9-month challenge

My wife just found out she's pregnant! I want to put together a 9-month celebration beer. Can anyone recommend something that would taste good in September after fermenting for 9-months?

Congratulations! For aging, you generally go hi-gravity or sour. I would suggest a barley wine, strong ale, or maybe a Belgian trippel.

my curieux clone has gotten good reviews and is great with age on it.

I vote for a BDSA.. They age very well.

Thanks guys. I'm not sure I'm up to making sour beer. It might be a bit advanced for me. I'm a new brewer.
I may try a heavy beer though.

moloko520 said:

Thanks guys. I'm not sure I'm up to making sour beer. It might be a bit advanced for me. I'm a new brewer.
I may try a heavy beer though.

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How about a Russian Imperial Stout? 8 months seems to be a nice aging target if you ask me. Congratulations as well.

What does she like to drink? You are only asking for disappointment if she likes lighter beers and you put that much work into a style she doesn't care for.

Don't forget about mead and/or wine too, if she prefers those to big chewy beers.

+1 to suiting her tastes--she's the one not drinking for the gestation, not you.

Congrats I'm pregnant and wish I did something like that. I'm due next month so I just brewed up two different beers in celebration. What does she like to drink? I tried a specialty beer from ten penny that aged their beer in whiskey barrels and it was very unique. I wonder how it could be done at home on a smaller scale.

The Pliny the Elder clone floating around is pretty rad, I've got a case thats been sitting for 4 months now, a few more before I start drinking.

9% ABV or higher should be the target. 13% - 15% if you can dial in the right yeast to do a high gravity beer. There are a lot of guides on HBT and on the web.

Imperial Stout
Belgian STrong Ale
Wee Heavy
Barleywine.

All are great and can spend almost the entire time in a carboy before bottling.

Great point. Shame on me for not thinking of my wife's preference first! I think she would like a Saison, but I don't know if that does well over 9 months. A Saison would be nice to drink in September too.

She's pretty open minded about beers. Give her a unique flavor and a good back story and she's sold.

I haven't seen this yet, but I've tried Pliny the Elder. Awesome beer. Seems to me though, that I remember reading on the bottle that this beer should be drunk immediately, no aged. I think it's because of he hops they use. I may be wrong though.

How about an old ale? Ferment it and then age it in some wood for a while before going to bottle or keg. Got one I kegged just over a week ago that started in March of 2012. It spent about six months aging on medium toast cherry wood.

I would suggest a nice, strong weizenbock. They are perfect for the fall and age wonderfully.

No, this one is for you. You can start a saison for her in the summer when its saison making time

Congrats! First one?
My first (son) is 19mo, and my second is on the way...FeBREWary...girl.

Do two batches!

I would do a stout for you, and a cider for her. Then you can always mix them for a snake bite.
BTW, cider is super easy. Especially if you keg.

moloko520 said:

I haven't seen this yet, but I've tried Pliny the Elder. Awesome beer. Seems to me though, that I remember reading on the bottle that this beer should be drunk immediately, no aged. I think it's because of he hops they use. I may be wrong though.

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yep, don't sit on those hoppy beers...they don't stay hoppy.

First off, Congrats! I'm a Daddy-To-Be as well (Due in March) My recommendation would be to do it NOW. There will be a ton of new house projects, furniture shopping, etc, that will take over your weekends. It's flying by for me, that's for sure.

moloko520 said:

Great point. Shame on me for not thinking of my wife's preference first! I think she would like a Saison, but I don't know if that does well over 9 months. A Saison would be nice to drink in September too.

She's pretty open minded about beers. Give her a unique flavor and a good back story and she's sold.

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I brewed the Cottage House Saison last March and let it age a while. We drank the last one on Thanksgiving after it had been in the bottle for seven months and it was great. If you brew it soon I think it could be great on due date. Here's the recipe, from this site: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/cottage-house-saison-254684/

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I decided to go with a Russian Imperial Stout. I found a base recipe and added some new things like fresh roasted hazelnuts and honey. I'm also going to add some oak chips, since I've got 8 months to kill, I might as well throw in anything that works well with age.
I'll let you all know how it comes out.

By the way, I think the oil from the hazelnuts will kill any head the beer might have had.