Wedding

I know there are a million threads about weddings and homebrew, but I wanted to know a good amount to brew. The wedding is in September 2013 and at this point we're looking at 250 people or so. By my count I would need ten 5 gallon batches in order for everyone to have at least 2 beers. I know some people won't drink any beer at all, some will try at least one, and some (my friends) will have 4 or more. If anyone has experience with a good average let me know, I don't want to end up having to store a bunch of untouched beer but I also don't want to end up short.

if you are donating and not getting any help with supply costs i wouldn't put out more than 5 5gal cornies. Thats plenty of variety and you still have time to make at least one of the batches a high gravity brew. making a high gravity brew will cut down on the actual volume you need to produce. Keep most of them around 6% and up, and make one 9% or higher. Of course, if you're doing 10 or 11 gal batches you could go ahead and put out the 50 gal that you are looking at. Damn, thats going to be one hell of a party. good luck whatever you decide

Haha thanks, it's my wedding so I'm doing this partly to save a few bucks. I can brew 10 gallon batches of low to mid gravity beers, I was planning on brewing 3 strong beers (RIS, DIPA, and some sort of strong Belgian,) a cider, a seasonal (pumpkin,) and then various 4-7% beers. I don't have a kegging setup yet, but I plan on having the ability to keg 3 of the batches by the wedding. I'm going to brew the stronger beers first for aging purposes and lighter/hoppy beers closer to the date. The way I figure it is I can brew about 15 batches if I brew every other week before the wedding, so there's plenty of time.

I guess my main question is how realistic is 50 gallons as far as consumption is concerned? Time, ability, and cost is accounted for.

Weddings are always hard to judge. It really depends on the crowd you will be serving to, and only you know what type of crowd it will be. I think figuring 2 beers per head sounds like a good starting point though. For my wedding a couple years back, I figured 2 per person and ended up with some left over. A good portion of my family doesn't really drink that much though. If you have left over I don't think you would have to worry about storing it though. I'm sure pawning free beer off on your friends that drink won't be a problem.

First question is are you paying for an open bar or not?

If you are I wouldn't worry too much. 4 or 5 should be way more than enough. My brother for his wedding got a half keg of craft beer, told everyone to drink it and most people drank hard liquor or wine or other stuff anyway.

Bottling and or keg's? Catered or self thrown? How much other boos/open bar? In a wedding hall or the like? Do you have friends that will help serve/maintain/ID ect..? 50 gallons is a lot of beer! At a big crazy drinking party, the fastest I had a keg kick, was in an hour. I'd think 30 gallons would be max.

Also - check the policy of where ever you are hosting at. It is very rare to find a hotel/bar/reception hall that will allow you to bring your own beer in and serve it. I have done beer many times for weddings and have never had anyone say - "sure" bring it in. I always had to find other ways to incorporate it. Usually, we end up serving a few cases between wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner - with appetizers. Have also put bottles on the table with "wedding labels" as "wedding favors"/ table decorations.
If you are hosting somewhere low key, or your own property, no problem. But hotels/reception areas usually much prefer to charge you $200 per keg as opposed to you supplying your own beer.

The reception hall does not supply alcohol (apple farm art and music center), so we have to get a permit to provide and serve it open bar style. I was planning on getting some liquor, wine, and light beer for those who don't like craft beer, but have the bulk of the alcohol be homebrew. A large percentage of the guests will be craft beer drinking friends, so I guess overdoing it wouldn't be nearly as bad as underdoing it.

Maybe unsolicited advice, but a suggestion if time (for brewing) is a factor - do a cider and a wine or two. Ciders tend to be extremely quick as far as brewing time invested (not to mention cheap), and people tend to like the variety. Wines are a little more expensive, but easy to make and there are always quite a few wine only drinkers in a crowd. Of course, 10 different beers will give plenty of variety too! Good luck, that sounds like a reception I wouldn't mind going to

If your renting a hall unless you have it for more then 8hrs. Most people well probably limit the amount they drink because theyll have to leave some what quickly. I went through close to 12 gallons with 100 people plus there was wine and a giant cooler of bmc beers at my buddies wedding, and I had my wedding this last september with about 100 people and went through 20 gallons, but I didnt have any wine, bmc, or liquor !lol! Congrats

I brewed 20 gallons for my 80 guest wedding. Seemed to be just enough.

To the point of cider... Brandon O's Graff would probably be a crowd pleaser and its quick.

I'd also check on your local laws for distributing your homebrew at an event. Some caterers will not allow it

I brewed for a wedding last May. 100 guests. The groom was a fellow homebrewer so the homebrewed beer was a big focus at the reception. The guest gifts were tasting glasses.

Anyway, the only other beer offering was Butt-Lite and there was also wine and spirits at the open bar. All that said I took 40 gallons, 8 cornies. The 100 guests drank it all. There were a few pints I dumped at the end of the night, but 40 gallons for 100 guests was spot on.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, it looks like 50 gallons should hopefully get me close with the supplemental wine and liquor. I also really like the tasting glass favors, that's a neat idea. Any idea where to get them in bulk?