Johnny McClure Rainier Lager
In summer of 2025, my wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I visited the Seattle, Washington, which got me thinking about living in Washington as a child.
I never drank back then, but I remember Rainier Beer being around.
I decided to pick up some from my local liquor store and give it a try.
Then, I thought I'd see if I could figure out what sort of hops they used or other hints on their recipe. I didn't really find anything definitive. ChatGPT told me that Rainier beer hops are not disclosed, but "based on style, region, and brewing history, here’s what we can reasonably infer:"
Likely Hop Profile for Rainier Lager
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Type: American adjunct lager
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Flavor profile: Light, crisp, mildly bitter, slightly floral or grassy
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Likely hop varieties:
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Cluster – one of the oldest American hop varieties; earthy, spicy, and slightly floral. Common in classic American lagers.
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Willamette – mild and floral, often used in traditional Northwest beers.
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Cascade – possibly in trace amounts for aroma; more citrusy, though likely toned down here.
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Nugget or Mt. Hood – sometimes used in macro lager bittering for clean, neutral bitterness.
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I let ChatGPT try to make me a recipe, and then I pretty much ingored it, although I did sort of follow the types of grains and hops.
The resulting recipe is below. I'm sure this will NOT be Rainier-Lager-like. The malt bill may be close, but I decided to hop it up quite a bit.
"Johnny McClure" is a kid I knew back when I lived in the Bremerton area. He was a year or two older than me, lived just down the road, and was the closest to a bully I ever remember having. As far as bullies go, he was not bad at all, but there were times that I certainly was not a fan of Johnny McClure.
I actually think I found his facebook page. Based on his public profile it appears that he may be an educator (he works for a school district). Many of his posts indicate that he is a God-fearing Christrian.
So, it looks like he turned into a fine adult, and I'd probably enjoy drinking Rainier beers with him in a local Port-Orchard dive-bar.
I'll probably enjoy drinking my beer on my back patio by myself even more.
| Jonny McClure Rainier Lager --- Batch 1 |
| Style | American Lager | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.60 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 68.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.045 SG | Estimated FG | 1.010 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 16.6 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 4.6 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.370 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 3.2 SRM |
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| Measured OG: | Measured FG: | ||||||
| ADF: | Measured ABV: |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.83 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 5.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 3.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 1.50 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 7 lbs 8.0 oz | Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 75.0 % | 0.59 gal |
| 2 lbs 4.0 oz | Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 22.5 % | 0.18 gal |
| 4.0 oz | Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 2.5 % | 0.02 gal |
| 0.500 oz | Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 25.0 min | Hop | 8 | 5.8 IBUs | - |
| 0.250 oz | Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min | Hop | 9 | 1.5 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 10 | 4.1 IBUs | - |
| 0.750 oz | Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 2.8 IBUs | - |
| 0.500 oz | Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 12 | 2.4 IBUs | - |
| 0.50 tsp | Gelatin (Bottling 2.0 days) | Fining | 13 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 31.33 qt of water at 155.8 F | 150.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 156.0 F over 10 min | 156.0 F | 20 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
From Denver water, salts puts water profile at
Ca=98,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=145,Cl=72,HCO3=104
Acid to bring water pH to around 5.4
Boil as directed.
Chill water to as close to 50F as possible.
Pitch yeast and ferment in 50's for first 2 days.
After main fermentation is done let temperature rise to room temp. Let total fermentation go a total of 2 weeks.
Chill and add gelatin after a couple days in the fridge.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.041 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.60 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
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