Need a good recipe for arrival of our first child

Hey all,

The wife and I are pregnant, and we are expecting in about 7 months. I am looking to brew a beer, that will age for about that time, and be ready to keg a week or so before we welcome the little one to our lives. The wife loves Belgians, as do I, and want to stick to something along those lines. Could I do a Belgian Tripel and have it ready by then?

Heres what I am looking for:
Style: Belgian, pretty much any type. My wife likes the lighter color ones, blondes and Tripels, not too big on Dubbels. We are talking a due date in early summer, so a Saison wouldn't be out of the question.
Gravity: High, ABV around 8-10%, as long as its under a 20# grain bill. Thinking it would be a bit too big at that point for my system. Unless I dunk sparge.
Tyoe: All grain, BIAB style, in a 11gal Kettle.

Does this seem possible? I am typically an IPA drinker and maker, and have recently made the switch to BIAB. I have 2 BIAB beers made so far with good results. I am looking to brew this soon as I want to get it aging to be ready to drink after we have the baby.

I am open to any and all suggestions.

I was thinking a RIS, but the wife is not a big dark beer person ( hence no Dubbels). If anyone has any other suggestions on style, let us know. We are open to anything!

Funny I'm actually brewing an 11.3% abv Imperial Stout for just that reason in 2 and a half weeks. Only difference is the wife and I aren't going to start trying for a kid til ~March. My plan is to customize caps and or labels and give them to our parents to let them know she's pregnant, then drink one a year on the kids birthday...there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong but hey I can dream right?!

As far as a Belgian it sounds like a Tripel or Saison would be a great choice. Maybe look into a Belgian Blond, Bier de Garde, or Belgian Golden Strong Ale if you really want to stick with a Belgian. If not you might want to look into an English or American Barleywine brewed on the lighter side of the color scale. Not sure what you think about ciders but that may also be an option, probably wouldn't be best in the summer but figured I would throw that out there.

Cheers!

Do a 1.100+ IRS or barley wine, bottle it and cellar it, opening a bottle every year on their birthday. But do something big with the goal of still having a few bottles that they can drink when they turn legal age. I wish I had done something like this. I did an octoberfest the day before my second child was born 2 years ago in feb. I have a few bottles of it left but it isn't the type of beer that will last indefinitely.

If you could clone an Ayinger Celebrator, it seems like it would be the most appropriate brew. Depeding on the person there are 2 types of beverage drank in celebration. The first is obviously Champagne or sparkling wine. If you wanted to go that route I'd say brew a Belgian blonde, maybe with some fruit? you could up the carb on this and give it a more champagne like mouthfeel which could be cool. The second is a hard liquor like whiskey, cognac or scotch. A good equivalent to that would be a russian imperial stout or doppelbock. brew something similar to the ayinger or an old rasputin for that effect. maybe add a bit of hard liquor in the secondary for added complexity. check my BrewToad account on my Imperial stout test recipe for something similar to this. my inebriated 2 cents.

Belgian, pretty much any type. My wife likes the lighter color ones, blondes and Tripels, not too big on Dubbels.

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LOL....your wife likes lighter ABV and heavy ABV, but that 6.0-7.6% ABV in the middle.....YUCK!

You could definitely have a tripel ready in time, with plenty to spare. Also, a Belgian Golden Strong would be delicious as well.

First off, congratulations! We are expecting our first (a boy) in January!

Quick story about my plan(s):

I had brewed a ‘baby-day’ barleywine back in June or so, but I forgot about it in the primary for nearly 2 months and I do not have high hopes for it (I believe it actually got infected somehow, based on smell/tastings going into the bottle). I am hoping my hunch is not correct but I will not be quick to hand those bottles out to family and friends when our bundle of joy arrives.

I did make up a nice batch of mead that I do plan on using to celebrate. Plus it has the benefit of getting better with age so we will try to keep some bottles to crack open on his birthday each year.

I would say make a Belgian trippel. It should be drinkable in 7 months, but will get even better with age on it (birthday celebrations!).

I would also add that it would be very cool to get a vertical going where you brew the same or similar batch each year, gradually building up your reserves for each year’s birthday tasting. Heck if you were very patient you could end up with a 21 year vertical that you could share with your child when he/she turns of age. Not sure how well a 21 year old homebrew would taste (depending on what you make) but you have the advantage of trying one each year…if they start to turn for the worse drink em all up and tell him/her you started planning it when they was 5 or 10.

TopherM said:

LOL....your wife likes lighter ABV and heavy ABV, but that 6.0-7.6% ABV in the middle.....YUCK!

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I know, right?? She's a woman, so, did you expect anything else?? Its not the alcohol content, its the roasted malts and darker beer. Shes not a Stout, Dubbel, Porter fan. She can have maybe half of one or so, but she is into more of the "fruity" beers, as far as Belgians go. I dont think she has ever tried a Lambic, but would probably like that.

I think I would be making this more for her than myself. But Im sure I will enjoy them as well.

I like the idea of making the same beer each year to "commemorate" the birth. That seems fun.

Is mead similar to champagne? I dont know much about it other than its honey ,water, nutrients, and yeast. Never had it haha.

What is the average age time for a Tripel? Primary time and secondary time??

Mead is usually bottled and served still. But I actually split my batch and half went into wine bottles and the other half when into beer bottles with carb drops.

Hmm, maybe I could try mead. I am leaning heavily towards a Tripel. I think we would both love that. How long can they age?? As long as I am super good with cleanliness, can they age for years??

