2 week brew

I am going to try an AG medium alc beer that I can drink soon. Am I dreaming or is this possible? My efficiency is not too high yet (60-65%) So I read orfy's mild ale recipe and think that I am going to try it, but I want a little more alcohol.

Thinking:
7 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb Crystal 90
.5 lb Chocolate
.5oz Willamette (60min)
.5oz Willamette (30)
Nottingham dry yeast or SA-05

60 min mash, 90 min boil

My friend over at a brewpub said that it takes him 2 weeks to go from the boiler to the tap. How the freaking hell does he do it? The beer is smooth, delicious and not green tasting at all. How can I do that? He is making porters that taste great (my favorite porter right now, very creamy and chocolatey).

By the way, how do you get that creamy suppleness in the mouth?

I am just about to start winemaking season and won't have time to brew for the next two months so I want a beer that can be drank quickly. Any help on tactics and procedure are appreciated

Mashing hot (158) will provide a thicker mouthfeel and if you add some flaked wheat or oats you'll get that smooth creamy, some say oily, finish.

As to the brewpub, chances are they pitch heavy and get a full finished ferment in a few (2 -3) days and move to the bright tank for clearing and serving.

Mild would be a good beer for brew to keg within 2 weeks. If you bottle you'll still need time in the bottle to condition and carbonate naturally. Maybe 4 weeks to be drinkable from brew to bottle.

I almost always mash higher and haven't noticed too much more mouthfeel yet. I will definately try the wheat and other grains.

I am going to use the keg so it sounds like this might be on my list of things to do later today...

+1 on wheat malt. I like white wheat better than torrified.

mmb said:

As to the brewpub, chances are they pitch heavy and get a full finished ferment in a few (2 -3) days and move to the bright tank for clearing and serving.

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They may also be pressure fermenting. Pressure fermentations result in fewer esters and faster flocculation. Since ester production is lower, the beer can be fermented a few degrees warmer and will hence attenuate quicker, too.

Some day I plan to grab a few used half bbl kegs and build a pair of glycol-jacketed pressure fermenters. I don't have room for such a rig in this house though. I need a brew room!

Right, so I did the brew this afternoon and just finished. Turns out that I did pretty close to Orfy's recipe.

6.3 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb Crystal 90L
.5 lb Chocolate
1 oz Willamette, half at 60 half at 30
tablespoon Irish moss
Nottingham yeast

So I just did this and I pulled a sample about 15 minutes prior to the end of the boil and got 1.035 so I am calling it 1.038 SG. This is the first time that I have acheived my goal starting gravity. Horay there.

The idea with this guy is that I want to have it to drink soon so I am hoping to be drinking it in less than three weeks.

Looks like a good recipe for a quick turn around.

This should be no problem for a quick turn-around. I have kegged my UPA after a 1 week primary in a pinch before. In fact, after I finish typing this, I will be kegging a batch of my UPA that I did 9 days ago, and it has an OG of 1.050. For this batch, I fermented pretty hot, mid to high 70's, and racked after a week into the secondaries. I added gelatin, and it was "almost" crystal clear in 2 days. I will taste a sample tonight, and if it is good I will keg. If it isn't quite there, I will dry hop in the keg. The other half of the batch is getting bottled in a couple weeks. I may or may not dry hop depending on how the first stuff tastes. Good Luck!

P.S. I drank my first homebrew 11 days after I brewed it...and it was bottled. I have never been patient.

Good luck.

I tapped mine at day 10. It tasted better at day 12

but I want a little more alcohol.

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Candi sugar and rice syrup solids can boost your alc% with no effect on the taste or color

Last night after finishing up, I had my wort in a water bath (no ice) and it took a long time to get down in temperature. I got tired of waiting and pitched at 95*F and this morning it is down to 65*F, so I am not worried about anything, the worst that happens is that I get about an hour of strange flavors. Honestly I look at it like I made a starter, just with the beer...

Comments?

And how long you guys stay in primary on yours? The normal week?

So now, here I am this morning checking on my fermenters before the day goes on and all is well, slow, but well.

Meanwhile, here we are in the middle of a freaking heat wave where for some reason, god decided to grant us 3 days so far of 103, 106 and 109 yesterday! Luckily I have access to the garage and not just doing this in my UPSTAIRS apartment where it is eclipsing 90 degrees until freaking midnight! This is awful without A/C however the fermenters (I hope, seeing as I am at work) are in the Garage where it is staying around 80 for this entire wave.

Good times...

Living and learning with this lesson...

I usually stay on yeast for at LEAST two weeks then directly to kegs. I'll only rack to secondary for BIG beers (1.080 OG and larger) and lagers.

Give the yeast time to do their jobs.

80 is a bit warm, I usually shoot for 65 - 68 on ales. Put the fermentor in a tub of water and swap ice packs out around it. Temp control is fairly important on the first few days of fermentation. Towards the end you can ramp up temperatures with little trouble, but too hot a fermentation at the offset can produce off flavors and fusel alcohols.

So...I am sure all are getting tired of hearing about this damned 2 week brew, but I want to see it to the end.

I went into the garage this morning to make sure that my Hard Cider isn't puking into the ferm lock any more and that my beer is still fermenting. The beer (Orfys Mild Brown...) seems to either be going reeeeeally slowly (granted it is in the high 60's right now) or it might be at the dying end of fermentation. It has only been in there since Tuesday, so 5 days, but I used Nottingham and had a pretty warm first four days and started at 1.038. The real question is that since I am trying to make this a quick beer and had the warm fermentation should I take a reading today or wait till day 9 and then bottle/keg it? Anyone with previous mild experience have any thoughts?

mmb:
I usually stay on yeast for at LEAST two weeks then directly to kegs.

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I would agree with you aside from I need to have this ready to start drinking faster than Orfy did it with his nine days! But seriously folks, I don't mean to seem in a rush here, harvest is starting this week and my time is about to get a little cramped. I would like to get this into the bottle ASAP so that it can condition while I work and I can start drinking it soon and it will only get better until I finish it.

Thanks guys and gals!

Take a reading. It should be done.

Thanks Orfy, good to know you don't mind me drinking it sooner than you

I kegged on day 8!

If you need or want to hit the target time scale then leave as long as you can to let the yeast clean it up.

It's a giggle doing it so fast and it proves it can be done but I wouldn't say it's best practice and they beer will probably be better if left longer.

But hey, good beer in 10 days ain't bad!!!!!!

Must admit it was better at day 12.
10 was pushin' it a bit.

What's the fastest in a bottle you have gotten to? I planned on kegging this until I realized that the point of this is two fold.

1. I want to be able to pass a bottle onto friends and say, "I like my beers like my ladies, young, fresh and full of life. You do to so try this beer!"

2. I have a beer in keg and I really want to drink this one faster than that one. Without a CO2 tank I am SOL with quickness in keg, so might as well bottle and just drink a little yeasty and young.

Might still keg, but chances are a little less. Might not beat you this time...