Is it possible to do a good summer ale in a month?

[BrewN00b]

I was thinking that while one of my primaries is empty I would like to brew a quicker ale that could quickly refill my pipeline, while I wait for my higher gravity beers to finish up.

As I live in San Diego, CA, and since I have no AC, I would like to try an ale that is high temp friendly, such as a Belgian or a Saison. Is it possibly to brew a quicker, session beer, to help fight off the heat of a fine SoCal evening from brew to bottle in 30 days? I wouldn't want a strong beer, maybe something in the neighborhood of 5%. You know, a beer I could kick of my shoes after a hard at work, and down a few just to take the edge off.

Also, as a beginner I would like to try this as an extract, rather than an all-grain brew. Do you guys know if this is even possible? If so, got an good recipes? It seems all the recipes in the database here are for all-grain.

 

[Gildog]

i would definitely recomend a wheat beer. i jsut finished mine in 12 days,from cans of extract to bottles of carbed beer, im not kidding 12 days. And this is a great kick back and relax brew.

 

[cimirie]

Just reading your thread, Gildog about your 6 day kettle to bottle experience. I love to see somebody who gets as crazy excited as I do!

-BrewNoob: To answer your question, yes it is very possible to do a summer brew in under a month. Wheat's are a great beer to do in a short time for two reasons. A) the flavor profile from the yeast covers up most of the "green" taste of young beers. B) They're supposed to be cloudy beers so the need for longer aging to clear goes away.

Having said all that, I would resist the temptation to attempt a 12 day "from kettle to mouth" beer. It may have worked for some, but if you have 30 days, use the full 30 and it will work even better!

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

 

[BrewN00b]

Just reading your thread, Gildog about your 6 day kettle to bottle experience. I love to see somebody who gets as crazy excited as I do!

-BrewNoob: To answer your question, yes it is very possible to do a summer brew in under a month. Wheat's are a great beer to do in a short time for two reasons. A) the flavor profile from the yeast covers up most of the "green" taste of young beers. B) They're supposed to be cloudy beers so the need for longer aging to clear goes away.

Having said all that, I would resist the temptation to attempt a 12 day "from kettle to mouth" beer. It may have worked for some, but if you have 30 days, use the full 30 and it will work even better!

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Do Wheat Beer yeasts work in warm temperatures? I thought that only Belgians and Siasons do well in 80F+ temperatures.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

Do Wheat Beer yeasts work in warm temperatures? I thought that only Belgians and Siasons do well in 80F+ temperatures.

They work great...especially if you like banana & bubble-gum flavored beer!

Surely you can do better than 80°F, with the help of a water bath and some frozen bottles. I made a lot of great ales that way here in SoCal, before I bought my chest freezer.

 

[spitfire]

Couldn't you do the water bath in a cooler to help control your temps? If you were to freeze a dozen water bottles you would be able to switch them out as needed to control temps. Just an idea.

 

[KYB]

We're kegging and force carbing my cheap blonde ale tomorrow (my friend has the keggerator). It will have been 21 days/3 weeks. I'll see how it tastes this weekend. I also wanted a quick, cheap, decent, whenever beer while waiting on my higher gravity beers, and other brews to condition.

 

[boydak]

I brewed a Sam Summer Clone. Bottled after 2 weeks, been in the bottle for 2 weeks but I am going to give it at least another week before i dig in. So that is 37 days.

 

[CABeerMaker]

I have a honey amber I make frequently that ferms for 10 days then 3 weeks in the bottle. It's good carbination after 2 but I let it set for an extra week just to be sure. It uses 5# Amber LME, 1# Honey 1oz Chinook pellets for 60 min and 1 oz Centennial pellets for 30 min. 1056 smack pack and already to go. I prefer a slightly hoppier brew than some so you could substitute cascades or something else light if youd like.

 

[BrewN00b]

I have a honey amber I make frequently that ferms for 10 days then 3 weeks in the bottle. It's good carbination after 2 but I let it set for an extra week just to be sure. It uses 5# Amber LME, 1# Honey 1oz Chinook pellets for 60 min and 1 oz Cees or something else light if youd like.

Thats a remarkably delicious looking recipe. i wonder how it would work if substituted a belgian or saison straim in order to give it a nice summer flavor as well as making it more summer heat friendly. I work very long hours and I dont have the ability to reliably manage a swamp cooler.

That being said, any good suggestions to this recipe I should consider, like orange zest or corriander?

 

[Arkador]

A good Hefe can be ready to drink in a month. I do my Hefe as an extract recipe.

14 days to bottle, 14 days to carb/condition

 

[ericm]

saisons are good at high temps, but saisons yeasts are notorious for taking a loooong time to finish. (and a saison should be very dry)

 

[woollybugger2]

Yes, My Belgian Wit's are ready... in 28 days

 

[BA_from_GA]

i did a AHS belgian wit (gold seal i think?) took just 21 days from brew to bottle.

 

[simps984]

About to do a belgian wit on saturday. Usually takes 7-10 days for fermentation, then its going right into the keg. Force-carbing will see it ready to drink in 10-13 days. Obviously as I drink it, it will gradually improve over the following 4-5 weeks, which is about how long it takes me to kill a keg, unless I have friends over.

 

[SmugMug]

Started a honey-weizen last saturday. 14 days in the primary and 14 in the bottles and you're SUPPOSED to have something decent. Time will tell.

