Wedding in a year, any suggestions for what to brew?

Hey guys, I have been gone for a while, But I got engaged this past weekend!

We are having a weeding in about a year anyone got some suggestions I could brew up and let ferment for 6 months or more. I would love to add pumpkin into the mix if possible (hmm pumpkin mead?).

Thanks!

 

How many guests?

Do you have the capability to ferment a lager at controlled temperatures?

 

First - congrats!

Is this intended to be a special beer for the wedding party or are you brewing up a bunch to serve to all the guests?

 

No idea on the number of guests but I do know a majority of them wil be from the latin culture (nicaragua). I am sure a select few (30 at most would appreciate a craft beer.

Would be awesome to brew up something in the wine or mead that gets better with age and keep a bottle for every major anniversary 1,5,10 etc. that might be getting crazy.

But it will be a fall wedding so I would love to do something with pumpkin added.

if you guys have a suggesting for a lighter beer as well that would be cool but most of the guests will not be craft beer enthusiasts.

 

Well you can't go wrong with Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde. As for a pumpkin beer, you said you wanted to age it for several months. I'm not sure fruit beers like a pumpkin ale really benefit (or even survive) from a long aging. If you really want a pumpkin ale, that might be something better brewed much closer to the wedding date.

Beers that will benefit from a long aging/lagering would be darker ales (stouts, porters) and lagers. Maybe a nice Doppelbock?

 

Congratulations Timber!

Oktoberfest- after all it was originally a wedding celebration brew.
Also Vienna Lager- South American drinkers may be familar with the style as apparently brewers in Mexico have kept the style alive, even after Vienna brewers have forgotten.
The lagers would age appropriately, and be in prime condition after 6-8 months or so.
But I do also have to 2nd kombat's thought about BMers Centennial Blonde. That is a fine, fine beer. And one you could bang out in 6 weeks or so from grain to bottle. Yum. Think I'll go have one now!

 

I'd also go the lager route.

Oktoberfest is seasonal, low alcohol, and a style that a lot of people can enjoy. At weddings people are going to be drinking for a long period of time, so I'd lean towards something low gravity and drinkable.

 

Congrats! It'd be cool to do a flan inspired brown cream ale... oooh... never thought of a brown cream ale. Think I might do a chocolate mint brown cream ale.

 

Congrats to you!
Have you considered a pumpkin porter?
Here's one recipe with some discussion about spices.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/pumpkin-porter-recipe-192277/

I think (wonder) if a pumpkin porter will age well. I know I've kept a Southern Tier Pumking around for over a year and it's delicious. I don't know if aging mattered but I know it was good after a year.

 

Congrats! I will 3rd the Oktoberfest idea - right time of year for it and you have plenty of time to lager it and have it ready.

 

Congrats! I've been married for about a month now. I brewed up a few small batches that I gave out to the wedding party in mixed 4-packs as gifts.

Seems like most people are recommending beer, but I'd say make a mead if you want to make a mead. Add some pumpkin pie type spices if you like that and want to give it that 'fall' flavor. A quick search of 'pumpkin mead recipe' gave lots of results.

 

Thanks Guys, I like the Oktoberfest Idea, I dont know why my mind didn't automatically jump to it! I love Sam Adams Oktoberfest, wonder if I could make a better brew than that. I will keep thinking about all of these, the beer is for teh wedding , and the mead or wine is for us to keep around just for anniversary like the 1, 5,10 it would be awesome to have something that has aged with our marriage like that. Do Meads age like that over long spans or is that just wine? when do they no longer taste good?

 

my next brew is The Great Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale recipe from the latest issue of Zymurgy. 13% abv and should be ready for Halloween '14

not sure if it's OK to post the recipe here, so I won't.

 

Perhaps maybe you might consider a barley wine.

 

And there's a thread around here with fun names like Hoppily Ever After and For Richer or For Porter, if you're into stuff like that.

 

Mix it up a bit and add a graff to the list... I made up an all grain graff recipe. It's awesome and it's unique. I made tinctures of all the spices and spiced it in the keg. It's like pumpkin pie in a glass. And it doesn't take much time to age either.

 

If you do end up going with a beer for multi-year aging, probably a barleywine or imperial stout/porter is your best bet -- I've done multi-year verticals of spiced holiday beers, and the spices fade *A LOT* once you start hitting the three or four year mark.

You could also maybe shoot for something along the lines of a Flanders red or oud bruin -- sour also seems to mellow a lot on the several-year timescale, but you're still left with plenty of complexity and funk to make an interesting beer.

 

Does your bride drink? Make whatever her favorite is.

 

Congrats! Another thing to consider that would fit with Fall would be sparkling Apfelwine &/or a nice hard cider. Some that don't drink beer might appreciate those.