need fast (2 weeks) beer ideas

[devils4ever]

I promised my friend that I would supply his party with 3 kegs of homebrew like I've done in the past. I planned on a Kolsch, Hefeweizen, and an IPA. Well, I got the Kolsch and the Hefeweizen completed and kegged, but then graduations and vacation plans got in the way for the IPA. I have 2 weeks to get another one done. I like to ferment at least 3 weeks before kegging.

So, I've read that lower gravity beers will be ready to keg in less than 2 weeks, but is it possible to do an IPA in under 2 weeks?

Or, should I go for a mild or bitter?

Any other ideas?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

IPA's are actually better young.Go to the recipes and pick one.Most all my IPAs are 2 week Grain to glass beers. Yoopers 60 minute is a great beer,might be a good one to try

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Shoot for 1.060 for OG, pitch a big healthy starter of 1056 or 001 and keep ferm temp 66-68. Dry hop on day 5-7 and keg on day 10-12.
As long as your process is sound and you pitch enough healthy yeast I don't see you having any problems.
On average I'm drinking most of the beers I make in the 1.055-1.070 range 2 weeks grain to glass.
Good luck!!

 

[oceanic_brew]

I'd recommend Wyeast 1968 London ESB, I find it cleans up a few days ahead of some other commonly used IPA yeasts. It's fruity flavor also compliments the hops.

 

[Chrisl77]

Only thing I would suggest is skip dry hopping then kegging. Just take a paint strainer bag and soak it in some starsan. Put your hops in it and tie it off with a piece of dental floss that was dipped in some starsan. Dangle it in the keg pinching the dental floss in the lid. I do it all the time with good success. It lets the keg carb while your dry hopping.

 

[devils4ever]

Only thing I would suggest is skip dry hopping then kegging. Just take a paint strainer bag and soak it in some starsan. Put your hops in it and tie it off with a piece of dental floss that was dipped in some starsan. Dangle it in the keg pinching the dental floss in the lid. I do it all the time with good success. It lets the keg carb while your dry hopping.

Do I need to hang it? The last time I dry hopped, I had trouble keeping it down in the beer even with weights.

 

[Chrisl77]

I always hang it so if I don't drink it fast enough I can extract the bag. If I don't kick the keg in a week or 2 I pull the bag out. I don't weigh the bag i just let it float in the keg. What did you weight it with? I would imagine a couple sanitized glass marbles or ss ball bearings would sink the bag.

 

[devils4ever]

I always hang it so if I don't drink it fast enough I can extract the bag. If I don't kick the keg in a week or 2 I pull the bag out. I don't weigh the bag i just let it float in the keg. What did you weight it with? I would imagine a couple sanitized glass marbles or ss ball bearings would sink the bag.

Yes, that makes sense. But, for the party, I expect the keg to empty before it ends.

I didn't have any marbles or SS ball bearings. So, I used 3/8" SS bolts and nuts that I had to weigh down my hop bag with 2 oz of hops in it. It only when down about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way. It never went in all the way. I boiled the SS hardware for 15 minutes to remove any manufacturing oils, etc and to sterilize them. Worked great except I need more weight.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Use a shot glass for a weight

 

[mcl]

I have never understood why the need to have the bag be all the way at the bottom. I doubt if it makes any difference. The only issue I have ever had when dry hopping in the keg is the bag somehow clogged the dip tube.

 

[55x11]

I promised my friend that I would supply his party with 3 kegs of homebrew like I've done in the past. I planned on a Kolsch, Hefeweizen, and an IPA. Well, I got the Kolsch and the Hefeweizen completed and kegged, but then graduations and vacation plans got in the way for the IPA. I have 2 weeks to get another one done. I like to ferment at least 3 weeks before kegging.



So, I've read that lower gravity beers will be ready to keg in less than 2 weeks, but is it possible to do an IPA in under 2 weeks?



Or, should I go for a mild or bitter?



Any other ideas?

I did turn around IPAs in 7-8 days. Grain to glass. That includes force carbing and gelatin fining. But 2 weeks is easier.

 

[Citizen86]

I did turn around IPAs in 7-8 days. Grain to glass. That includes force carbing and gelatin fining. But 2 weeks is easier.

I'm all for quick grain to glass turn arounds, but I'm curious. Were these lower gravity IPA's? What yeast did you use? I know the hops can help out with covering up some of the "young" taste, but are they better 3 weeks rather than at 7 days?

 

[DU99]

dry hop..get some Large Cotton Muslin Drawstring Reusable Bags they are reusable and saves time..

 

[55x11]

I'm all for quick grain to glass turn arounds, but I'm curious. Were these lower gravity IPA's? What yeast did you use? I know the hops can help out with covering up some of the "young" taste, but are they better 3 weeks rather than at 7 days?

These are 1.065 or so, 7% IPA.
San Diego Superyeast WLP-090. Fermentation is done in 3 days. I am not kidding.
It is also dry-hopped for 3 days or so, as fermentation is dying out.

Every beer is better in 3 weeks than 7 days, but for IPA the dry hop character for me makes the IPA best at around 2 weeks or so.
But its almost there at 8 days. Maybe not as clear and maybe a bit rough, but very hop-aroma rich and much better at 8 days than 28 days for sure.

I may be cutting a corner or two, but I don't feel like I sacrifice too much, in fact I think most people who are slower are too conservative for no good reason, and give up more than they gain.

I never believed I would say it, it but dry hopping, then bottling for 2-3 weeks is a giant waste of time and effort. IPAs should be kegged and drunk fresh.

