Neighbor wants beer in 3 weeks...

I have a neighbor that desperately wants to brew with me tonight and have a beer ready in 3 weeks for his party he is having. I have never attempted to do a beer so fast, even with force carbing, even though I know its 'possible.' I assume it would taste pretty green, though if he did a cream ale of some sort he might be able to get away with it.

Aside from obviously being no where NEAR optimal, has anyone even tried to do it this fast? Was it absolutely terrible? Or was it at least drinkable by a bunch of drunks?

SWMBO wants me to do it because she is good friends with his wife and said I would so I was thinking maybe Id use the opportunity to do a 10 gallon batch and save half myself for summer (and give my half time to condition!).

Talk him into a wheat beer and use this recipe. It's tasty after 3 weeks.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/bee-cave-brewery-bavarian-hefeweizen-35679/


I made this on Nov. 1 last year and it was perfect for thanksgiving.

This will work, too: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f38/project-10der-mild-10-milds-10-days-month-10-a-77758/

Hey thanks, thats a really damn good idea. I actually wanted a wheat beer for summer as well...

You could do a mild or a bitter, but everyone will hate it and tell you it tastes like cougar piss no matter how well you brew it.

Your neighbor is able to dispense kegged beer, right?

Good suggestions here. I'd say that ultimately it depends on which style you think that your neighbor and his party attendees would enjoy more. If the target crowd is full of BMC drinkers, a hefe is a great idea. Or you could go even more neutral with a 50/50 2 row/wheat and some Nottingham with about 15 IBU.

weirdboy said:

Your neighbor is able to dispense kegged beer, right?

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Yeah, hes borrowing my kegerator

I did the Centennial Blonde and went from grain to glass in 2 weeks. It was not at its peek but it was still tasty. It would have even been better with 3 weeks time.

ohiobrewtus said:

Good suggestions here. I'd say that ultimately it depends on which style you think that your neighbor and his party attendees would enjoy more. If the target crowd is full of BMC drinkers, a hefe is a great idea. Or you could go even more neutral with a 50/50 2 row/wheat and some Nottingham with about 15 IBU.

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Yeah, I think they are mostly BMC types. What do you think of a 50/50 2 row wheat with something like saf 05?

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

You could do a mild or a bitter, but everyone will hate it and tell you it tastes like cougar piss no matter how well you brew it.

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I've converted several craft beer haters with Milds.

Do your buddy a favor and just tell him to buy some beer from the store. I dont see how you could make a Home Brew taste that good in 3 weeks. Plus he may turn them all off from ever trying to homebrew. I may be wrong though.

dhertel said:

Do your buddy a favor and just tell him to buy some beer from the store. I dont see how you could make a Home Brew taste that good in 3 weeks. Plus he may turn them all off from ever trying to homebrew. I may be wrong though.

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You may be wrong, yes.

david_42 said:

I've converted several craft beer haters with Milds.

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Yeah, I was "Kinda" joking about it. I find that women are more easily converted. They don't have the John Deere tractor and by the way I love my fooking huge pick up truck and did I mention NASCAR beer mentality.

They tend to actually TASTE the beer before they pass judgement.

BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde is a great quick recipe. Plus, it doesn't break the bank and is a big crowd pleaser especially with the BMC crowd. I like to make a 10 gallon batch and dry hop 1/2 of it for those with lupulin deficiency.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

EDIT: Oh yeah, throw in some whirlfloc or Irish Moss to help this clear quickly and crash cool it the last 2 days before you keg (as long as fermentation is done).

Skacorica said:

Yeah, I think they are mostly BMC types. What do you think of a 50/50 2 row wheat with something like saf 05?

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Go for it. BM's Centennial (as mentioned by TwoHeads) is a good option as well. At least with the wheat, you can tell the BMC drinkers that it's *supposed* to be cloudy.

I have made several beers that I have tasted at the three week period that were very good, including Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale.

Biermuncher's Can I get a Wit-ness comes to mind for a 3 week turn around. Look up the recipe under just another brew day I believe.

I'm very new to brewing and one thing I don't understand is why people here say that the beer needs to condition in the bottle for at least 3 weeks. I just tasted my 4th batch, a single hop Simcoe Pale Ale that I bottled 7 days ago, and it is fantastic right now. I also tried my 2nd batch which also was a pale ale (not as aggressive with centennial, amarillo hops, bottled nearly a month ago) and it has lost all of it's hop character compared to the 1st and 2nd week tastings. All of my batches were in the primary for 3 weeks, but I would have to think that my Simcoe beer would have been great after 2 weeks in the primary and 1 week in the bottle - but then again, I have very little experience, so who knows. I think 3 weeks from pot to mouth is very doable.

gannawdm,

I'm surprised your beer was properly carbed in one week. The OP's three weeks is doable mainly because he's force carbonating.

I was surprised as well actually. I used WLP 008 and it was very nicely carbed after one week. But then again, I used the exact same yeast (same recipe except hops) for my previous batch and it was not carbed after a week. Same amount of priming sugar. I'm learning more and getting more confused with each passing week. I'm sure it will all come together at some point.

This thread cries out MILD.

dhertel said:

Do your buddy a favor and just tell him to buy some beer from the store. he may turn them all off from ever trying to homebrew. I may be wrong though.

