Hi all, I want to test the waters for a small dilemma I have. My brother and his fiance have asked me to brew the wedding favors for their wedding next June. They are expecting about 200 guests at the reception, and, allowing for children, are thinking that they'll want to have about 150 bottles to give away (the kids will get homemade root beer).
I have a 5 gal all-grain setup and am comfortable in my brewing knowledge to manage this. However, the logistics of 150 12oz bottles of beer (14 gallons) are complicated. Basically, I can make three unique batches of beer and give people choices OR I make three identical batches over a long weekend, ferment them out, then combine them to bulk age and bottle.
My third option would be to get together with anyone who has a large setup and knock the one batch out in a day, then work forward with fermenting/aging/bottling.
So, I'm soliciting help and wisdom.
~ Has anyone done something similar? I'm aware lots of people have brewed beer to be kegged and served at their/a friend's reception, but I don't think that will be an option given the venue.
~ If I brew three identical batches and want to age them together, can anyone suggest a 15 gallon foodsafe container?
~ Does anybody have a 1/2 bbl or larger system in Chicagoland that they would be willing to work with me on? Obviously, I will pay for every cent of the brew, including gas/electric/water. Plus, you'll certainly get more than a little beer out of this.
~ Any one who has a recipe to suggest is welcome to throw it out here too. I would love to do something super fancy/unique, but unfortunately it should pretty widely acceptable. NOT BMC acceptable, but no super crazy flavors or ingredients. A well-rounded belgian, moderate IPA, good solid stout, something along those lines.
Thanks for any wisdom sent my way. If you have a large system and this sounds like something you'd like to try, PM me, please.
Cheers!
I have a 5 gal all-grain setup and am comfortable in my brewing knowledge to manage this. However, the logistics of 150 12oz bottles of beer (14 gallons) are complicated. Basically, I can make three unique batches of beer and give people choices OR I make three identical batches over a long weekend, ferment them out, then combine them to bulk age and bottle.
My third option would be to get together with anyone who has a large setup and knock the one batch out in a day, then work forward with fermenting/aging/bottling.
So, I'm soliciting help and wisdom.
~ Has anyone done something similar? I'm aware lots of people have brewed beer to be kegged and served at their/a friend's reception, but I don't think that will be an option given the venue.
~ If I brew three identical batches and want to age them together, can anyone suggest a 15 gallon foodsafe container?
~ Does anybody have a 1/2 bbl or larger system in Chicagoland that they would be willing to work with me on? Obviously, I will pay for every cent of the brew, including gas/electric/water. Plus, you'll certainly get more than a little beer out of this.
~ Any one who has a recipe to suggest is welcome to throw it out here too. I would love to do something super fancy/unique, but unfortunately it should pretty widely acceptable. NOT BMC acceptable, but no super crazy flavors or ingredients. A well-rounded belgian, moderate IPA, good solid stout, something along those lines.
Thanks for any wisdom sent my way. If you have a large system and this sounds like something you'd like to try, PM me, please.
Cheers!
