Wedding beer(s)

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Mr_Pear

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I've agreed to brew up some beer for a wedding this august and per request of the bride and groom they want a light and dark beer. They like blue moon so I brewed up a wit that is pretty tasty and they are sold on that for the light beer but I'm not sure what I want to brew for the dark beer. I've kind of been thinking I'd do maybe a dark ipa or a hoppy porter which will achieve the dark requirement but will still be pleasant to drink at an outdoor wedding in august. Thought I'd see if anyone has any good suggestions or possible recipes.
 
How about an English mild or brown ale for the dark beer? I'm not sure whether or not this meets your definition of "dark", but these styles are low in alcohol and light enough in body to be drinkable in warmer weather.
 
Well when talking with them they told me that some of their favorite beers are blue moon and terminator stout from mcmenamins. I brewed up a more traditional wit and got the approval for that but I just can't imagine brewing up 15 gallons of a big dark and toasty roasty stout for the summer. So I wanted something pretty dark at least in appearance to maybe get those "I only like dark beer" people something to drink.
 
No matter what you choose for your dark beer, make sure it finishes clean. If it is an August wedding, people will want something refreshing, even if it is dark. Roasty stouts are great, but for a wedding in August, I would lean toward a porter or brown with a clean finish. Either way, brew it up early and let them try it so they can give you some direction!
 
Cant go wrong with a low abv porter. Slight touch of sweetness and a little bit of body to the beer will work great!
 
Make a hoppy amber ale, and grind up some carfa to use during the sparge for color and some 1272
 
I think I'm going to do a porter and this is what I put together so far, thoughts feelings?
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 %
Bitterness: 44.7 IBUs
Est Color: 30.3 SRM

6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) 61.9 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) 14.3 %
12.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) 7.1 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6 9.2 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) 4.8 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) 2.4 %
0.50 oz Magnum [20.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min 32.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min 8.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min 2.0 IBUs
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min 1.4 IBUs
1.0 pkg British Ale (White Labs #WLP005)

I was thinking either WLP005 or WLP007 since it has a bit better attenuation then WLP002. I was shooting for something black butte-esq.
 
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