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I agree with this part, especially if you try to get them to try a BMC type brew, when it don't taste like a BMC beer. Brew a style completly different, with a lot of flavour and tell them THIS is real beer. They may or may not like it, but at least they won't associate a poor subsitute of BMC with what homebrew really tastes like. They may ask questions about the beer and then an explanation of different styles could be given to spark an interest in trying other great beers.

And when I mean a poor subsitute for BMC, I'm not dissing anyones efforts... but to have a beer ready in 3 weeks and taste like a BMC... give the big boys credit. They know how to make a inoffensive beer enjoyed by the unwashed masses everyday. Even I enjoy one from time to time.

I brewed this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f64/boddingtons-bitter-21131/
brewed on the seventh,
fermented down to 1.015 on the tenth
got to 1.012 on the twelfth
cold crashed on the fifteenth
kegged on the nineteenth

If I was brewing to try and impress a bunch of strangers or for a
competition I might not try this but
It tastes pretty good to me
It probably will taste better in a week or two
but if the pipeline is dry you can get something ready
to drink pretty quickly

Thanks for all the responses. I agree 100% that it sucks to rush a beer. I think honestly he just wants to be able to tell his buddies "hey, I homebrewed this" about a beer. Which Im fine with, since hes paying for it and Im keeping half for summer

Got all the ingredients, went with:

50/50 pils/wheat
2oz mt hood
1 lb rice syrup solids
saf 05

That should make a nice tasty brew, especially for the BMC type crowd that you expect to be there. I made a very similar beer as one of my firsts, and it was very good after 10 days in primary and 2 weeks in bottles, so thats real close to what you are doing. The only difference is that I used fuggles instead of mt hood, but everything else is exactly the same

Skacorica said:

I have a neighbor that desperately wants to brew with me tonight and have a beer ready in 3 weeks for his party he is having.

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I think it's a bad idea to try to help him.
It's all down side. No beer ( none that I know of) is ready in that time frame.

It'll be horrible: green, full of dialectal, nasty on the back of the tongue, and crap.


Sometimes ya just gotta say no.

Cliff897 said:

I think it's a bad idea to try to help him.
It's all down side. No beer ( none that I know of) is ready in that time frame.

It'll be horrible: green, full of dialectal, nasty on the back of the tongue, and crap.


Sometimes ya just gotta say no.

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Sorry, I have to disagree. I have made several beers that fermented for two weeks and I keg carbed for one week that turned out great.

Eric

EricCSU said:

Sorry, I have to disagree. I have made several beers that fermented for two weeks and I keg carbed for one week that turned out great.Eric

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Well then you don't really disagree at all.
I said: "none that I know of" which is a proposition you can not possibly disagree with.

However, you can offer me some knowledge 'cause clearly you know something I don't.
So tell me, what brews were you able to get on the table in that time. I'd like to try one.

And the OP might also.

Cliff, have a read here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/aging-beer-facts-myths-discussion-84005/

Also, while some dialects are indeed nasty to the tongue, the word you wanted was "diacetyl"

Cliff897 said:

Well then you don't really disagree at all.
I said: "none that I know of" which is a proposition you can not possibly disagree with.

However, you can offer me some knowledge 'cause clearly you know something I don't.
So tell me, what brews were you able to get on the table in that time. I'd like to try one.

And the OP might also.

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Sure. This is nothing magic, just a lower abv beer that ferments fast. This is the last one I did.

All grain:

Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 4.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 84.21 %
12.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 7.89 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.95 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.95 %
25.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 15.9 IBU
7.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 3.4 IBU
7.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
7.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.20 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.20 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [1000 ml Starter for 24 hours]

Mash at 152 for 60 minutes, batch sparge.

Partial Mash:

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 4.65 gal
Estimated OG: 1.038 SG
Estimated Color: 4.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3 lbs 8.0 oz Extra Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 minExtract 50.03 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 35.73 %
8.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 7.12 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.56 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.56 %
19.83 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.6 IBU
7.08 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
7.08 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
7.09 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [1000ml starter for 24 hours]

Mash at 155 with 2.5 gallons for 60minutes. Sparge at 170 with 0.5 gallons. Top up as high as you can (for me it was about 4.5 gallons), then start the boil. Then top up to 5.25 and add the 1000ml starter.

I fermented for 10 days, force carbed in the keg for 7 days.

Eric

Ragutis said:

Talk him into a wheat beer and use this recipe. It's tasty after 3 weeks.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/bee-cave-brewery-bavarian-hefeweizen-35679/


I made this on Nov. 1 last year and it was perfect for thanksgiving.

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+1 on this. Any mild flavored wheat can be quite tasty that fast.

Cliff897 said:

I think it's a bad idea to try to help him.
It's all down side. No beer ( none that I know of) is ready in that time frame.

It'll be horrible: green, full of dialectal, nasty on the back of the tongue, and crap.


Sometimes ya just gotta say no.

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I was at the local micro-brewery today, and asked the brewer
how long does it take them to get from grain to bottle
"usually two weeks" is what he told me
so if a pro brewer can do it in two weeks why can't we
his beer might not be the best in the world but it certainly isn't "crap"

I agree to go with a hefeweizen, but honestly even 3 weeks I feel is cutting it close.

biermunchers cream of 3 crops. i did this from grain to glass and it was drinkable in about 3 weeks.