Recipes for non craft drinkers

[Weezy]

The funny thing about cream ales is that people will scrunch their nose when you tell them and they think of their youth when they tried a Genesee cream ale.... But they can't actually remember what it even tasted like.

 

[crusader1612]

http://beercrusades.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/lets-get-married-guide-to-brewing.html check this out.
I made a simple how to guide for brewing beer for a wedding.

90 guests 7 5.5 gal batches.

Make sure you have a good range of beer.
if you have all golden ales hefeweizens cream ales lagers etc. it can get a bit boring IMO.
I brewed a Hoppy session ale, Amaerican amber, Golden Ale, and english Brown Ale (handpump)
2 kegs of each (1 of the brown ale)

The golden ale disappeared pretty quickly.
the brown ale was mostly gone by the time the dinner started
followed by 1 keg of hoppy session ale
i still had 1/2 keg total (between 2) of the amber
1/4 keg of hoppy session
and 2 glasses of brown ale.

have a rang, get people thinking about what they're drinking a bit more, that way we get people drinking more good beer which is how life should be

 

[smitte10]

So I did 7 batches for my own wedding party:

2 x hefe
1 x IPA
1 x saison
1 x dry cider
1 x dunkel
1 x barleywine

The saison was the first to go, followed very closely by the IPA, followed by all 10 gallons of the hefe. There was a little bit of dunkel and a little bit of cider left, and about half the keg of barleywine. Granted the barleywine was over 13% ABV and I didn't tap it until dessert was served.

Most of the crowd was very into beer but a lot of people were not. Hefeweizen is always a good choice since most people like it: beer newbies, BMC lovers, craft beer nerds, people looking for something fruitier, etc. No decoction mash needed, I've never done one and I've brewed many batches. Toss in some melanoidin or munich malt and you're good to go.

Saison and IPA were incredibly popular with the beer geeks, dry cider was great for wine lovers and gluten-free folks, dunkel was fantastic for people that wanted something a little darker. This was August so I didn't want to do a stout/porter, and I wanted something a little more exciting than brown ale.

I wanted to have a nice variety of styles so everyone could enjoy something, I wanted to stick to traditional styles and I knew I wanted at least one lager. If I could go back, I wouldn't change a thing.

You can also buy a 2.5 gallon keg (AIH has them for like $70) and do something fun like a keg of gin and tonics. I did that and the entire thing was gone. You can also buy a keg of local/craft commercial root beer for the kids. I did that as well and it was a big hit with non-drinkers, adults and kids both.

The logistics of the brewing (timing brew days, fermentation chamber use, kegerator space, plumbing, etc.) was a good bit of work so just make sure you have a plan for every single thing. Have extra CO2, have an extra party tap just in case, etc. My party was at a private residence and I had all kegs in the kegerators a full 3 weeks before the party to make sure they were carbed/settled.

I had so much fun with all the brewing, it was awesome seeing everyone get drunk off my creations and I got nothing but compliments all night which made me pretty damn proud. Feel free to hit me up if you want to talk more!

Thanks for your great post I have most everything I could think of planed out.

I was going to do 4 kegs now I want more so 6. I do t have as much time as I would like (just under 3 months) so some will be in kegarator for longer then others but all will have at least a week.

The day of they will be moved from my house to the venue about 35 minutes away and put in ice bins back on co2 about 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Picnic taps when we get there and an extra just in case and a cooler full of ice to keep the buckets cold.

Do you have any other suggestions for what eles I might need day of or prep.

 

[crusader1612]

Thanks for your great post I have most everything I could think of planed out.

I was going to do 4 kegs now I want more so 6. I do t have as much time as I would like (just under 3 months) so some will be in kegarator for longer then others but all will have at least a week.

The day of they will be moved from my house to the venue about 35 minutes away and put in ice bins back on co2 about 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Picnic taps when we get there and an extra just in case and a cooler full of ice to keep the buckets cold.

Do you have any other suggestions for what eles I might need day of or prep.

do this:

keg your beers as normal and let them carbonate/settle out (I recommend Gelatin finigs or similar to get the clarity people expect)
after 7-10 days in the keg, pour off 0.5-1 pint of beer to clear it out, then jump it to another keg. (disconnect(beerout), line and then another disconnect(Beer Out)) this will remove the majority of trub from the keg and when you move the sediment disturbance is minimal (mainly because there isn't much there)

If the kegs can be stored in a fridge nearby or maybe a chiller trailer somewhere at the venue (we had a chiller trailer) this help store things cold, including any serving food (talk to the caterers)

Oh and if you only have 3 month get craking now if you are doing 6 different beers. run the least hoppy ones first and if your doing something like a porter or brown ale that should be done first or second.

