Jamil's Weizenbock for Thanksgiving?

[BrewNow]

Greeting HBT,

I was planning to brew up a batch of Jamil's Weizenbock on November 5th shooting to have it kegged for Thanksgiving. If you have experience with this recipe, will it be ready in 2.5 weeks from kettle to keg?

Batch Size: 6.0 Gallons (US)
Boil Time: 90 minutes
Est. OG: 1.075
Actual OG: 1.072
Actual F.G. 1.027
Est. IBU: 21.9 IBUs
Est. Color 17.8 SRM
Malt Name Maltser Amount Percentage
Wheat Malt American 10.0 lbs 58.8%
Pilsen French 3.50 lbs 20.6%
Munich Malt German 2.0 lbs 11.8%
Special B Malt Belgian 0.5 lbs 2.9%
Crystal 40L America 0.5 lbs 2.9%
Chocolate Malt - Light UK 0.5 lbs 2.9%

Hallertauer Pellet 6.0% 1.0 60

Sac Rest 154 F 60 minutes Infusion
White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV Liquid Ale

 

[BigB]

IMHO, No way. For one that is a bit quick for a standard ale, let alone a beer with a big gravity like 1.075. Also, many recommend lagering a weizenbock for 4 weeks...

 

[14thstreet]

I made this beer (OG 1.079 FG 1.016) with Wyeast 3068 and remembered that it needed some aging to mellow out the fermentation products. I pitched cool (60-64F) and diligently tried to control fermentation temps but realized that it may have reached 70F plus at some later point. There were warming alcohol notes that seemed to mellow out some 2 months after brewday. The beer was definitely green at 5 weeks old. I had carbonation issues but you are kegging. Even though I pitched a healthy amount of yeast, equivalent to a 2.5-3L starter, I think the yeast crapped out after reaching nearly 80% attenuation (8.5-9% abv) and may have hampered some ability in cleaning up off-products.

I'd pitch big and cool and keep it cool but expect some aging requirement. I'm not overly sensitive to Special B but the higher alcohols and crystal amount in this beer made it somewhat sweet/raisiny. Definitely "adult candy" like Jamil describes it in the book. This tended to mellow out over time, so YMMV. You may want to consider knocking off 10pts of the gravity if you want it ready sooner. Best of luck, good beer!

 

[Hypnolobster]

Pitch a lot of yeast, oxygenate well and control the fermentation well (I would probably pitch at 66-67, hold it for 2 days, rise to 69-70 and let it sit for 2 weeks), chill the carboy overnight, rack it to a keg and throw it back into the fridge to carbonate at 30 psi, then down to serving pressure.

If fermentation goes well, you should have it completely drinkable in 17-18 days.

Honestly, I'd make something else that's lighter and crisper if you want it perfect before thanksgiving.

 

[BrewNow]

You all raised the 2 things I was worrying about:

1) high SG
2) low ferment temps for 2-3 days.

Higher SG usually means more time cleaning up mellowing. Just not enough time to get it really nice for the family. I don't have a swamp cooler or any reliable method for maintaining low 60's. The basement is a solid 67 right now but perhaps by December. . .

Thanks for the input!

 

[kyleobie]

I had a similar experience with 3068 on a weizenbock about a year and a half ago. It took several months to age out the byproducts. I will add that I wish I'd used a much bigger starter on that batch, which had an OG around 1.075 or so.