Quick, Emergency brew help?

I have a birthday party coming up in just under 2 weeks that I am supposed to bring a few kegs of beer to.

One of the batches I had going went bad on me and I now need to try and replace it. I brew 5 gallon extract and specialty grain kits from Midwest Brewing. Am I SOL or do I have some options to make this happen yet?

I would like to replace the bad batch and brew another Irish red. I keg so I can force carb.

Thanks in advance for any tips or help any of you provide!

 

You have under 2 weeks?

Buy some beer at the store.

4 weeks is pushing it, IMO. 6 weeks is better. 2 weeks is pretty much out of the question.

 

I just made two extract batches kegged and drank within 10 days by force carbing. I was very skeptical, but they came out great! Obviously they aren't as good as a fully thought out planned batch. But both kegs were kicked over the 4th of July weekend and I had no problem drinking them all day long. I think the trick is, pitch enough yeast and choose a low alcohol content recipe. You also can't be too picky about the clarity.

I used Brew Haus Pale Ale and a Blue Moon clone with some sweet orange peel.

 

Nice!

Sounds like it can be done!

 

You would be pushing it on the irish red.. You could bang out a low grav wheat beer (hefe) in 2 weeks.

 

Does Summit sell Corney kegs?

 

I don't think I'd depend on making it.

I guy that I brew with is often pulling something out for the neighbors to try before I think it's ready. He has managed to convince most of them that he can't make decent beer. You might get away with explaining it to home brewers, but not most BMC drinkers who may not like real beer anyway.

 

I have a Honey Wiesen kit from midwest, I bet that would work. As for the yeast, would 1 Wyeast activator pack be enough for 5 gallons or would I need more?

 

Wheats are a good bet. Haziness doesn't count against you with them, and esters are expected. I would pitch some dry yeast like SO-5 or Nottingham for speed of fermentation, and call it an American Wheat. Actually, Cooper's has been the fastest fermenting yeast I have had, but I haven't carbed and tasted that to vouch for the outcome. My wheat done with SO-5 disappears quickly around my place.

 

I would explain that a batch turned on you and you don't have time to redo it because you don't want to supply beer up to your standards.

 

+1

Most people that don't like it, won't tell you they don't like it... they'll tell someone else.

 

I'm going to give the wheat beer a shot and see what happens. I always test my stuff before giving it to others and if this one doesn't work, I'll just leave it at home and explain the first ever loss of a batch. The guys are all pretty cool and know that I make great stuff, hence being asked to bring a few kegs.

Would this be better if just left in the primary for 9 days, then transferred to the keg to be carbonated or moved into a secondary?

 

I would check it at 7 days and see if its done fermenting, and how it tastes.. If its not ready, let it sit longer and do the shake and bake carb method. If its good at 7 days, keg it on the set and forget method (I think it tastes best in this method, but only if the beer is ready at 7 days). I am not sure I have done a wheat in 7 days, I usually do 10-14 days. Your hydrometer and tongue will tell you what needs to happen.

 

2 weeks. Good luck with that.

 

The party is probably only 1 week away at this point given the date of the OP, but.... Orfy's Mild Mannered Brown sounds like it ready to drink in a couple of weeks and people enjoy it a lot:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/mild-mannered-ale-ag-e-uk-us-52776/

 

Under 2 weeks can be plenty of time for certain styles of beer. This recipe looked like a winner, http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/session-mild-e-51884. Try to keep the alcohol under 5%, use simple ingredients and proper pitching techniques and you should be fine.