Am I calling it too close?

I have an absolute deadline, Aug 27th, 10 days from tomorrow. I need to make a beer that I can complete fermentation with, rack to secondary and sit for 2.5 to 3 months. I just made a Brown Ale and made so many mistakes that I need to start over. Is it possible to have this work? I usually ferment for 3 to 4 weeks, will sitting in a secondary make up for this time.

I make 2.5 gallon batches so they usually do ferment reasonable fast.

 

Plenty of time.... Just do it NOW. Hefe's go quick but won't benefit from any age. How about a nice Amber? Something without too much hops since they fade after a little bit of aging anyways.

 

I can't do it until tomorrow afternoon, I was thinking of a Brown Ale?

 

I'd try to do a starter, that would speed things along.

 

Then do a brown ale.

 

Hefeweizen and ESB are both pretty quick styles. If you use a starter (or pitch two packs of yeast) and force-carb, you should have plenty of time.
Low gravity is the important part. More abv, more time.

 

10 days for primary fermentation is plenty of time for the majority of beers styles provided you pitch enough healthy yeast. The only thing you probably couldn't pull off in 10 days would be a lager and perhaps some high gravity styles. I'd make a nice American Stout or Robust Porter. 10 days is enough time in primary to ferment out the sugars, while the extended secondary you're proposing would give some time for the roast to integrate.