Finally, I can boil 6.5 gal. for AG, what should I make?

I am now the proud owner of a Polarware 10 gal. kettle. I am primed to make my first 5.5 gal AG batch, just need to order the recipe.

I am thinking of BierMunchers Cream of Three Crops ale. It looks simple enough and it will allow me the chance to have it ready for the July fourth weekend. I want a beer I can share BMC drinkers and all of my PM versions of this beer have been big hits.

Has anyone bottled this one after 7 days in the Primary? I usually go one week in a secondary to clear it up. I need to get three weeks in the bottle before the 4th rolls around to make sure I have a sudzy brew to pour on the boat.

Any other suggestions on a quick turnaround AG would be appreciated. I need to get to the LHBS this weekend and brew on Sunday. Oh yeah, my cooler is a 5 gal drink cooler, so nothing over say 10 lbs of grain. Feedback will be appreciated.

Assuming 75% efficiency:

4 lbs American Two-row Pale
3 lbs Vienna Malt
3 lbs Munich Malt

1 oz Tettnanger (4.5 AA) @ 60
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ 45
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ flame out

Neutral yeast like Wyeast 1056

I'd go 2 weeks primary and 2 weeks in bottle if I were you. Let me know how it turns out if you end up using this recipe.

How about a blonde (ale, that is)? Grain bill is not too much for a five gallon system, it tastes great with only a short stay in the fermentors, and should be ready just about the time the weather warms up. There's a Bases Loaded Blonde recipe around, either here or on the NB forum, that looks promising.

Having it ready for the 4th is going to be a tall order. The usual time line for me and others is 8 weeks grain to glass. If you have a kegging system, I would suggest leaving it in the primary for two weeks, keg, force carb for two weeks and see what she tastes like then. I gotta say, I am pretty much terrified of bottling only 7 weeks after fermentation due to my primary fementations usually last 10 days (including lag time).

Wheats and ordinary bitters are both designed to go quickly from grain to glass. Being drinkable in a month is hardly undoable there. Even with a larger cooler you'd want to stick to a small grain bill though: the higher your ABV the longer fermentation, aging, and bottle carbing all will take. Strong beer doesn't come quickly.

There's a Boddington's Bitter recipe I was looking at that calls for under two weeks total fermentation, and just about every American wheat or hefeweizen I've seen specifies similar. Only two weeks in the bottle might give you a light carbonation, but if you can keep the bottles in the right temperature range it should be all right. If you want BMC drinkers to be comfortable with it, you might want to go with the optional lighter hopping on the bitter, or make an American wheat rather than a hefeweizen. That way they might not be the familiar yellow fizzy but they won't be anything too strange or exotic.

I brewed a slightly doctored version of Biermunchers Centennial Blonde and entered it into a comp after only 3.5 weeks and it scored very well. In fact i'm planning on brewing another batch on the 15th and drinking it on the fourth. i keg but You could easily brew this this weekend and it should be carbed in the bottle and ready by then. i would do 10 days in primary and then bottle it.

I second Biermuncher's Blonde. I've turned that around in 3 weeks and it turned out great.

LakeErieBrew said:

Assuming 75% efficiency:

4 lbs American Two-row Pale
3 lbs Vienna Malt
3 lbs Munich Malt

1 oz Tettnanger (4.5 AA) @ 60
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ 45
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ flame out

Neutral yeast like Wyeast 1056

I'd go 2 weeks primary and 2 weeks in bottle if I were you. Let me know how it turns out if you end up using this recipe.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, I'm making this one. It looks good and has the right timing. Since I can't resist, I'm going to make BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde as well. Let's brew!:rockin:

LakeErieBrew said:

Assuming 75% efficiency:

4 lbs American Two-row Pale
3 lbs Vienna Malt
3 lbs Munich Malt

1 oz Tettnanger (4.5 AA) @ 60
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ 45
0.5 oz Tettnanger @ flame out

Neutral yeast like Wyeast 1056

I'd go 2 weeks primary and 2 weeks in bottle if I were you. Let me know how it turns out if you end up using this recipe.

Click to expand...

Forgot to ask, what would be a good substitute for the liquid yeast? I have a Munton's gold (which seems to be good only cider), Notty, or S-05? I have all in stock.

I was surprised to see that I had all of these ingredients in stock and didn't know I had a recipe to make.

Use US-05, it's a neutral american yeast

I second Biermuncher's Blonde. I've turned that around in 3 weeks and it turned out great.

Click to expand...

Thirdeded.

...and this:

Use US-05, it's a neutral american yeast

Click to expand...

US-05 is perfect.

BAM! What a brew day, I made two five gallon batches AG. I've only made 2 AG beers to this point and they were 3.5 gal. batches. I need a bigger mashtun, that's clear. In any case, I'll keep you posted and thanks for the help. HBT to the rescue once again.

2 batches in a day, that's awesome. You're going to be the man on July 4th.

Edited to ask: What was your OG on the recipe I submitted?

So Rubberband, there was a brew that was done many a year ago, way back in ought-9. Yes, you made those two 5-gallon batches. Bam! A fairly un-sweet amber of sorts. Ambers rule, btw.

Let's put on our memory caps and in the spirit of the idea that nobody here will give a rats a$$, 'cept me probly, how did that beer turn out?

...Did you give any concern about the water profile you mashed with? Twas a long, long time ago, but pray tell Ruberband man!

(Assuming you still visit this site?)

His last post was in 2010, so unless he has become a lurker he probably won't get back to you. Let me know if you end up trying it out