 

[steelerguy]

If you use a pure saison strain of yeast you will be lucky to have it out of the primary in 3 weeks, even at high temps. I wouldn't even try it.

 

[BrewN00b]

Thanks for this good info. Belgian Wits, I assume, use the belgian strain, correct? That may be my next choice.

 

[TeufelBrew]

This recipe from BierMuncher is a GREAT quick turnaround summer quaffer. I did it modified with hops I got from Secret Santa at work. Goes from brew day to drinking from a keg in 3 weeks. Better of course after 4-5, but can be done in 21 days.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

Read through, I'm pretty sure some one put the extract version in the thread.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Thanks for this good info. Belgian Wits, I assume, use the belgian strain, correct? That may be my next choice.

Wit strains are more temperature sensitive, so careful of that.

I would do one anyway, but use a water bath. Wits really do best around 72. Then I would make a saison. In this heat, it'll finish in 2 weeks no problem, and then you can go straight to bottle with it too. I know some people complain about them taking long to ferment, but I've never had that issue. The weather here is perfect for it. I think I will be coming up on some slurry from Green Flash, so I'll be making a couple of saisons.

 

[woollybugger2]

Thanks for this good info. Belgian Wits, I assume, use the belgian strain, correct? That may be my next choice.

I've been very pleased with Wyeast Laboratories. Forbidden Fruit™ 3463

 

[BrewN00b]

Wit strains are more temperature sensitive, so careful of that.

I would do one anyway, but use a water bath. Wits really do best around 72. Then I would make a saison. In this heat, it'll finish in 2 weeks no problem, and then you can go straight to bottle with it too. I know some people complain about them taking long to ferment, but I've never had that issue. The weather here is perfect for it. I think I will be coming up on some slurry from Green Flash, so I'll be making a couple of saisons.

Alright, now we are talking! im not afraid to have it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, if thats what it takes. My biggest concern is finding a brew that is more heat resilient, and a saison would be perfect.

Im new to this yet, so getting info from a local familiar with this climate is information that is very useful, not that everyone elses isnt.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Alright, now we are talking! im not afraid to have it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, if thats what it takes. My biggest concern is finding a brew that is more heat resilient, and a saison would be perfect.

Im new to this yet, so getting info from a local familiar with this climate is information that is very useful, not that everyone elses isnt.

Do you use anything for temperature control at all?

 

[cimirie]

Noob-

Seriously, temp shouldn't be that big of a concern for you. I know it's in the 80s in SoCal right now, but there's a very cheap way to regulate temperature. Especially if you choose a belgian wheat strain, temps at 70-72 degrees are easy to obtain.

Take a keg bucket (or a large plastic bucket that you could throw toys, laundry, or tools in) and place your primary fermentor in there. Fill the bucket 2/3 full with water and add ice (frozen water bottles work better as they don't raise the water level when they melt). Cover your fermenting vessel with a t-shirt and make sure the ends of the shirt fall into the water.

This "swamp cooler" will keep your fermentor 10-15 degrees cooler than ambient temp as long as you change out the ice once or twice a day. And the best part is, it's super cheap. So if it's 80* outside, your fermentor should stay between 65-70.

Good luck!

 

[carnevoodoo]

Hey noob, do you have a carboy or a bucket?

 

[Arkador]

I've been very pleased with Wyeast Laboratories. Forbidden Fruit™ 3463

That is a hard to find yeast. Neither of my LHBS cary it in stock, so i would have to order it.

 

[steelerguy]

Alright, now we are talking! im not afraid to have it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, if thats what it takes. My biggest concern is finding a brew that is more heat resilient, and a saison would be perfect.

Im new to this yet, so getting info from a local familiar with this climate is information that is very useful, not that everyone elses isnt.

More power to you, let us know how it goes. I just know that My Saison is at 90 degrees for 11 days now and is in the 1.035 range and dropping slowly. This was with a 1/2 gallon starter but it was on the larger side with a 1.064 OG. I used Wyeast 3724 and they warn you about it taking awhile, plus you want it to dry out...I can see those last few points taking awhile.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Brew a Belgian Wit, I had great success with a Witbier which was my second brew. Keep the temps in the low 70's. Primary for 14 days and leave in the bottle for at least another14 days. If you can wait an extra week after bottling for better carbonation do it. It is an excellent summer brew and usually in the neighborhood of 5%. The recipe I made used 1 lb of clear candi sugar, I think it made a difference in the "crispness" of the beer.

BTW I live in AZ, 101° here today. I have no trouble keeping my primaries around 65° in my house. With the A/C set at 78°, I have my primaries in a coleman ice chest filled with water and a fan aimed at it. It hasn't been that necessary, but I add a frozen water bottle here and there if the temps go above 65°, usually I only need th frozen bottles the first 2-3 days of active fermentation, the temps seem to wanna stay a little higher, after that I don't even bother with the frozen bottles the fan keeps the water temps fairly stable. Having said that, summer has just begun here and although 101° is hot, it is gonna get alot hotter!

 

[BrewN00b]

I have been using a swamp cooler quite effectively. My biggest concern is that I work long hours, often away from home sun up to sundown and would rather try one more au natural batch before my I fire up my temp controlled refrigerator.

Honestly, I just want to do an old school saison, but dont want to wait.