Brewing for a wedding... ideas on selection?

[_BullDog_]

I would do a blonde ale, Scottish ale (can be dark but not bitter), red ale and a porter.

agree keep it light and know the crowd.

 

[zacster]

I just did the math in my head and that's almost a gallon of beer per person. I completely doubt this story now.

 

[IslandLizard]

I just did the math in my head and that's almost a gallon of beer per person.

Check you math (or your head ), that's if half of the guests don't touch it, yup, almost a gallon each:
40 gallons / 50 guests = 0.8 gallon a guest.

Otherwise:
40 gallons / 100 guests = 0.4 gallon a guest, around 4 12oz glasses, which, sure is a lot for a wedding with ample other drinks available.

 

[Granite03]

I've brewed twice for my daughters' weddings in the past year and a half. I'll pass along what I did. We had the bars stocked with Stella and Heineken Light, wine varieties and liquor for over 200 people. With that as a starter, I wanted some separation from the bottled lager beer. Listen to what the wedding party likes of what you brew first. I chose IPA, Kolsch, Dark English Mild (something darker) and and ESB for one and a pale ale for the other. 4 corny kegs with party taps. The IPA was the most popular and the others about equal. I brought home about a third of a keg each and none totally ran out. I brought back a bunch of bottled beer. How much to bring depends on how many other options there are.

 

[zacster]

Check you math (or your head ), that's if half of the guests don't touch it, yup, almost a gallon each:
40 gallons / 50 guests = 0.8 gallon a guest.

Otherwise:
40 gallons / 100 guests = 0.4 gallon a guest, around 4 12oz glasses, which, sure is a lot for a wedding with ample other drinks available.

No, I meant at the camping site. 11 people drinking 10 gallons. In a single day, but don't know how long they were drinking. That's still a lot of beer to consume, and to assume all 11 were drinking that much? Even if they were big, burly types it's a lot of beer. But 4 12oz glasses is still a lot for most people.

 

[apache_brew]

Just a little update. I've narrowed down selection to as follows. 1) Marzen 2) Mexican lager 3) Pale ale 4) NEIPA. The Mexican lager got thrown into the mix after I was informed there will be a taco bar at the wedding, so it was an obvious choice. I'm planning my first brew day for the Marzen next week. The recipe is a pretty simple spinoff of the one in Brewing Classic Styles. I have a leftover vial of WLP 833 from a previous batch that I think will work quite well. The goal is to have the beer fined, carbonated, and kegged in 4 weeks so that I can brew batch #2 (Mexican lager). Once kegged, I plan to hide them away in cold storage until they're ready to be delivered.



Bocktoberfest


Beer Stats
Method: BIAB
Style: Märzen
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 14 gallons (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 19.26 gallons
Post Boil Size: 15.51 gallons
Pre Boil Gravity: 1.041 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 77% (brew house)
Calories: 167 calories (Per 12oz)
Carbs: 15.3 g (Per 12oz)
Created Sunday July 14th 2019

Original Gravity:
1.051
Final Gravity:
1.010
ABV (standard):
5.44%
IBU (tinseth):
28.64
SRM (morey):
10.74



Mash pH
5.34
Cost $
n/a


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Fermentables

25.5 lb / $ 0.00
Amount	Fermentable	Cost	PPG	°L	Bill %
8 lb	Castle Malting - Château Pilsen 2RS		37	1.9	31.4%
7 lb	Castle Malting - Château Vienna		38	2.6	27.5%
7 lb	Viking - Munich		36	9.1	27.5%
3 lb	Belgian - CaraMunich		33	50	11.8%
8 oz	German - Acidulated Malt		27	3.4	2%

Hops

7 oz / $ 0.00
Amount	Variety	Cost	Type	AA	Use	Time	IBU	Bill %
5 oz	Hallertau Mittelfruh (3.75 AA)		Pellet	3.4	Boil	60 min	25.01	71.4%
2 oz	Hallertau Mittelfruh (3.75 AA)		Pellet	3.4	Boil	10 min	3.63	28.6%

Show Summary View


Mash Guidelines

Amount	Description	Type	Temp	Time
21.81 gal		Strike	151 °F	60 min

Other Ingredients

Amount	Name	Cost	Type	Use	Time
1 tbsp	Wyeast - Beer Nutrient		Water Agt	Boil	15 min.
1 each	Whirlfloc		Water Agt	Boil	15 min.
1 tbsp	Biofine Clear		Fining	Kegging	0 min.
6 g	Calcium Chloride (dihydrate)		Water Agt	Mash	1 hr.
6 g	Epsom Salt		Water Agt	Mash	1 hr.

Yeast

White Labs - German Bock Lager Yeast WLP833
Amount: 1 Each Cost: Attenuation (custom): 80% Flocculation: Medium Optimum Temp: 48 - 55 °F Starter: Yes Fermentation Temp: 50 °F Pitch Rate: 1.75 (M cells / ml / ° P) 1171 B cells required
$ 0.00Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator

Priming

Method: co2 CO2 Level: 4.04 Volumes

Target Water Profile
Balanced Profile

Ca+2	Mg+2	Na+	Cl-	SO4-2	HCO3-
22	8	0	39	31	0
Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator

Last Updated and Sharing

 

[Dynachrome]

How did this go over please?

