Recipe suggestions

Hey everybody. I need some help with recipe selection. I brew (and drink) almost exclusively porters and stouts. I have been asked to brew up some goodies for a wedding reception. And since I am not "lager capable" at the moment, I am not sure what would be a good selection for general consumption. And I would prefer not to default to an American cream. So any suggestions for a good easy drinker would be greatly appreciated. Or several. Would like to give them a little selection. Thanks!

The recipe wiki would be a great place to start. There's a tab on the menu bar

Some popular suggestions from the recipe forums here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/swmbo-slayer-belgian-blonde-26599/

I've made both of these, and they are VERY accessible to the general population. Craft beer drinkers will enjoy them, as well as BMC drinkers.

I would suggest a wheat (wit or hefe) and a milk stout. Seems like all my friends enjoy those two regardless of other beer tastes. I would also look at an APA/IPA and a special high gravity offering like a RIS, Barleywine, or Belgian Strong Ale. And since you brewing all this maybe your house beer or favorite beer you make.

I recently brewed for a wedding and chose these three:
Centennial Blonde
Andrew's IPA
Biggs & Wedge Stout

I was told by more than one person that the stout was the best stout that they've ever tasted, and the IPA was the first one gone. NOBODY complained about the beer selection.

I'll also chime in with another vote for the Centennial Blonde, it's a real winner.

If it's an outdoor wedding in the summer, I bet a nice American Wheat Ale (maybe with a touch of fruit, like strawberry or raspberry) would also disappear pretty quickly.

Kolsch is always a pretty well received style. I have done "festbiers" for weddings in the fall - basically, a "mocktoberfest" with kolsch yeast - they turned out quite well and everyone liked them.

British ordinary bitter, British Dark Mild are generally well liked.

The ones mentioned above as well are all good ideas.

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the quick responses. I'm thinking 4. The centennial, an ipa, some manner of fruit, and a stout. What fruit do you think would be the safest bet for likability? And that's interesting about the milk stout. Is that generally more well received?

Braufessor said:

Kolsch is always a pretty well received style. I have done "festbiers" for weddings in the fall - basically, a "mocktoberfest" with kolsch yeast - they turned out quite well and everyone liked them.

British ordinary bitter, British Dark Mild are generally well liked.

The ones mentioned above as well are all good ideas.

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Would like a kolsch. But doesn't it have to be lagered?

satyrbassist said:

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the quick responses. I'm thinking 4. The centennial, an ipa, some manner of fruit, and a stout. What fruit do you think would be the safest bet for likability? And that's interesting about the milk stout. Is that generally more well received?

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If you're brewing for your audience that's not a bad lineup. Your audience though will likely be composed of majority women and people ranging from the elderly to just turning 21.

I'd consider putting out something that would appeal to the women drinkers, otherwise they'll stick to wine. What usually goes over well is a nice blonde, a wit beer, or a belgian pale ale. It's also approachable for people who typically stick to BMC. I'm sure the IPA and stout are good but I wouldn't see them as being too popular with the typical wedding crowd. Most people are wearing their nice clothes (which are usually tight) and don't want to drink what they would perceive as a heavy beer and then go dance.

Darwin18 said:

If you're brewing for your audience that's not a bad lineup. Your audience though will likely be composed of majority women and people ranging from the elderly to just turning 21.

I'd consider putting out something that would appeal to the women drinkers, otherwise they'll stick to wine. What usually goes over well is a nice blonde, a wit beer, or a belgian pale ale. It's also approachable for people who typically stick to BMC. I'm sure the IPA and stout are good but I wouldn't see them as being too popular with the typical wedding crowd. Most people are wearing their nice clothes (which are usually tight) and don't want to drink what they would perceive as a heavy beer and then go dance.

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Excellent point about tight clothes and heavy beer. Hadn't thought of that.

satyrbassist said:

And that's interesting about the milk stout. Is that generally more well received?

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Most of my friends are Sam Adams/Blue Moon type of drinkers so between the BMC crowd and the full on Craft crowd. I tend to bring craft beer to our get togethers and if I bring two sixers of Milk Stout I don't have to worry about bringing any back which is not the case for many styles. I also liked to take dates to The Brick Store Pub and when a girl was not a beer drinker one of the styles I would recommend was Milk Stout and they always seemed to enjoy them. I really do think they are beer that just about anyone would like and are a great starter into the craft beer world and stouts in particular.