If you could have the recipe for one commercial beer which beer would it be and why?
I’d choose the original Schlitz beer before the recipe was “lost” during the disastrous recipe and process changes made in the early 70’s.
That’s interesting because that was the first beer to come to mind. The 1960’s formula based beer is awesome.
I wish I could make any beer as good as Firestone Walker’s.
They shared many recipes on Can You Brew It.
I actually have that recipe.
Don’t you think there’s a difference between “have the recipe for” and “make a beer as good as”? I think we’d both agree that recipe is a minor component.
Exactly. The recipe is important, but the subtleties all come from the process and the large scale equipment. For example, thermal mass during whirlpool makes a difference that cannot be duplicated at homebrew scale.
Sure, but you can say “recipe is minor” about any food. I’m sure Emeril’s recipes from his restaurants are dead on in his books, but me making it would never compare to what he or his employees make.
Do tell?
Indeed, in the head brewer’s handwriting.
Ahhh, that kind of recipe. 
Well just photocopy it and let the world see! or is it written in German? Might have to get a translator.
Weihenstephaner Original, the how-to and the recipe. Like Denny said, the recipe is the minor component to the final beer, especially a beer of that caliber.
In modern English the definition of recipe includes process!
“a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required.”
Hopefully we’ve put that one to bed and can get back to the recipes!
But you still have to replicate the process if you intend to make the beer the recipe is for. That’s easier said than done usually. And when I was given the recipe, I was asked not to share it publicly. I respect that request.
Process replication is implicitly what recipes are all about!!
If you have the recipe for the original Schlitz beer then good on ya! Brew it and send me a couple!
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…
Sure, but it’s one thing to know what the process is, and it’s entirely another to pull it off. Many (most) homebrewers, my self included, struggle to repeatedly replicate their own recipes and processes, let alone someone else’s. I’ve been presented with many samples of my Rye IPA recipe, brewed by other people. In spite of using my recipe and process, so far not one has tasted like mine.
Absolutely, I’m not disagreeing with you. My chocolate cake isn’t your chocolate cake but Betty Crocker’s managed to make it pretty damn close. I’m sure your Rye IPA batch #1 does not taste exactly like batch #2 which doesn’t taste exactly like batch #3 etc… and you’re the brewer! They may be close enough for government work but only the most well regulated/automated system and disciplined brewer can repeat at that level (BMC style I guess).
Excuse me while I brew a clone for the annual Schlitz beer brewing competition out of Mosquito Point, WI.
There is another approach to this problem. That is to wish for a really crappy palate. Then you can’t tell the difference between your beer and the commercial example you envy. Problem solved. And if its a bad enough palate, your beer will taste just like all commercial beers!
There’s some sarcasm in that, in case you missed it. But some seriousness too. My pale ale, to me, is virtually identical side by side with bottled SNPA trucked to my area, except mine has more aroma. 1. Probably not identical to the fresh stuff, but maybe. 2. I have no doubt a better palate could tell them apart.
Two Rivers Beverage Co. Bobbie Ale. Reasons I want that recipe:
1a) It was local, made a few blocks away from my house.
1b) They haven’t brewed it since at least 1966. Nostalgia.
2) It’s not a pilsner – it’s a friggin English ale!
3) I have two full bottles of the stuff in my cellar that I’ll never drink and probably wouldn’t want to after 50+ years.
http://www.taverntrove.com/item.php?ItemId=4610&goback=results.php?intPageNumber=2&intResults=10
You’ve nailed it, buddy! One reason that I seldom judge any more is becasue as I get older my sense of smell and taste gets more “diluted”.