Brewing for my wedding

I'm going to start brewing soon for my wedding in late July. In addition to what I'm brew (at least three different beers--for 3 cornies), we're getting a keg of miller lite for the non-beer drinkers. What I need input on is what kind of other beers should I brew? I was thinking a pale ale, a stout and something in between. I'm sticking to top-fermenting ale yeast strains because I haven't set up my lagering equipment and don't want to run into any diacetyl disasters.

Suggestions, recipes, and any other input (as much as I can get!) is vastly appreciated.

BREW ON!

brackbrew said:

we're getting a keg of miller lite for the non-beer drinkers.

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LOL

Congrats on the wedding.

Well you got a pale, and a stout picked out....how about a Fat Tire clone? Billybrew just had a post about his fat tire clone he nailed. Maybe he will chime in and share the recipe

I'd recommend a Mild or a Brown. Something with a low bitterness and less agressive hops.
Personally, I think a porter would be better than a stout for July.

Mid-West Mild Ale
Category Brown Ale
Recipe Type All Grain
Fermentables
6 lbs mild ale malt
4 oz chocolate malt
Hops
1.5 oz Fuggles (pellets) - boil
.5 oz Fuggles (pellets) - finish
Yeast Any dried ale yeast
Procedure Bottled on day 13. At it’s best fresh; weeks 3-6.

david_42 said:

I'd recommend a Mild or a Brown. Something with a low bitterness and less agressive hops.
Personally, I think a porter would be better than a stout for July.

Mid-West Mild Ale
Category Brown Ale
Recipe Type All Grain
Fermentables
6 lbs mild ale malt
4 oz chocolate malt
Hops
1.5 oz Fuggles (pellets) - boil
.5 oz Fuggles (pellets) - finish
Yeast Any dried ale yeast
Procedure Bottled on day 13. At it’s best fresh; weeks 3-6.

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Well, as for the stout vs. porter, I agree but the last porter recipe I did didn't turn out as well as the cream stout I made back in January. Also, I should note, I'm not setup for all grain yet, but I do extract with specialty grains and mini-mash...can you convert that recipe? Thanks so much!

Keep the ideas coming, guys. This forum is priceless!

BREW ON

Congrats on the wedding. I am making mead for mine which is next year. The biggest hurdle that we had to cross was finding a reception site that allowed us to bring in our own alcohol. The one that we finally settled on only let us bring it only because mead was hard for them to find. Just something to look out for.

BTW Id go with that fat tire clone. You should have something for everyone.

- magno

Chimone said:

LOL

Congrats on the wedding.

Well you got a pale, and a stout picked out....how about a Fat Tire clone? Billybrew just had a post about his fat tire clone he nailed. Maybe he will chime in and share the recipe

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I will. http://byo.com/recipe/685.html It's straight out of BYO, only I used White's California Ale yeast instead. You'll like it.

And congrats!

Have you considered a witbier? Nicely refreshing and quite distinct from the pale ale and stout...

Hows about a White Ale? It will match your fiance's dress!

Also, a good bit of BMC drinkers are taking a liking to my recent Amarillo Pale Ale along with the beer geeks. Just an idear.

Keep the suggestions coming!

A witbier would be a great idea; I tried the Hoegaarden clone from Beer Captured, only it didn't turn out as clean as I wanted it. If you have a good witbier recipe for extract (with grains and minimash) and the amarillo pale ale recipe, pass them along!

Thanks again for everything, guys. The more input, the better!

BREW ON

A wit would be nice, although the spices (orange peel, coriander, etc., ) would likely take longer than July to settle down enough to be "right." A Bavarian Hefe-weizen or American Wheat would be an excellent compromise.

Congrats btw!!

Is there a way to play with the amounts of spice in a wit recipe to tame some things? Or adjust the hops or fermentables? The spices in the hoegaarden I brewed, although I didn't get the results I hoped for (it was quite quenching and drinkable) didn't seem out of place after only a month.

Thoughts anybody?

BREW ON

Hey congrats on your upcoming funeral

-um, i mean wedding -

Whatever you brew, you'd better get cracking. You only have about 8 weeks. A nice Brown ale could be done in that time........

brackbrew said:

Is there a way to play with the amounts of spice in a wit recipe to tame some things? Or adjust the hops or fermentables? The spices in the hoegaarden I brewed, although I didn't get the results I hoped for (it was quite quenching and drinkable) didn't seem out of place after only a month.

Thoughts anybody?

BREW ON

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Perhaps use less?? I don't know for sure, as I don't have extensive experience with this style. I think there would be a risk of having something too spiced in the amount of time alotted.

I agree, though, whatever you decide on, you'd better get going. Are you going to brew each batch on the same day?? ??

What kind of beer does the bride enjoy? This is probably one of the most important questions right For the non beer drinkings you could get one of those Apple Cider kits!

Beer Snob said:

What kind of beer does the bride enjoy? This is probably one of the most important questions right For the non beer drinkings you could get one of those Apple Cider kits!

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I say don't spoil her too early. . .she'll get accustomed to it, and then you 'll end up making wine and champagne, and other things not beer. . . .*LOL*

Remember, this is (or should be) YOUR day.....(I hope my wife doesn't see this)

Biermann said:

Remember, this is (or should be) YOUR day.....(I hope my wife doesn't see this)

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Yeah You'll be limping all day working out kinks from the couch wondering when you'll have sex next.....

Beer Snob said:

Yeah You'll be limping all day working out kinks from the couch wondering when you'll have sex next.....

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what's new?? *L*

I can't get my recipe out of beersmith because my trial is up and I have to register, but here's what I remember. The only thing I can't remember are the gravity's. I think it came in just under 5% ABV. This is a "tweaked" version of Garrett Server's recipe due to limited malt, my boil capability, and the % Alpha of the hops I had. Garrett's recipe can be found here: http://www.firststatebrewers.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=GDS_Amarillo

Brian's Amarillo Pale:
1lb Crystal 20L
8oz Crystal 40L
5.5lb Extra Light DME (Muntons)
1.88 oz Amarillo 8% at 60
1.88 oz Amarillo 8% between 15min and 1min (Continually hopped)
1 oz Amarillo 8% Dry Hop
Irish Moss at 15min
WLP051 California V

I only did a 2.5 gal boil (due to small pot). I did a 75 min boil total. I aged 1 week primary, and two weeks secondary. It was good at 2 weeks in bottles. Mine turned out to be a bit hazy, not really sure why. I'm going to try Whirfloc next time to see if it helps.

Some of the BMC drinkers say it has a bit too much grapefruit flavor, but others are enjoying it.

What about a steam type beer a simple lager recipe, with say a san francisco lager yeast(White Labs). It ferments at ale temps and no dycatel. If you want that type of beer but can't lager it might be the way to go. Congrats on the Wedd.

Ok, the way I see it is you have three choices for your "in between" beer (in my book).

1. Brown Ale - Definitely in between. Sweeter and maltier than pale and lighter than stout.

2. Hefewiezen - Totally different from either and light and crisp for the summer. Also, alot of people haven't had it and you'll be educating them. We all like that, no?

3. The best style that you've EVER made that you still have the recipe for.


My .02.