 

[Citizen86]

These are 1.065 or so, 7% IPA.
San Diego Superyeast WLP-090. Fermentation is done in 3 days. I am not kidding.
It is also dry-hopped for 3 days or so, as fermentation is dying out.

Every beer is better in 3 weeks than 7 days, but for IPA the dry hop character for me makes the IPA best at around 2 weeks or so.
But its almost there at 8 days. Maybe not as clear and maybe a bit rough, but very hop-aroma rich and much better at 8 days than 28 days for sure.

I may be cutting a corner or two, but I don't feel like I sacrifice too much, in fact I think most people who are slower are too conservative for no good reason, and give up more than they gain.

I never believed I would say it, it but dry hopping, then bottling for 2-3 weeks is a giant waste of time and effort. IPAs should be kegged and drunk fresh.

Oh I'm actually right there with you. I've only been brewing since the beginning of the year. Nearly all the opinions I read though are of people who leave beers in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks, slow carb in kegs, etc. As I get a pipeline going I can leave beers in the fermenter for longer but I still get antsy with every one because I can't wait to start drinking it.

I'm always happy to read someone who thinks their beer is pretty good after only a week. Gives me hope that I'm not completely crazy

 

[55x11]

Oh I'm actually right there with you. I've only been brewing since the beginning of the year. Nearly all the opinions I read though are of people who leave beers in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks, slow carb in kegs, etc. As I get a pipeline going I can leave beers in the fermenter for longer but I still get antsy with every one because I can't wait to start drinking it.

I'm always happy to read someone who thinks their beer is pretty good after only a week. Gives me hope that I'm not completely crazy

Since I keg, I can taste the difference as the flavor is supposedly improving after kegging. I think cold conditioning does make a difference for most styles, but for IPAs the differences are very minimal - any improvements over time are negated by loss of hop aroma from dry hopping.

I would say my IPAs are best at two weeks or so after brewing. They are pretty good, say 80-90% after 8 days (with starter and WLP-090 yeast the fermentation peaks after a day or two and begins to slow down by 3rd or 4th day - I dry-hop for 2-3 days, usually days 3, 4 and 5. It's cold crashed around day 5, gelatined and transferred to keg on day 6 or 7. It is ready to drink on day 7 or 8, still improving as carbonation settles in, and cold conditioning continues.

In my opinion, <8% beers can be easily kegged after 6-8 days and enjoyed at 8-10 days without cutting that many corners - provided you use an active starter for pitching, have healthy yeast, have good sanitation, oxygenate, follow fermentation carefully etc. etc. I have even had red ale that was fermented out completely in 1.5 days! I thought it stalled but it went from 1.055 or so to 1.010 in 36 hours. Tasted just fine - but I needed to add raspberries so it took a while to ferment. Otherwise it could have been ready to drink in <5 days.

Many of my beers take longer because of various fruit, vanilla, peppers etc. additions, or because some of them are ~12% imperial porters or imperial stouts, etc. I also like to dial in carbonation profile and warm- or cold-condition them a bit. There you have to be patient for sure.

But the idea that one cannot produce a great beer in 7 days and we all need to wait 2 weeks of fermentation plus conditioning plus 2 weeks of carbing is just wrong. Every beer is different.

 

[enokidaki]

Ok but can this apply to a stout with an og of 1.064 brewed with s 04. I would like to serve it on day 9. I just turned up the temp to 70 on day 6...

 

[Citizen86]

Ok but can this apply to a stout with an og of 1.064 brewed with s 04. I would like to serve it on day 9. I just turned up the temp to 70 on day 6...

My brother is visiting and I have an Irish stout that I did last.... Thursday. So it'll be day 8 tomorrow. Have it force carbonating at 30 PSI today. Used Wyeast 1335 British II, it took about 36 hours to take off after a direct pitch, but once it started it finished within I think 18 hours, I was pretty impressed.

Tasted it today and don't really taste anything off. However that's a 4.7% stout that's basically only roast barley for the dark flavor, so it's simple. More complex stouts and porters do seem to benefit from a lot more time.

Of course, you can see what it tastes like on day 7 or so

 

[enokidaki]

Well alright, thanks for the speedy response bud. I'm going to take gravity readings today and tomorrow when I keg it anyway, that and a tasting will tell... But it's my birthday I'll do what I want!

 

[Kharnynb]

No need for the hop bag to sink to the bottom.

It just needs to be off the surface so as to be totally covered in beer and not provide a dry surface for infections to grow on.

 

[jeremy0209]

Here's a great article on "Express Brewing" from Drew Beechum:

https://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/express-brewing-speed-brewing-grain-glass-less-10-days-0

 

[enokidaki]

Thanks for the great article. This week I learned that stouts need not apply for these methods, they're just too green too long. And this has to be planned out in advance.

 

[55x11]

Thanks for the great article. This week I learned that stouts need not apply for these methods, they're just too green too long. And this has to be planned out in advance.

Only if you mean Imperial Stouts.
Stouts have a huge range of ABV, and low-ABV stouts, like oatmeal stout, irish dry stout, etc. can be fermented very quickly, within 2 weeks for sure.

 

[devils4ever]

Brewed my IPA last Saturday. Hit a little over 1.060 and kept it at 65F. Today I dry hopped it even though it was still bubbling away a bit. I raised the temp to 66F and will slowly increase it to 68F by the weekend. I'll cold crash by next Tuesday and keg by Thursday to give it a few days to carb.

Sound good?

 

[Citizen86]

Since primary fermentation is done, you could easily raise it to 70 or 72 to encourage it to really finish up.