza kit

[PaleAle1]

So, a well intentioned but unkowing friend gives me a single can of Coopers Mexican Cerveza extract beer kit (allready hopped). The picture on the can's label makes me think that it is meant to make something along the lines of a Corona. What I basically want to do is "turn" it into a partial mash recipe/kit.

It calls for a kilogram of brewers sugar wich I will be replacing with probably 2 & 1/4 pounds of light DME ( 1kilo = around 2&1/4 pounds). I will also be replacing the dry yeast packet with some kind of liquid yeast.

My questions to all of you are: What suggestions would you have to improve this kit? What kind of yeast should I use? What, if any, grains could I add to help improve the kit? Should I add more hops and what kind?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[BrewDog]

Welcome-

I'd figure a Corona clone will have a bunch of noble type hops in it, targeting around a 15 IBUs or so bitterness. (Does the can actually list the target?)

To that end, you can pretty much do anything you want with it. Noble hops and pilsner malt can live tastefully with just about anything.

If I was able to do lagers, I'd mini-mash up a bunch of Munich and Vienna malt and turn it into a Vienna (maybe add a small bit of Caramunich to go with it -- not much). Boost the bitterness to around 25 IBUs with about an extra 1/2 oz of 4% Hallertaur for 60 mins and no other additions.
Yeast wise, use a good German lager yeast (WLP833 or WLP830, or even the Mexican Lager yeast from Grupo Modelo WLP940, which would stay authentic with for a Vienna)

If I can't do lagers, I'd go towards either a Blonde Ale (adding all Pale malt and maybe a touch of crystal 10, and building up a bit more American hop presence in all 3 areas (bittering, flavor, and aroma), maybe using some Citrusly American hops like Amarillo and Centennial, or staying with the nobles/noble-type using stuff like Hallertaur, Mt. Hood, Crystal, or Sterling. I'd bitter it up to around 30 IBUs and adding an oz of each at 15 and flame out if I was going American, or about 25 IBUs if I was staying with the Noble type hops, with a half oz only at 5 mins.
Yeast for something like this would probably be good old 1056/001/US-05.
The beauty of this approach is that you can probably share this beer with your friend and wake them up to better beer (yes, a good blonde can be a GREAT beer if you want to make it that way), and they will also have a bit more interest in tasting what you did with their present.

Just make sure that you somehow work into the conversation the way that you doctored the hell out of it, that you are used to mashing, which makes this sort of like giving a Chef a can of Progresso Soup for Christmas. Make sure you do this in a way that doesn't hurt their feelings. That way, you get a vial of yeast or a sack of grain next year, instead of a can of Corona mix.

HTH-

[vance71975]

Welcome-

I'd figure a Corona clone will have a bunch of noble type hops in it, targeting around a 15 IBUs or so bitterness. (Does the can actually list the target?)

To that end, you can pretty much do anything you want with it. Noble hops and pilsner malt can live tastefully with just about anything.

If I was able to do lagers, I'd mini-mash up a bunch of Munich and Vienna malt and turn it into a Vienna (maybe add a small bit of Caramunich to go with it -- not much). Boost the bitterness to around 25 IBUs with about an extra 1/2 oz of 4% Hallertaur for 60 mins and no other additions.
Yeast wise, use a good German lager yeast (WLP833 or WLP830, or even the Mexican Lager yeast from Grupo Modelo WLP940, which would stay authentic with for a Vienna)

If I can't do lagers, I'd go towards either a Blonde Ale (adding all Pale malt and maybe a touch of crystal 10, and building up a bit more American hop presence in all 3 areas (bittering, flavor, and aroma), maybe using some Citrusly American hops like Amarillo and Centennial, or staying with the nobles/noble-type using stuff like Hallertaur, Mt. Hood, Crystal, or Sterling. I'd bitter it up to around 30 IBUs and adding an oz of each at 15 and flame out if I was going American, or about 25 IBUs if I was staying with the Noble type hops, with a half oz only at 5 mins.
Yeast for something like this would probably be good old 1056/001/US-05.
The beauty of this approach is that you can probably share this beer with your friend and wake them up to better beer (yes, a good blonde can be a GREAT beer if you want to make it that way), and they will also have a bit more interest in tasting what you did with their present.

Just make sure that you somehow work into the conversation the way that you doctored the hell out of it, that you are used to mashing, which makes this sort of like giving a Chef a can of Progresso Soup for Christmas. Make sure you do this in a way that doesn't hurt their feelings. That way, you get a vial of yeast or a sack of grain next year, instead of a can of Corona mix.

HTH-

+1 Or you could always use it as half a base for a nice Mexican stout! add your 2 & 1/4 pounds of light DME, and use 8 oz black malt 8 oz roast barley, and 2 lbs Piloncillo sugar(Mexican Brown Sugar) 1 oz fuggle 60 min boil, 1oz fuggle at 15 min boil and 1 oz fuggle at flame out. and you got a nice Mexican/English stout. I would use Nottingham or if your going liquid Wyeast Irish Ale Yeast.

I do differ in opinion from Brewdog On one thing, How to handle the fact that this isn't an "ideal" gift for the stage of brewing your at Or enough for a "full batch".The way i look at it, You should be thankful that you have a friend that knows at least what one of your hobbies is and that said friend cares enough to buy you something that will, if used, save you about 14-20 bucks on a batch of ale or lager.I personally would be thrilled to get anything brewing related at all for Xmas or bday, personally i would just be thrilled to get a gift period, see my "so called Friends and family" choose not to buy me gifts for Xmas or bday. If i am lucky, i get a card and some cash from my parents Or some cheap DVD that i would never watch from my sister,and tho i do treasure the fact that i got the gift,they are normally so far off my tastes that i cant bring my self to watch them,she knows how i was 18 years ago but really doesn't know my tastes now but i give her all the credit in the world she tries!

My woman however knows that i treasure any gifts from her and she knows what i love to do, cook and brew, so i get either cooking stuff or brewing stuff.i got a set of 4 knives for Xmas that couldn't have cost more that 5-10 bucks and i was thrilled!

So if you take anything away from what i have said, let it be this, be lucky you have people that care enough to try, i have TWO in my life that do.I haven't received a gift from my "friends" in 20 years!

[PaleAle1]

I agree with both of you. It floors me to know that a friend thinks of me enough to give me something that I can use in a hobby that she knows I love, even if it is a "can of Progresso soup". To that end I have come up with ingredients that when plugged into BeerSmith. Falls well within a Blonde Ale recipe. I have included Pale malt, crystal 10, Munich, and Carapils malts. It won't be a "Mexican Cerveza", but I can tell her that her gift allowed me the freedom to explore and experiment, which will in the end make me a better brewer.

[shamanjp]

I started out brewing with a Coopers no boil beer making kit and made that Mexican Cerveza with a kilogram of sugar per their instructions for a 6 gallon batch. I may have added some maltodextrin. It was light and crisp, kind of tasty on a hot day, especially for how easy it was to make. I would be interested to hear how it turns out using LDME. Not a bad gift at all!