...so I've been requested to make beer for a wedding. There will be other drinks available.

I have a milk stout I've done that has gotten great reviews. I've also done wheat beers with varying results from excellent to "meh".

Originally I had thought of finding a Stella recipe. I don't have layering equipment.

 

[apache_brew]

How did this go over please?

...so I've been requested to make beer for a wedding. There will be other drinks available.

I have a milk stout I've done that has gotten great reviews. I've also done wheat beers with varying results from excellent to "meh".

Originally I had thought of finding a Stella recipe. I don't have layering equipment.

The wedding reception actually got cancelled due to COVID precautions… so I ended up with 2 kegs of Mexican lager and Oktoberfest each . They were delicious.
I now have another 9 months to rebrew the same beers for the postponed reception next year. This is helpful since I actually moved to a new location and have yet to dial in my new water chemistry. Back to the drawing board.

 

[Beholder]

Since the event got delayed… Just a tip for portable pouring that I use for large events is to use a jockey box (or 2 since you have 4 taps) with coiled stainless inside and connects on the back so it can sit on any table combined with corny keg cooler bags. The cooler bags are nice since they allow keeping on ice while transporting. An alternate (that I used for sanke kegs) is a simple plastic garbage can to drop keg in and surround with ice.

 

[apache_brew]

Since the event got delayed… Just a tip for portable pouring that I use for large events is to use a jockey box (or 2 since you have 4 taps) with coiled stainless inside and connects on the back so it can sit on any table combined with corny keg cooler bags. The cooler bags are nice since they allow keeping on ice while transporting. An alternate (that I used for sanke kegs) is a simple plastic garbage can to drop keg in and surround with ice.

Those are good suggestions. I was anticipating having to do something similar. The groom was actually going to rent a refrigerated tap trailer that would get delivered to the site the night before, and lines/taps, gas all taken care of. I was so excited when I he told me that. Their plan was to also serve wine (nitro) and champagne on tap (that they would source).

 

[FromZwolle]

Those are good suggestions. I was anticipating having to do something similar. The groom was actually going to rent a refrigerated tap trailer that would get delivered to the site the night before, and lines/taps, gas all taken care of. I was so excited when I he told me that. Their plan was to also serve wine (nitro) and champagne on tap (that they would source).

i may be easily impressed, but that sounds pretty baller.

 

[apache_brew]

i may be easily impressed, but that sounds pretty baller.

I was blown away when he told me about it. It definitely makes it way easier on me to where all I need to do is show up with kegged beer and dont have to babysit anything the whole night. They take their booze very seriously

 

[jdauria]

Brewing for a wedding in the summer myself for friend's daughter, but have it easy, only supplying one beer. They have a beer truck serving commercial beers and the guy agreed that they could have one beer added from their "brewmaster". My decision was easy, both bride and groom come from Italian families, so an Italian Pilsner it is. Had to purchase adapters to hook corny keg to the truck's sanke connections. The beer name was a snap.."Tie the Knot" and will have a Grogtag sign with a picture of the bride wrapping me up in a jump rope when she was 2 with the tag line "Megan has been practicing for years to...Tie the Knot, an Italian Pilsner".

 

[Jayjay1976]

It's a nice day for a wit wedding!

 

[apache_brew]

It's a nice day for a wit wedding!

Maybe not wedding bells, but Helles Bells?

 

[Beholder]

Brewing for a wedding in the summer myself for friend's daughter, but have it easy, only supplying one beer. They have a beer truck serving commercial beers and the guy agreed that they could have one beer added from their "brewmaster". My decision was easy, both bride and groom come from Italian families, so an Italian Pilsner it is. Had to purchase adapters to hook corny keg to the truck's sanke connections. The beer name was a snap.."Tie the Knot" and will have a Grogtag sign with a picture of the bride wrapping me up in a jump rope when she was 2 with the tag line "Megan has been practicing for years to...Tie the Knot, an Italian Pilsner".

You may want have a look at the peroni clone thread for potential Italian Pilsner recipe ideas…

 

[jdauria]

You may want have a look at the peroni clone thread for potential Italian Pilsner recipe ideas…

Thanks, but Italian Pilsner does not mean Peroni or Moretti, which are more normal Euro Pale lager styles. Italian Pis is a craft version made famous by Tipopils from Birrificio Italiano. It's more like a German Pilsner, but then gets lightly dry hopped with German noble hops. Here in US, Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils is based on Italian Pils. What Is an Italian Pilsner? • Hop Culture

 

[Beholder]

Thanks, but Italian Pilsner does not mean Peroni or Moretti, which are more normal Euro Pale lager styles. Italian Pis is a craft version made famous by Tipopils from Birrificio Italiano. It's more like a German Pilsner, but then gets lightly dry hopped with German noble hops. Here in US, Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils is based on Italian Pils. What Is an Italian Pilsner? • Hop Culture

Seems pedantic… Peroni calls it a Pilsner, and it is hopped and dry hopped with Saaz, so would fit the “category” in any case. Bittering uses magnum, which is not technically a noble, but don’t know many German brewers that would waste a noble on bittering.

