Potato Barley Rye (PBR)
The American classic beer "Pabst Blue Ribbon" (PBR) has an interesting place in our family history. Well ... "interesting" might be a bit of a stretch ... you decide ...
My father-in-law absolutely loved PBR. It was by far his favorite beer, and he drank a bunch of it.
When I met him, the first beer we had together (and probably the next several) was a PBR.
His kids, and just about everyone I know of mercilessly made fun of him for drinking PBR. It was not considered a quality lager, even back in the early 90's when I met him. I actually don't mind the current iteration of the beer, although it certainly isn't one that I purchase very often at all.
In fact, the only time I drink actual Pabst Blue Ribbon is as a tribute to Dale Teberg, may he rest in peace. My wife and her sisters will quite often order some when they are together and feeling like reminiscing times with their dad.
At some point in 2026, I was thinking about using potato in a beer, and my weird sense of humor thought a beer called "Potato Barley Rye" (PBR) would be fun. The idea was basically the same as I had when naming the 2019 beer "Popcorn Barley Rye".
So, the grain bill pretty much writes itself. I thought I'd make it an 'Merican Light Lager Plus ... which to me always means "Pre-prohibition lager". A little bigger in ABV and more hop flavor.
I considered many different hop combinations. I thought Centennial and Cascade would make for a classic "Pre-prohibition" flavor. And then ... for some reason Motueka jumped out at me as something that would be nice to add in.
So, here is my Potato PBR recipe. It is nothing like Pabst Blue Ribbon. I'm sure I'll drink some in honor of Dale regardless.
I brewed this in late July 2026. The potato flakes were a bit of a pain, so I'm not sure I'll be brewing this again. We'll see.
For more information about my "PBR" beers ... check out Sheppy's Blog: PBR
| Potato Barley Rye (PBR) --- Batch 1 (395) |
| Style | Pre-Prohibition Lager | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.60 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 65.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.059 SG | Estimated FG | 1.014 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 31.9 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 6.0 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.537 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 4.4 SRM |
|
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| Measured OG: | 1.064 | Measured FG: | 1.012 | ||||
| ADF: | 80 | Measured ABV: | 6.9 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.63 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 2.00 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 8 lbs 12.0 oz | Base Malt 2 Row (Proximity) (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 62.5 % | 0.68 gal |
| 3 lbs 4.0 oz | Potato Flakes (1.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 23.2 % | 0.25 gal |
| 2 lbs | Rye Malt (Proximity) (4.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 14.3 % | 0.16 gal |
| 0.500 oz | Magnum [13.20 %] - First Wort 60.0 min | Hop | 8 | 19.9 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 9 | - | - |
| 1.000 oz | Centennial [9.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min | Hop | 10 | 5.4 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 3.2 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Motueka [7.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 12 | 3.4 IBUs | - |
| 1.0 pkg | Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) [50.28 ml] | Yeast | 13 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 30.50 qt of water at 160.0 F | 152.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min | 158.0 F | 15 min |
| Mash Out | Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min | 170.0 F | 10 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
Make a starter a day or two before brew day.
Salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=101,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=128,Cl=90,HCO3=104
Acid addition based on BeerSmith predicted pH. Should lower to 5.3.
Brew as directed from recipe.
Cool wort to as close to 50 degrees as possible.
Ferment rising 1 degree a day for the first week, let rise to high 60's for another week.
Add gelatin dissolved into .5 cup boiled water. Add this solution straight to keg.
Keg carbonate to 2.5 to 2.7 volumes.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.054 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.60 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
7/15/2026 Ordered ingredients from Tom's. Hoping to brew this weekend.
7/28/2026 Brew day today. Multi-tasking on a work day. Potato flakes are a major pain. Difficult dough balls. Stuck mash. Absorbed lots of water. My pre-boil gravity was high and volume really low. Diluted with a whole gallon of water, which brought me right on plan. Boil started around 1:20.
7/28/2026 Boil went fine, but I left the heat on during chilling. Eventually I figured it out, but the wort was down around 80, so I decided to rack to fermenter and let the cooling system take it down the rest of the way. At the moment, the temperature says 71, so I still have a ways to go before pitching. OG was pretty high at 1.064. We'll go with it, though. Clean up with the potato gunk was a bit more tedious. Not sure I'll ever use flaked potatoes as an adjunct ever again.
7/29/2026 Fermentation not going this morning. Bummer. Thought it would be a fast starter with the big amount of yeast and the yeast starter. Tilt says 1.053 at 56 degrees.
7/30/2026 Took off shortly after last comment. I've been letting this go higher than a typical lager, and control is already at 60. Tilt says 1.033 at 61. Will actually unplug pump before end of day.
8/4/2026 Was away for awhile, which is why I let it go warm quicker than usual. Tilt now says 1.008 at 69 degrees.
8/10/2026 Kegged. Very hazy, which surprised me. Sample doesn't taste as hoppy as I thought it would. Still don't have a place to chill it, so it will sit a bit. FG 1.012, which puts this at 6.9%. Almost a full 1% over plan. I guess I'll live with that.
8/12/2026 Killed Bad Lands last night, so PBR is in the kegerator. Really filled the keg on this, so I'll have to drain some to connect up the gas and beer lines. I'll let it chill a day before I do that do I can actually drink what comes out cold.