I recently had a commercial tripel that I cellared for a couple years and it was incredibly good. I'm not sure what is the shelf life, though. Conversely, I just had a homebrewed tripel that's been in the bottle for just under 4 weeks and it was definitely not ready. I didn't expect it to be but I guess I was hoping I'd be pleasantly surprised. If you brewed now, I would think it would be pretty kick ass in 7 months.

And congratulations, I type this as my 4 month old daughter sleeps on my left arm. There's nothing like it!

Well, I am going to "re-open" this thread. Our last pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Not a fun time. Ill leave it at that, and that I hope that everyone here never has to go through that. And it wasn't our first....

Anyways, I have decided to brew a Russian imperial Stout (RIS). I think this would be best, and probably age the best/longest.

The reason I am reopening this is for hte help in finding a good recipe that will AGE. I have google searched, and looked all over for a recipe, but have not really found much. Does anyone here have a good recipe for a RIS that can take some years of age???

Oh, and we are now expecting our first child in October! We are finally pregnant, with a healthy baby boy. All is good in the pregnancy, and we are about 22 weeks. We are both super excited and I need to get something in a carboy and on its way!!

Higher ABV = better long term aging. Any RIS above 7-8% ABV will age nicely for something on the order of 3-4 years.

Baltic Porters age very nicely as well, becoming much more complex over time.

Barleywines and meads age gracefully as well!

The common denominator is higher ABV!

OP, Congrats on baby boy!

My wife and I are expecting our first child any day now (Due June 12). I brewed a Summer Ale (more of an American Wheat) with my father in law on Saturday that we plan on serving at the Christening.

As far as a beer to age, I agree with TopherM, the bigger the better. Keep everything super sanitized and let it roll.

Oh, and the optimum aging temp for your RIS will be 50-55F, if possible. If that precise temp control is going to be tough, I'd rather age it in the fridge than at room temp for long periods of time.

After talking with my wife, she said "Why dont you just do both??". Hahaha. I knew I married her for a reason.

So I think I have figured out what to make. I am going to make a Imperial Stout, based on Jamils "Czar's Revenge". I am going to make it my own though, and may add a touch of vinilla and oak.

Then Ill make a Belgian Tripel.

I hope to make them both within about a week of each other so I can bulk age around the same temp for at least a month, then bottle and age in bottles. Super excited to do this!

I have a LOT of brewing to do in the next month, as my 2 kegs in my Keezer are about ready to kick, and I have nothing in primary right now.

If she's breast feeding, maybe a lower abv beer so she can enjoy one, not get slammed, and have it out of her system quickly. If she's not, whatever you want! Just remember, you have a cpl 11+% beers, and have a screaming baby needing your attention all night, it's that much harder when you've got a solid buzz ^^

dbkdev said:

If she's breast feeding, maybe a lower abv beer so she can enjoy one, not get slammed, and have it out of her system quickly. If she's not, whatever you want! Just remember, you have a cpl 11+% beers, and have a screaming baby needing your attention all night, it's that much harder when you've got a solid buzz ^^

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This is very true. I am sure Ill have something on tap that she/ we could both enjoy. She loves pumpkin, and is already asking me to make a pumpkin beer for after the birth. Our due date is October, so, it would work perfect. But ill make it closer to the big day, so the pumpkin flavor is still fresh and prevalent.

The reason for the BIG beers, is so that they will age for awhile, and I was planning o give away a few, and maybe celebrate the first few birthdays with opening up a couple and seeing how they have changed and matured, just like our son.

SFGiantsFan925 said:

This is very true. I am sure Ill have something on tap that she/ we could both enjoy. She loves pumpkin, and is already asking me to make a pumpkin beer for after the birth. Our due date is October, so, it would work perfect. But ill make it closer to the big day, so the pumpkin flavor is still fresh and prevalent.

The reason for the BIG beers, is so that they will age for awhile, and I was planning o give away a few, and maybe celebrate the first few birthdays with opening up a couple and seeing how they have changed and matured, just like our son.

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I gotcha on the big beer. What if you do a pumkin beer (seems fitting) and do a small batch of a big beer? or do both ! If it's big enough, you can save it and open one each year until they're 5 or something.

Our due date is October, so, it would work perfect. But ill make it closer to the big day, so the pumpkin flavor is still fresh and prevalent.

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I do alot of pumpkin beers, and I find that the pumpkin flavor actually gets better with some aging, peaking at about 2-3 months. I always brew my pumpkin beers in late July/early August.

They are not best fresh. If you want to do one, definitely give it some time to mature!

TopherM said:

I do alot of pumpkin beers, and I find that the pumpkin flavor actually gets better with some aging, peaking at about 2-3 months. I always brew my pumpkin beers in late July/early August.

They are not best fresh. If you want to do one, definitely give it some time to mature!

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Good to know. Thanks!

Last year I brewed the Thunderstruck Pumpkin Beer from the recipe index here on HBT. It was great after about a month in the keg. We just got burnt out on it. Hard to drink 5 gallons of a pumpkin beer. Especially when the wife buys EVERYTHING pumpkin at the time, from coffee creamer to pies, to breads, to raviolis haha.

Congrats to you! That's awesome.

For my daughter's birth, I made an orange blossom mead. I know it's not beer, but my plan is to keep some until she's ready to have some herself. I've heard that mead ages really well.


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I'm going to withhold my recommendation on Breast Milk Stout

This is an awesome idea. My first is due 4Dec. I am going to copy your idea but maybe make a mead, my first for that too.

soccerdad said:

I'm going to withhold my recommendation on Breast Milk Stout

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Hahaha. I see what you did there