 

[smitte10]

do this:

keg your beers as normal and let them carbonate/settle out (I recommend Gelatin finigs or similar to get the clarity people expect)
after 7-10 days in the keg, pour off 0.5-1 pint of beer to clear it out, then jump it to another keg. (disconnect(beerout), line and then another disconnect(Beer Out)) this will remove the majority of trub from the keg and when you move the sediment disturbance is minimal (mainly because there isn't much there)

If the kegs can be stored in a fridge nearby or maybe a chiller trailer somewhere at the venue (we had a chiller trailer) this help store things cold, including any serving food (talk to the caterers)

Oh and if you only have 3 month get craking now if you are doing 6 different beers. run the least hoppy ones first and if your doing something like a porter or brown ale that should be done first or second.

Unfortinatly no onsite refrigeration I was thinking on moving my chest freezer but not sure it can happen.

I have one done in the keg this morning so 5 more to go. In thinking the skeeter pee, a cream ale, the yellow fizzy beer, an apple cider, and maby a fruit beer or an ipa or maby a Munich smash im not sure.

 

[smitte10]

So if anyone who gave me some awesome recipes is still following this I started a skeeter pee a few days ago and that's going great.
And i am as we speak doing the yellow fizzy beer smells great.

Thanks again guys for all the suggestions.

 

[woo_pig]

Try a vienna smash. With hallutru or northen brewer. It is a very simple and pleasent beer.

 

[smitte10]

Try a vienna smash. With hallutru or northen brewer. It is a very simple and pleasent beer.

Thanks for the suggestion sounds great.

 

[tzaccario]

So if anyone who gave me some awesome recipes is still following this I started a skeeter pee a few days ago and that's going great.
And i am as we speak doing the yellow fizzy beer smells great.

Thanks again guys for all the suggestions.

Very cool keep us posted as you move through the process. My next brew is also the Fizzy Yellow (Blonde). Ingredients arrive tomorrow from morebeer!

 

[benco]

Looks you figured out what your going to make, I was going to add to the long list that's easy to make a ginger beer.

 

[saltymirv]

Great article on how to create a balanced tap list: https://www.beermenus.com/blog/166-how-to-create-a-balanced-beer-list

Its geared more for a taproom or beer bar, but could be useful for planning the menu at a wedding

 

[smitte10]

Very cool keep us posted as you move through the process. My next brew is also the Fizzy Yellow (Blonde). Ingredients arrive tomorrow from morebeer!

Smells great I can't wait to try it I did try a new mash tun and my efficiency was bad I only got 1.041 og so I got a figure out were I went wrong on that one.

Good luck with yours.

 

[smitte10]

Looks you figured out what your going to make, I was going to add to the long list that's easy to make a ginger beer.

If never tried a ginger beer before ill have to look into that thanks for your input.

 

[smitte10]

Great article on how to create a balanced tap list: https://www.beermenus.com/blog/166-how-to-create-a-balanced-beer-list

Its geared more for a taproom or beer bar, but could be useful for planning the menu at a wedding

Thanks I still need to figure out my co2 I don't have a manifold I was just gona use tees but I'm sure this can help me figure out all the picnic taps.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I'm thinking bring 2 kegs of the same high quality light beer, and do something slightly more adventerous in the other two. A dry stout may be ubiquitous enough that people may recognize it as being like a Guiness. The other could be a mildly hopped pale ale, or perhaps a Belgian Single. Basically make a pilsner but pitch 3522 Ardennes yeast. Makes a great subtly complex light ale.

 

[toddk63]

+1 on cream ale. I have one on tap now and thinking about making it a regular.

Pilsner base malt
Vienna
light crystal
10 to 15% flaked maize
15 IBU noble hops
Chico yeast

 

[ericbw]

An Irish Red. Most people know Killians, so it's familiar. It's also low ABV, which is good for a big party.

Have you done cider before? It can be tough to get just right. We do it in the summer with fruit juice to backsweeten. It's about 4.5-5%.

I'm amazed how many people like saison or Belgians. Not crazy funk, but a casual patersbier. It goes with food.

 

[Bosh]

Milds I've found to be a big hit. Dark enough to not be boring but not too roasty or bitter. They're also fast, cheap and easy. The biggest thing holding tem back is the name and the association with old men. Shame. Very tasty beers.

 

[Bosh]

Oh one more: SMaSH with pilsner malt, minimal hops and wit yeast. No orange peel or coriander. Call it "Blue Moon Lite." Goes over really well with BMC people, tastes decent and goes down really easy.