I need a recipe

[sparkyaber]

One of my best friends is having a large birthday party in 5 weeks, and I would like to brew up a beer and have it carbed in a keg and ready to drink for the party. Is it possible? I think so but I would like some recipes that could get me there. I brew all grain but this would be my first attempt at a keg.
I was thinking of BM's Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale
He likes pale ales, nutbrowns, cream ales, etc Any other ideas?

 

[llazy_llama]

If you're in a rush, anything from project 10der and mild should work pretty well. Most of the participants posted their recipes in this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f38/project-10der-mild-10-milds-10-days-month-10-a-77758/

 

[sparkyaber]

Thanks for the link, there is a ton of info there.

 

[Beerrific]

5 weeks and in a keg....

I think you could brew any style except really big beers. An APA should be no problem.

 

[sparkyaber]

Cool, I have not read up on kegging yet, I figured I would do it while everything is fermenting. I really did not know I was getting into.

 

[Bob]

+1 to Mild. In five weeks, you can brew it, ferment it, rack it to fine it, rack it to a keg and keg-condition it and still have it be done in time.

Bob

 

[flyangler18]

+1 to Mild. In five weeks, you can brew it, ferment it, rack it to fine it, rack it to a keg and keg-condition it and still have it be done in time.

Bob

Bugger, you can have it done in three.

Ask me how I know.

Jason

 

[sparkyaber]

Well, kona firerock it is, if any one has any pointer on how to fly a beer from brewday to drinking day lets here them.

 

[Bob]

Bugger, you can have it done in three.

Ask me how I know.

Jason

Okay. How do you know?

Hell, I can have it done in two. Here's how I know:

The ferment should be finished 72 hours after pitching. Ramp temperature down to ~40F over three days.

Rack to keg - modified by removing an inch or so of the 'beer-out' dip tube - with priming sugar and Isinglass. Monitor secondary ferment with pressure-relief valve on keg lid.

Of course, this presumes I'm keeping it here at home; if I'm travelling, I need to have the beer on-site at least a day before tapping to permit the Isinglass to re-fine the sediment bound to be stirred up by transport.

The above isn't any different than any number of cask-ale breweries in UK, in terms of method or time-scale. The only difference is that most real-ale breweries will ship their casks 2-4 days after filling; the cask will rest in the pub cellar for a couple of days after that to re-fine and be spiled (the wise publican will be a good cellarman or have one on staff) and the final serving condition tweaked.

I've done this so many times it really isn't worth talking about. Brewpubs love cask ale, because you can mark it up a buck a pint!

Bob

 

[Yooper]

Well, kona firerock it is, if any one has any pointer on how to fly a beer from brewday to drinking day lets here them.

Well, the first tip is to pitch the correct amount of yeast. Use the pitching calculator on mrmalty.com.

Make sure you get a good hot break and cold break, so the beer will be nice and clear without chill haze.

Use a well attenuating and flocculant yeast, which will bring the beer to a good FG and clear the beer well.

Keep the fermentation temperatures under control, and at the lower end of the yeast's range, so you don't get any esters or off flavors that need to age out.

 

[Bob]

Well, kona firerock it is, if any one has any pointer on how to fly a beer from brewday to drinking day lets here them.

Okay, practical considerations. First, what Yoop said.

If you cannot crash or otherwise chill your fermenter to near-freezing temperatures, you will have difficulty pulling this off.

Read my post immediately above. That's the basic gist of the procedure. You want a complete primary ferment - OG to measured FG - before you move it. Racking early solves nothing.

I don't think the recipe you've chosen really works in this application; the OG is too high. Even using the entire possible timeline, it's going to be pretty frelling green at party time. I'd choose something with an OG of no more than 1.040 to 1.045 - the good news is that puts you in Best Bitter range, for which there are any number of excellent recipes. 90% pale malt, 10% 60L crystal, OG 1.042, 25-30 IBU. Done.

If you definitely want an American Pale Ale type of flavor, just sub Cascades for the Brit finishing hops and US-05 for the English ale yeast.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Beerrific]

If you cannot crash or otherwise chill your fermenter to near-freezing temperatures, you will have difficulty pulling this off.

In 5 weeks? I have to respectfully disagree. I think you can easily do it 5 weeks. Even a less than great flocculating yeast (like US-05) will drop mostly out of primary in 2 weeks. Let that sit another 3 weeks undisturbed and you will have a good beer. Of course, if you can get it down cold you will speed the clearing up nicely and you will need near-freezing temps to make brilliantly clear beer, but for a party (red Solo cups?) it should be fine.

I tend to let my ales (moderate gravities) sit in primary for 10-14 days and then rack to a keg, seal the keg and let it sit at room temp. (low 60s) until there is room in the chest freezer, maybe 2-3 weeks. When I pull a sample of the beer at room temp, there is about 1/2 pint of yeast but after that it is pretty much crystal clear. This lets me know that when I am serving it and it is hazy it is all chill haze and a couple more weeks cold will clear that up.

 

[sparkyaber]

Thanks for all the advice, I do have a spare refrigerator that I use for my lagering, so I do have the ability to crash cool.
I am using White labs German Kolsch yeast WL 029. It is on the stir plate right now. Not a liter starter, but a starter none the less.
Yooper, you say to keep the temps down, which will slow the yeast down, but do away with the estery flavors, what are we thinking here, about 66-68 range?
So, let the fermenting finish, move carboy to cold crash, transfer after a few days, carbonate?
Sound like a winner?

 

[Yooper]

I haven't used that yeast more than once or twice, so I had to check the WL website. Here's the info:

WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast
From a small brewpub in Cologne, Germany, this yeast works great in Kölsch and Alt style beers. Good for light beers like blond and honey. Accentuates hop flavors, similar to WLP001. The slight sulfur produced during fermentation will disappear with age and leave a super clean, lager like ale.
Attenuation: 72-78%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-69°F
Does not ferment well less than 62°F, unless during active fermentation.
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

So, I'd ferment at 65 degrees (wort temperature, not ambient temperature) and then crash cool when it's completely finished, since it's listed as medium floccuation. After a few days of crash cooling, I'd keg it.

 

[sparkyaber]

Thanks Yoop, I looked up the yeast also after I posted. Sorry for that. One last question, how long and what temp to crash cool? Like 7-10 days, and just above freezing?