As some of you know, I recently published a book about a trip I took to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk. Thinking back on that time, and wanting to celebrate this big step of getting the book in print, I have been thirsting for a Thai lager, and sought out a homebrew recipe for one. I am particularly fond of Chang Beer – the one with the elephants on the label. However, in the Clonebrews book that sits on my shelf, all I could find was a recipe for Singha. Great, I thought. Not a bad drink, although not what I was looking for.
I looked closer on the page the recipe was on and noticed that it refers to Singha as a malt liquor, not a beer. I will get into the different definitions of what a malt liquor is in another post. As a quick point, though, most international markets define a malt liquor as an alcoholic drink made with malted barley, and the term is an umbrella, under which lagers and ales are categorized. However, my reaction, though, was typical of most Americans when they see that term: Yuck.
I looked at the recipe and it seems perfectly normal, so I decided to go ahead and list it here. The only thing I would add would be a handful of instant oatmeal. I like my beers to have a good head, and the oatmeal helps that pretty well without adding too much to the taste.
Mash together:
- 9.25 lbs British 2-row pale malt
- 1.5 lbs flaked maize
- 1 lb rice hulls
- 1/2 lb dextrin malt
- 3/4 lb German light crystal malt
- 1/4 lb German Munich malt
Hops:
- 1 oz. Northern Brewer (9% AA) – 90 minutes
- 1/2 oz. German Hallertau Hersbucker – 10 minutes
- 1/2 oz. Czech Saaz – 10 minutes
Other Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. Irish moss – 10 minutes
Yeast:
- Wyeast 2206 Bavarian lager yeast
Ferment at 42-52 degrees for about a week, transfer to a secondary, and bottle or keg after two more weeks. Allow it to age a bit, perhaps another couple weeks.
Quick Thai beer before leaving Bangkok by Steve & Jemma Copley.