All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
Mahou Cinco Estrellas Clone Recipe
BJCP 2A · International Pale Lager
A golden lager with a bit more body and bitterness than a light blond, brewed with pilsner malt, a little Munich and corn: the homebrew recipe to get close to Mahou Cinco Estrellas.
Mahou Cinco Estrellas Clone recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.051
- Final gravity
- 1.009
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Bitterness
- 25 IBU
- Color
- 4 SRM (8 EBC)
- Mash
- 65 °C (149 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 11 °C (52 °F) for 14 days and 4 weeks at 2-4 °C (36-39 °F)
- Bottling
- 5.2 g of sugar per liter (0.7 oz/gal)
About 155 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
Mahou Cinco Estrellas Clone recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner malt4 EBC (2 °L) | 3.58 kg (7.89 lb) | 78.2% |
| Flaked corn1 EBC (1 °L) | 0.70 kg (1.54 lb) | 15.3% |
| Munich malt15 EBC (6 °L) | 0.30 kg (0.66 lb) | 6.6% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Magnum13.0% alpha acids | 10 g (0.35 oz) | 60 minBittering |
| Perle7.0% alpha acids | 28 g (0.99 oz) | 15 minFlavor |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry lager yeast, such as W-34/70: two 11.5 g (0.4 oz) packets (a lager needs twice as much yeast as an ale).
Water: About 28.5 L (7.5 gal): 13.5 L (3.6 gal) for the mash and 15 L (4.0 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 5.2 g of white sugar per liter bottled (0.7 oz/gal): about 100 g (3.5 oz) for 19 L (5.0 gal). Lively carbonation, like a commercial lager.
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 13.5 L (3.6 gal) of water to 71 °C (160 °F), add the crushed malt and flakes and stir until there are no lumps. It should settle at about 65 °C (149 °F): hold that temperature for 60 minutes, covered. A low mash temperature gives a dry, easy-drinking beer, like the original.
- Lift out the grain and sparge it with 15 L (4.0 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F). You should collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.042.
- Bring to a boil and boil for 60 minutes, uncovered and vigorously: pilsner malt gives off a cooked-corn smell (DMS) that leaves with the steam. At the start of the boil, 10 g (0.35 oz) of Magnum. With 15 minutes left, 28 g (1.0 oz) of Perle.
- Chill as fast as you can down to 11 °C (52 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the sanitized fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.051. Aerate well.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 11 °C (52 °F) for about two weeks. At the end, raise it to 16-18 °C (61-64 °F) for two or three days so the yeast can clean up the diacetyl (the buttery flavor).
- Once the gravity sits at 1.009 for three days in a row, drop the beer to 2-4 °C (36-39 °F) and leave it there for four weeks: that cold storage is the lagering, which leaves it clean and rounded. Without a fridge with a temperature controller, you're better off brewing an ale.
- Bottle with the priming sugar and let it carbonate for two weeks at 18-20 °C (64-68 °F) before chilling it again. Serve it very cold.
Mahou Cinco Estrellas is an International Pale Lager (BJCP 2A), one of the strongest and most bitter in the style.
The label says 5.5% and barley malt, corn and hops. Shops give 27 IBU, 8 EBC (4 SRM) and an original extract of 13 °P (1.053), but Mahou doesn't publish a spec sheet. The hop varieties, proportions and temperatures are a homebrew approximation, not Mahou San Miguel's recipe.
The recipe stays at 1.051 and about 25 IBU so it doesn't fall outside the style. If you want it closer to those numbers, raise the pilsner malt to 3.8 kg (8.4 lb) and the Magnum to 11 g (0.4 oz).
If your Magnum isn't 13% alpha acids, use 10 × 13 ÷ your percentage, in grams.
The style: International Pale Lager (BJCP 2A), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this Mahou Cinco Estrellas Clone be?
About 5.5% ABV: it starts at 1.051 and finishes at 1.009, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 11 °C (52 °F) for 14 days and 4 weeks at 2-4 °C (36-39 °F) and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of Magnum at 13.0% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 25 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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