Is 2 months enough time for a stout...

to be ready from brew date to drink date?

I'm almost finished drinking my first brew--a tasty Amber Ale. I'm ready to brew again. I have my bachelor party retreat coming up October 6, and I want to brew the NB Imperial Stout Extract Kit. My question is whether the brew can be ready in time for that trip, which is almost exactly 2 months away, or should I brew something that can be ready to go faster? Any advice would be great.

The more I read about it the more I'm thinking I don't have the time.

I haven't brewed that specific one but usually an imperial stout is better with more aging. Don't know what kind of bachelor party you are shooting for, but it seems like most of them go for the easier drinking/multiple beers angle.

It would definitely be pushing it for a quality beer, especially an imperial. Two months is going to be close for any beer if you are bottling. If you are kegging, you should be fine, but I would probably go for something else. A good brown would be tasty getting into fall.

You should be able to pull it off. I'd definitely make a starter (learn to do that if you've never done it before). Be sure to keep a good eye on your gravity after a couple weeks in the fermenter. Once it's nearing completion, up the temperature to around 70 to 73 to encourage the yeast to finish things up if you're able (don't worry, the flavors are already set by this point). This last part should only take a couple of days. Bottle it asap though, as it'll take about three weeks minimum to carbonate in the bottle. If you keg, you're already good to go.

Edit: As some others have mentioned though, a lighter gravity ale might be an easier fix, and it can be quite satisfying as well!

Sure you can drink it but it probably get better when it gets a little older... It needs time to age to reach its true potential...

What I do:

I brew quick beers and beers to age in combination so I always have something around.

Earlier this year I got on a Belgian kick and had to much (I know it is a sin to say...) BIG BEER in the house.... I had none of the session beers I normally drink... since then I have brewed a Kolsch, Mild, Amber, Hefe to try to fill my Keezer up with beer I can drink every day...

I know that I will have the 20 gallons of the Belgian Stout and the triple until XMAS... not a bad thing but it takes up keg space.... I should have bottled it.

A dry stout like Guinness is a lower gravity beer that you should be able to turn around quickly. Anything with Imperial in the name is not gonna fit what you are looking for though. That kit you were looking at could possibly be consumed in your timeframe, but it will not even be close to as good as it could be.

If you're set on the NB stout kits, I'd suggest their Dry Irish Stout or Chocolate Milk Stout (for something a bit more full-bodied.) Both of those can be finished in your time frame.

It depends on the stout. Will it be drinkable in 2 months? Certainly. Will it be at its peak? Maybe. Probably not. Much easier to get a brown or a porter to taste like something besides Granny's corn squeezins in that time constraint.

But given the usual parameter of bachelor party drunks being measured on a Richter scale, a RIS might be over-kill. Bachelor party drunks are usually a 10-12 hour marathon, not a 2-3 hour sprint.

What do you guys like to drink? I have a RIS bottle that I wont touch for at least 2 months. I'd recommend maybe a nice pumkpin ale /wheat for that time?

I have to agree with the majority here. yes, it is drinkable. But, the question is, is it going to be enjoyable? Do you really want to spend the money and time to brew a beer that has good potential to let it fall short because of the time restraints? Me personally, I wouldn't; but that is just my opinion.

I would think you would be pretty safe with just about any stout, minus the imperial and export. Dry stout, being the best option if you are truely set on a stout.

Pale ales, wheats etc, are all better beers when you have them fresher and less aged. I would say brew a different style other than the imperial and maybe take a few sixers or quads of an imperial stout. Just my thoughts.


Congrats on the wedding & enjoy the bachelor party.

Thanks for all the input, everyone. After reading some of your thoughts and after doing some additional research, I purchased the Rye Stout extract kit from NB. All the reviews were great and it appears it will be easier to get that beer ready faster than the Imperial Stout. Anyone have any experience with this brew?

As for the bachelor party, we rented a cabin in the hills of SE Oklahoma for the first weekend of October for some golf, drinking, grilling, fire-making, and firearms (and not all at the same time). There will be about 9 of us, so even with a full batch of this stuff we will be getting into the cheap stuff at some point. Figured we may want some quality beer for one of the evenings we're there.

Again, thanks for the help.

BeefCrewBrew said:

Thanks for all the input, everyone. After reading some of your thoughts and after doing some additional research, I purchased the Rye Stout extract kit from NB. All the reviews were great and it appears it will be easier to get that beer ready faster than the Imperial Stout. Anyone have any experience with this brew?

As for the bachelor party, we rented a cabin in the hills of SE Oklahoma for the first weekend of October for some golf, drinking, grilling, fire-making, and firearms (and not all at the same time). There will be about 9 of us, so even with a full batch of this stuff we will be getting into the cheap stuff at some point. Figured we may want some quality beer for one of the evenings we're there.

Again, thanks for the help.

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Down around Wister? Or Antlers?

why not just do a regular stout. You should have enough time for that... 2 months would be pushing it for an Imperial if you don't want to drink it green

That rye stout sounds good. Good luck, and the Bach party sound like a great time!

ajm163 said:

why not just do a regular stout. You should have enough time for that...

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this.

You can easily have very good stout in 2 months. Imperials are brewed for next year.

+1 on Imperials and high gravity beers. They need to age. But at a party you'll want folks to have more than 3 before their ripped anyway

prrriiide said:

Down around Wister? Or Antlers?

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Broken Bow Lake. Beautiful area. I'm not from there and I currently live in OKC, but one of my coworkers has family down there that owns and rents a group of incredibly nice cabins. Great setup.

BeefCrewBrew said:

Broken Bow Lake. Beautiful area. I'm not from there and I currently live in OKC, but one of my coworkers has family down there that owns and rents a group of incredibly nice cabins. Great setup.

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It is a beautiful area. I wish more people that think Oklahoma is flat and dusty could see that part of the state! Watch out though...I know a guy in Wister that said the gators have started moving that far north into eastern OK. Not real widespread and not real big grandaddys, bur he's seen a couple of 3-4 footers.