Anyhow, you’ve got a good idea of what you want to make, so pay no mind to the suggestion!

 

[jdauria]

Seems pedantic… Peroni calls it a Pilsner, and it is hopped and dry hopped with Saaz, so would fit the “category” in any case. Bittering uses magnum, which is not technically a noble, but don’t know many German brewers that would waste a noble on bittering.

Anyhow, you’ve got a good idea of what you want to make, so pay no mind to the suggestion!

Yeah, I have brewed two test batches already so should be all set to dial it in when I brew it late April and then lager it for two months.

 

[LostHopper]

Yeah, I have brewed two test batches already so should be all set to dial it in when I brew it late April and then lager it for two months.

Thread revival for an update on your Italian pils. Recipe? especially hop/dry hop schedule. I really like this style and want to give it a try.
Pivo and a local, Bocce Break by Heirloom Rustic Ales are favorites

 

[Blazinlow86]

My good friends are getting hitched next late September, and I've been awarded the title of "brewmaster" for the event haha. We already have the green light to serve homebrew at the venue. I'm told there will be around 100 guests, and my plan is to have 4 styles on draft. I'm thinking two 5 gallon kegs of each style (I'm setup for 10 gallon batches). There's also going to be hard liquor, wine, and champagne so I don't want to exceed 5.5 abv with any style. The draft system will be setup with CO2 so any left over beer won't go to waste. I like brewing (more like drinking) German style lagers, and my first thought of a wedding in late September was Festbier or Oktoberfest had to be on the menu. Given I actually have some time to plan this out and room to store cold kegs, I'm thinking I could make this variety around March, and let it sit patiently until the big day. (this will also help me spread the work over some time) On the flip side, I do figure there will have to be at least one selection that is a heavily dry hopped/aromatic/flavor bomb that will need to be brewed very close to the day of the event. I'm leaning towards a NEIPA with this selection given popularity and general well received nature from low IBUs and the "juice" factor.

I'm not so sure about the remaining two selections. What do you all think? Vote in the poll and reply with any alternates.

Cheers!

Keep it simple and make sure your capable of making a professional product.

 

[jdauria]

Thread revival for an update on your Italian pils. Recipe? especially hop/dry hop schedule. I really like this style and want to give it a try.
Pivo and a local, Bocce Break by Heirloom Rustic Ales are favorites

First batch was the Tipopils recipe available online using Weyermann Eraclea Pilsner malt (grown in Italy) as the Pilsner malt.

2nd batch was whole different recipe. 1.049 OG, 96.2% Eraclea Pilsner, 3.8% Carahell and hops were Magnum 31.5 IBU @45, Pacific Crest .5 oz whirlpool for 30 @165. 0.2 oz Saaz whirlpool for 30 at 165. 0.45 oz Pacific Crest and 0.25 oz Saaz added at high krausen for dry hop. The Pacific Crest was given to me by a friend who likes it in lagers and wanted me to try it. The beer was good, but batch 1 was better.

For the wedding batch, I have settled on the Weyermann Italian Pils recipe. 1.050 OG, 87% Eraclea Pilsner, 10% Carafoam, 3% Acidulated. Hops are Slovenia hops. 30 IBUs Aurora at 60 , 10 IBUs Bobek at 10 mins and just 0.50 oz Saaz at high krausen. Aurora is also known as Super Styrian and one of it's parents is Northern Brewer, it offers an intense but pleasant aroma and it's profile is citrus, floral, spicy and herbal. Bobek also has Northern Brewer as it's mother and offers pine, lemon and floral aromas. Of course, I will have another beer as a backup in case something happens but that will either be a Cal Common or American Wheat instead.

 

[LostHopper]

First batch was the Tipopils recipe available online using Weyermann Eraclea Pilsner malt (grown in Italy) as the Pilsner malt.

2nd batch was whole different recipe. 1.049 OG, 96.2% Eraclea Pilsner, 3.8% Carahell and hops were Magnum 31.5 IBU @45, Pacific Crest .5 oz whirlpool for 30 @165. 0.2 oz Saaz whirlpool for 30 at 165. 0.45 oz Pacific Crest and 0.25 oz Saaz added at high krausen for dry hop. The Pacific Crest was given to me by a friend who likes it in lagers and wanted me to try it. The beer was good, but batch 1 was better.

For the wedding batch, I have settled on the Weyermann Italian Pils recipe. 1.050 OG, 87% Eraclea Pilsner, 10% Carafoam, 3% Acidulated. Hops are Slovenia hops. 30 IBUs Aurora at 60 , 10 IBUs Bobek at 10 mins and just 0.50 oz Saaz at high krausen. Aurora is also known as Super Styrian and one of it's parents is Northern Brewer, it offers an intense but pleasant aroma and it's profile is citrus, floral, spicy and herbal. Bobek also has Northern Brewer as it's mother and offers pine, lemon and floral aromas. Of course, I will have another beer as a backup in case something happens but that will either be a Cal Common or American Wheat instead.

Update is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[jdauria]

Update is much appreciated. Thank you!

You're quite welcome!