Need a little recipe advice

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Jeepninja

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Hello. This will be long and I am sorry.

I'm getting ready to move away from extract kits and move to buying ingredients in bulk. I also will be setting up a kegging system and will be ordering 4 ball lock kegs from sabco at the end of the month.

So here is my problem. A friend of mine is getting married in August (that is his problem not mine). But I promised I would make him some beer for his reception. Then we got discussing the group of attendees and decided that one keg wouldn't be enough and an open bar was out of the question. Adding to that, everyone is so particular about the type of beer they prefer that it looks like there will need to be 4 different styles of beer.

So basically we came to the conclusion that they should be ordered from light to dark to run the gamut of everyone's particular tastes.

I was thinking the following:
  • Hefeweizen
  • Indian Pale Ale
  • British Brown Ale
  • Irish Stout

Here are my questions:
  1. With the immense collective brewing knowledge of this board can anyone recommend 4 recipes like this with the most in common ingredient wise?
  2. Would anyone make any recommended changes besides "Don't get married"?
  3. Am I overthinking this and should just buy 4 kits and be done with it?

They need to be extract based because of the equipment and timeframes involved. I would like to go to AG some day, but that is a ways down the road.

I know this seems like a crazy idea. Thank you so much for any help though!
 
I would go to a site like AHS and check out their kits, they have hundreds. Pick an overall cost, and pick four kits that total that price.

It will probably be over $100, so free shipping too.

I would adjust your brews too.

If I had to choose 4 beers for an event it'd be closer to:

Hefeweizen
Pale Ale instead of Indian Pale Ale
Altbier or Lager (depending on whether or not you can lager)
Porter instead of Brown Ale or Stout

You brew too many strong flavored beers and hand them out at a wedding and you're going to see a lot of near full glasses being left on tables.
 
I think your easiest way to go is kits.

I agree with the heavy beer statement. You may want to tone down some of the selection. I love IPAs and robust Ales, but many people balk.

Here are some I have really liked that are a bit more user friendly for non brew hounds like us:

lighter:
Irish red ale - (easy lighter drinking - don't have to lager)
Pale Ale - seems darn near everyone likes pale ales
Hefe or belgian witbier (seems like I always have tasters that love these)

Stronger:
Amarillo IPA is a favorite of mine, if you want an IPA
Porter - midwests power pack porter is tasty

I would only do one dark, but that is because I know more people who like lighter vs. dark - think.... the SWMBO's.

Also, since the ABV is going to be higher, be careful, people will end up on the floor :)

Also, if you can do partial mash, it might save your some bucks (BIAB brewing).
 
Another thing is - perhaps you can make a chick drink - fruity etc. Enough time for a cider turned into woodchuck clone...
 
What about having a shandy for the SWMBO's? Or at least the ability of mixing one for them, it always seems to be a big hit at parties.
 
I thought Hefeweizen was a chick drink?

Seriously though thank you all for the recommendations.

I could possibly do BIAB as I have the stuff for that (well minus the bag).

I figured Hefe and Pale Ale would be the most popular. A brown ale would go over well with quite a few... I dunno about the stout... I'd drink it :)

It will be summer though so I'm sure many people do not want a thick heavy beer.

Thank you again.
 
Cream ale - A cream ale is has become a big hit for me. If you can find Argentinian Cascade hops it adds a more lemony flavor than regular cascades, which adds some interest. It's a light easy summer drinker that won't scare off the "BMC" crowd. I'm posting my recipe at the end of this post.

Pale ale- yes, pretty safe bet. Bee Cave Haus pale ale from Ed Wort is very good (in recipe section here on HBT)

Heffe or Wit - another summer favorite. Bee Cave Heffeweizen is Very good too (another Ed Wort recipe in recipe section)

Brown ale, porter, or stout - For the dark beer drinkers. I have an extract American Brown ale with a bit of Molasses which is interesting. Haven't done this all grain yet so I posted my extract version.

Here is my cream ale:

4.25 lbs pilsner malt
4.25 lbs 2 row Pale Malt
1lb flaked corn
1.5 oz Argentinian Cascade 60min
.5 oz Argentinian Cascade 2min

US-05 Ale yeast

Infusion Mash 90min @ 148°
Sparge with 170° water
Boil 60min

OG 1.048
FG 1.010
IBU 18
SRM 2
ABV 4.9%


and my American Brown Ale:
6 lbs Light dry malt extract (4lbs full boil, 2 lbs late addition at 15min remaining)
.5 lb Dextrine extract (for a bit of body)
.25lb Chocolate malt (steeped)
.5lb 60L Crystal malt (steeped)
2oz Molasses (late addition last 10min)
1 oz Cascade (60 min)
.5 oz Willamette (30 min)
.5 oz Wilamette (1 min)
US-05 yeast

Hope this helps
 
I thought Hefeweizen was a chick drink?

Seriously though thank you all for the recommendations.

I could possibly do BIAB as I have the stuff for that (well minus the bag).

I figured Hefe and Pale Ale would be the most popular. A brown ale would go over well with quite a few... I dunno about the stout... I'd drink it :)

It will be summer though so I'm sure many people do not want a thick heavy beer.

Thank you again.

I personally HATE wheat beers, and hefeweizens are the worst of the lot in my opinion. Not just wheat, but fruity/bubble gum wheat. If you want to make a "chick beer", I'd suggest a cream ale or a watermelon wheat, neither of which are strong flavored. My friend really liked my watermelo wheat and cream ale, but she liked my DFH clone IPA, too because she thought the hops were "fruity".
 
Wheats can be a hit or miss, and The Bee Cave is VERY Banana & Clove using the Wyeast Laboratories. Weihenstephan Weizen™ 3068 as called for in recipe. ( I love what this yeast brings, one of my favorite strains, and actually the only I use now for my basic hefe. BUT I'm really fussy about my hefes... I only like that big banana & clove style)

An Irish Red may fit the bill along with the cream ale... would be a good mid ground to most.

Another consideration is the food being served... Just ANOTHER thing to think about. Food pairing and beer is a big consideration. Is it beef, chicken or fish or a choice of... or just heavy hor'deovers.

I think it's great you doing this for your buddy! Just check with bride too... have a co-worker getting married and she's double checking everything her fiance does for planning! (lol! Poor guy!)
 
Don't worry, there will be a taste test of the two lighter beers for the bride to be prior to making the final beers for the wedding. She's a fan of Hefe's, summer ales, and witbier's. They don't have a lot of money to throw into the wedding and the entire group is very close so we're all helping where we can. One of us is going so far as to go through the process of getting a special waiver from the governor's office to officiate the marriage.

I think a Hefe, Pale Ale, IPA, and Brown ale are going to be the final cut. I think that will most likely appeal to the most palates and should go well with the weather and food. Everyone attending drinks "good beer" and there are a lot of beer snobs (myself included), this is most certainly not your miller/coors/bud crowd.

And to be totally self serving it is a GREAT excuse for me to get into kegging!
 
Very cool - good choices.

I didn't brew for my wedding, but I at least had a top shelf liquor set up and some Sam adams on tap.

Have fun!
 
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