Beer for a party in 1 month

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JDFlow

JDFlow

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I'm a musician and just got asked by another musician if I would want to supply the beer for a kickoff house party for one of his new nights. Of course I want to share my beer with a bunch of people! :D I'd like to do a Belgian Pale Ale. Do you think 2 weeks fermenting and 2 weeks in the bottle is enough time? If not is there a beer with an interesting flavor profile that could be done in a month? Here's the recipe I came up with, it's modeled after Jamil's recipe. I'd do 4 batches for 12 gallons.

Belgian Pale Ale

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 3.0
Total Grain (lb): 6.650
Total Hops (oz): 1.10
Original Gravity (OG): 1.058 (°P): 14.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.015 (°P): 3.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.70 %
Colour (SRM): 12.5 (EBC): 24.6
Bitterness (IBU): 26.3 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
2.750 lb American 2-Row (41.35%)
2.750 lb Maris Otter Malt (41.35%)
0.650 lb Caramunich III (9.77%)
0.500 lb Munich II (7.52%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.60 oz East Kent Golding Pellet (4.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)
0.25 oz Saaz Pellet (3.6% Alpha) @ 40 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
0.25 oz Saaz Pellet (3.6% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 74°F with WLP550 - Belgian Ale
 
Brew an English Mild. It's cheap, tasty, and ready super fast. S-04* will chew through this in a matter of days, and you're ready for a quick bottle carb.

*do not use Nottingham for this
 
I'd play it safe and do a dark mild. You can almost drink it out of the fermentor. I have a great recipe if you want it.
 
Just out of curiosity, why is the BPA a no go for a month? I was reading a blog that said they're best at a 2 week fermentation, but I'd definitely like to hear some experience on how long they actually take.
 
You can bottle a wheat beer (in most cases) in 3-5 days.
 
I think it might work - I don't know much about that yeast (haven't used it), but I've had decent luck bottling after 10 days with modest gravity beers. I've only succeeded doing this without off-flavors after building a fermentation fridge and watching the fermentation closely. I also have been pitching appropriately sized starters.

For Cal Ale yeast, I keep it at 64 until its got just a few points of gravity left, then up the temp to 68-70 for a couple days to clean up diacetyl, etc. That usually puts me at about a week. Then I cold crash for a couple days and bottle.

I think the trick is to raise the temp before the yeast are done. They seem to clean up after themselves a little better when I do that.

The thing I'm less confident of is bottle carbonation. Some of my beers have been ok after 2 weeks, but the carbonation seems to come out of solution really fast. I'm not sure if there is science to back me up on this or not, but thats what it seems like. After a bit longer, it seems to "take" better, if that makes sense.

The mild idea is good too - if you think people would enjoy it. If its not carbonated well, you can just say that's the way its supposed to be!

YMMV.
 
I'm with Bob3000 - I can have a dark English mild ready in less than a month easy. ~10 days in primary (use the right amount of yeast) and the a couple of weeks in the bottle.
 
I think the belgian will be green and undercarbonated in 4 weeks. That type of beer probably would benefit from 4 weeks in primary - and will likely take more than 3 weeks to carb - at 70F. You need something that will essentially be done in 1 week and ready to bottle to get it ready by then.

If you you can get a corny keg and some CO2 then the BPA could be done and carbed in 1 month.

Milds are great - ferment quickly and fit the bill well. In the Jamil podcast, he says it could be done and ready to drink (kegged) within a week.
 
You can absolutely do a 1058 OG beer in four weeks. If you have good brewing practices, pitch a proper sized and healthy yeast culture, use proper O2 levels, control fermentation temperatures, and bottle with a sufficient amount of healthy yeast in suspension and a calculated amount of priming solution, you will be just fine.

I just turned out a perfect batch of Titania (my house wheat pale ale, 1060 OG) in three weeks (20 days) grain to glass with bottle conditioning. This was for my daughters faery themed birthday party. It is probably the best batch I have served out of at least 7 batches of Titania.

If you are not absolutely sure you can control all aspects of your fermentation, you should take the above advice and do a hefeweissen or a mild.
 
Hefe's turn over pretty quick. I've read and heard of a number of people that have theirs bottled/kegged in 10-14 days. And in the glass another 7-10 days after that.
 
You could do a bitter or even a dry stout if there are a lot of stout drinkers going to the party.

California Common is also a fairly quick beer to make.
 
I really like this

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/lets-brew-wednesday-1952-lees-best-mild.html

took me a week to finish this off last time. I left out the invert sugar and compensated with more base malt. I'm also going to make this for a party next month and I think i might try upping the the OG.

