Fast bucket to keg beer suggestion

[Paradigm]

Hi all!

It's been a busy spring / early summer and time has flown! I have a company event coming up on the 25th of next month and I was planning on brewing a beer. The soonest I can brew is next weekend, which gives me a little under 4 weeks to ferment and carb.

I can quick carb the beer in 2-3 days, so that's not an issue, but the real question is which style will produce good results that quickly.

I was thinking maybe a hoppy pale ale. Thoughts?

 

[Clonefan94]

Depending on what you are brewing, I don't see the issue at all. I turn around plenty of beers grain to glass in 3 weeks without having to do any kind of special work to carbonate.

By a week and a half, most ales are done feremnting. The key is good brewing practices and really keeping an eye on your fermentation temps. Doing that will keep out any off flavors so as soon as it's carbed it's ready to go. I would ferment for 10 days, check gravity, if it's really close to where FG should be, go ahead and keg it and carb.

Hoppy Pale would be a good idea, unless you wanted to dry hop it as well. That adds time and you don't want to dry hop until after fermentation. Those turn around reasonably quick. I just wouldn't plan on brewing any stouts or porters and expect those to be at their prime in 4 weeks. Darker beers take a little longer to mellow. And obviously making any kind of a lager that quickly is probably out as well.

Cartainly though, you can always do the roll method and get it to carb up quick, allowing for a couple of days of dry hopping. I usually just zap it with 20 PSI for the first day, then turn it down to 15 or so and let it sit. Usually gets me carbed in about a week.

 

[YeastMode]

There is but one answer to this question. It is BierMuncher's Centennial Blond. You can go from grain to glass in around 2 weeks, its a simple recipe, it appeals to many different levels of beer drinkers, and it is one heck of a beer. Don't believe me? Then let me provide you some light reading to try to persuade you....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42841

 

[midfielder5]

Centennial Blonde like YM said

 

[Paradigm]

Sold!

 

[Psylocide]

2 week ferment, 2 weeks in the keg... seems like more than enough time.

I'm on a 2 week ferment, 1 week keg, drink schedule for anything under 1.070.

 

[bobeer]

You have plenty of time to brew pretty much any standard gravity beer you want to. The centennial blonde is a good one and so is yooper's pale ale.

 

[dunbruha]

I'm on a 2 week ferment, 1 week keg, drink schedule for anything under 1.070.

Do you cold crash? Where does that fit in to the schedule?

 

[Psylocide]

It cold crashes in the keg. Pull a nasty first pint, clear beer after that.

I also fine with gelatin after 3 days on gas/cold.

 

[YeastMode]

I dont want to hijack the question, but I am on the same basic schedule as Psylocide and I cold crash in the keg while carbing. The first pint or so is murkey, but after a few pulls it clears right up.

EDIT: See, he just said it. We may even be the same person........

 

[dunbruha]

EDIT: See, he just said it. We may even be the same person........

Thanks to both of you!