I think the reason dark milds are a good choice for a quick turn over is a bit of roastyness hides a multitude of sins.

I'm sure with good fermentation practices you could get a bittter or PA ready but something dark is a safer bet.
 
my vote would be a wheat... of some variety. b/c clarity isn't an issue...
my american wheat is ready for bottles within 7-10 days. no need for secondary... in fact, i have one in primary right now, that will be ready to bottle on friday.
 
I found a Bavarian Hefe-weizen recipe that looks pretty tasty. A lot of the hefe-weizen recipes call for a step mash starting low around 125* for the wheat. Could I just mash all the grains except the wheat like normal then steep the wheat in the wort while I'm bringing it up to a boil like you do with specialty grains in an extract brew? Seems like it'd be a lot easier that way instead of adding heat. I hate the idea of adding heat to my mash. Seems like the grains at the bottom of the tun would get way hotter than the middle or top rendering a percentage of the sugars unfermentable. Here's the recipe...

6.75 lbs. DeWolfe Cosyns Belgian wheat
3.5 lbs. pale two-row malt
0.75 lb. cara-pils (dextrin) malt
0.75 oz. German Northern Brewer hops (7.2% alpha acid) for 60 min.
0.5 oz. Tettnanger hops (4.8% alpha acid) for 30 min.
1/4 tsp. Irish moss for 15 min.
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient for 2 min.
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan)

Mix Belgian wheat, two-row malt, and cara-pils malt into 11 qts. water.Use a step mash: Raise the temperature to 123° F and hold or 15 min. Raise the temperature to 148° F and hold 15 min. Raise the temperature to 155° F and hold for 35 min. Raise the temperature to 170° F and sparge to collect 5.5 gal. Bring to a boil and add German Northern Brewer hops. Total boil is 60 min. Boil 30 min. and add Tettnanger hops. Boil 15 min. more and add Irish moss. Boil 13 min. more and add yeast nutrient. Boil 2 min. more. Cool and pitch yeast at 70° F.
 
upping temp to 80f a norvegian craft berwery has gotten bottle carbonation time down to 3 days
I would probably do 14 primary 10 carb/condition and 4 cold...
 
JDFlow said:
I found a Bavarian Hefe-weizen recipe that looks pretty tasty. A lot of the hefe-weizen recipes call for a step mash starting low around 125* for the wheat. Could I just mash all the grains except the wheat like normal then steep the wheat in the wort while I'm bringing it up to a boil like you do with specialty grains in an extract brew? Seems like it'd be a lot easier that way instead of adding heat. I hate the idea of adding heat to my mash. Seems like the grains at the bottom of the tun would get way hotter than the middle or top rendering a percentage of the sugars unfermentable. Here's the recipe...

6.75 lbs. DeWolfe Cosyns Belgian wheat
3.5 lbs. pale two-row malt
0.75 lb. cara-pils (dextrin) malt
0.75 oz. German Northern Brewer hops (7.2% alpha acid) for 60 min.
0.5 oz. Tettnanger hops (4.8% alpha acid) for 30 min.
1/4 tsp. Irish moss for 15 min.
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient for 2 min.
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan)

Mix Belgian wheat, two-row malt, and cara-pils malt into 11 qts. water.Use a step mash: Raise the temperature to 123° F and hold or 15 min. Raise the temperature to 148° F and hold 15 min. Raise the temperature to 155° F and hold for 35 min. Raise the temperature to 170° F and sparge to collect 5.5 gal. Bring to a boil and add German Northern Brewer hops. Total boil is 60 min. Boil 30 min. and add Tettnanger hops. Boil 15 min. more and add Irish moss. Boil 13 min. more and add yeast nutrient. Boil 2 min. more. Cool and pitch yeast at 70° F.
Click to expand...

A better recipe would be a classic Bav. Hef.- 50% pils 50% wheat malt. The carapils absolutely isn't necessary in any wheat beer (at least for head retention) and really will make it taste sweet and weird. Also not sure why a beer from bavaria would be made with Belgian wheat and american 2-row. Although most recipes call for stepping or decocting hefeweizens, I'm in the camp that says a single-infusion will make a fantastic hefeweizen. If you really want to get some of the decoction flavor, try 2% melanoidin malt.

So: 50% wheat malt, 50% pils (shoot for 1.045-1.050), single infusion mash 154-155F for 1 hour, boil 90 minutes, single noble hop at 60 minutes for ~12 IBU. Cool to mid 60's F, pitch a vial of WLP300 (WY3068) and let it rise slowly to low 70s. Bottle 3-4 days after FG is reached, carb as high as you dare in your bottles, I think 3 volumes is safe in normal bottles but others have gone higher.

If you're looking for a hefeweizen, that's it, all you need.
 
daksin said:
So: 50% wheat malt, 50% pils (shoot for 1.045-1.050), single infusion mash 154-155F for 1 hour, boil 90 minutes, single noble hop at 60 minutes for ~12 IBU. Cool to mid 60's F, pitch a vial of WLP300 (WY3068) and let it rise slowly to low 70s. Bottle 3-4 days after FG is reached, carb as high as you dare in your bottles, I think 3 volumes is safe in normal bottles but others have gone higher.



If you're looking for a hefeweizen, that's it, all you need.
Click to expand...

What do you recommend for some color?
 
Belgian yeasts make a large krausen and it takes quite a bit of time for it to drop. Talking two weeks +.

I'd go with a common bitter or mild. British ale yeasts like S04 ferment quickly and drop out fast and clear. A week for a 1.040 OG bitter or mild and its ready to bottle. I personally love a balanced bitter, the graham cracker of a British pale malt is wonderful.
 
Just to add, the commercial breweries that turn beer around fast are brewing in large vats tha put the yeast under pressure, this suppresses esters while the beer ferments quickly. Check out the thread on pressurized fermentation for more info.
 
I brewed a belgian wit on Sunday with OG of 1.056. Was checking all my batches for gravity readings (5 at this time) and decided to check the Belgian even though I knew it was way to early. It was 1.016. Tasted absolutely awesome. I will leave it for couple of weeks to finish up.

I have great success with quick Wheats due to big starters created with a stir plate and controlled fermentation temperatures. I start sampling after 1 week in the bottle. They are very good. Yes, they do benefit from more bottle conditioning, but in your case I think everyone will enjoy the hell out of your brew.

Now stop thinking about it and start brewing!:rockin:
 
guy from nebraska recommending a wheat.... go figure
Click to expand...

well...
OP asked for a quick turn around beer...

i could have said "any belgian rauchbier, the darker the better" but, if he's brewing for a party, my assumption was a party of BMC drinkers, and a wheat beer seems always to be a more likely candidate for people to like...
i have a BMC friend that pays for the grain bill and yeast for me to brew him a wheat beer monthly. just saying.
 
Boerderij_Kabouter said:
You can absolutely do a 1058 OG beer in four weeks. If you have good brewing practices, pitch a proper sized and healthy yeast culture, use proper O2 levels, control fermentation temperatures, and bottle with a sufficient amount of healthy yeast in suspension and a calculated amount of priming solution, you will be just fine..
Click to expand...

THIS x10,000. While I understand the argument in favor yeast of clean-up in primary, B_K has hit on the key to quick turnaround. I'd emphasize the cold side/fermentation above all.

Since I began temp control and starters, I almost never have low-to-med gravity in fermentation longer than 14 days. It's usually closer to 10. My 1st place Saison was 10-11 days in fermenter only and bottle carbed in 7 more. Less than 3 weeks grain to glass, and judged in less than 5 weeks from brewing.

The CYBI guys do even big beers in under 2 weeks grain-to-glass. Now I can't vouch for the taste personally, but I'm pretty sure if Tasty is making a beer it's a damn good beer.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:
If you are not absolutely sure you can control all aspects of your fermentation, you should take the above advice and do a hefeweissen or a mild.
Click to expand...

Also key. Without this, you're better off with a hefe and a crowd that likes bananas.
 
Switched it up, start brewing tomorrow. I've had good luck with the 3944 yeast finishing quickly in the past.

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 3.0
Total Grain (lb): 6.700
Total Hops (oz): 1.60
Original Gravity (OG): 1.058 (°P): 14.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.015 (°P): 3.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.70 %
Colour (SRM): 5.6 (EBC): 11.0
Bitterness (IBU): 56.1 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
2.750 lb Pilsner (41.04%)
2.750 lb Wheat Malt (41.04%)
0.600 lb Torrified Wheat (8.96%)
0.300 lb Crystal 30 (4.48%)
0.300 lb Flaked Oats (4.48%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.90 oz Amarillo Pellet (8.6% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.3 oz/Gal)
0.10 oz Amarillo Pellet (8.6% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0 oz/Gal)
0.30 oz Cascade Pellet (7.8% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
0.30 oz Hallertau Aroma Leaf (8.1% Alpha) @ 7 Days (Dry Hop) (0.1 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------
0.25 oz Corriander Seed @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
0.25 oz Orange Peel @ 5 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 156°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 68°F with Wyeast 3944 - Belgian Witbier
 

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