Supplying beer for a wedding

[b555wpd]

I have been asked by my sister to supply home brew for her upcoming wedding. I'm sure that there are other people out there who have been asked to do the same thing so I'm looking for a little advice.

A few questions I have so far

How much should I make? The expected guest list is 100-120 and I'm sure not all of them will drink beer.

I have just started kegging, 2 batches in, so I have a basic system with 5lb CO2 tank and 6 kegs with 4 party faucets. They don't have any dispensing equipment at the venue so should I just bring the tank and lines and chill the kegs in buckets of ice?

Should I make several different styles or stick to several batches of 1 or 2 recipes.

I have about 8 months to come up with some good recipes, a Pilsner and a Wheat have been requested but I was also considering maybe an IPA and a Pale Ale. Any thoughts on beers to please the masses?

Any other thoughts from people who have done this are appreciated.

Cheers

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Do 3 beers. You can Google some images of brute trash cans with tops and draft towers. Works great for something like this. You can also look to local brewers to see if anyone has a jockey box to borrow. Heck, if you were in az I'd let you borrow mine.

 

[Rcbandl]

As far as styles. I probably would not go with an IPA. Unless there are alot of people who are craft beer drinkers there, an IPA may be a shocker to people who have never experienced them. An american or english pale ale would be a good neutral beer. And an american wheat would also be something most commercial beer drinkers would like. If you were equipt with the right fermentation equipment then a pilsner would be great also.

 

[sir_ybarra]

Chocolate Stout for dessert ?

 

[JoshuaW]

I had a similar sized guest list for my wedding. I did three kegs and plenty of bottles of wine and mead. I had a bit of each left, but my guests werent heavy drinkers.

As for recipes, I did an IPA, a cream ale, and a hard cider. The cream ale was a big hit among the BMC drinkers, with a few picky exceptions (I wouldnt worry about it). I would do whatever the bride/groom want, plus a cream ale/blond ale/similar. Yooper's Yellow Fizzy is probably a great candidate.

 

[bob1852]

Had ~175 people at my wedding, and the IPA was the first keg to kick. :rockin:

Also had Bier Muncher's Cream of Three Crops (went thru a keg and a half of that), a raspberry porter, a mildly hoppy amber ale, and an Irish red.

I hired bar tenders, and just had the kegs behind the bar in tubs of ice with picnic taps for the bar tenders to serve from. It worked out great, and I had plenty of leftover homebrew, homemade wine, and hard stuff (did not want to run out of booze at my wedding!).

Just make sure that your Co2 and regulator set up is very secure so it won't tip over or get knocked around (I just use a 5g bucket stuffed with old towels).

 

[BrotherBock]

I'd do a Kolsch. The wyeast kolsch yeast or german ale yeast work well for making a wheat beer as well. Two birds, one yeast?

 

[bob1852]

Also, make sure the reception location will allow homemade alcohol...

 

[BrotherBock]

Also, make sure the reception location will allow homemade alcohol...

Or lie

 

[beng]

I suggest making an Island Mist wine kit(along with a couple beers), they are simple, crowd pleasers, and they add a bit of variety. Plus, you can toss them in a keg, carb and serve. Or if you are feeling fancy, put them in a bottle with a foil cap, it's a little extra labor, but well worth it. The females *usually* appreciate wine a bit more, and after all, thats what the day is about right?

It opens up the options for spritzers, sangria, and whatever else you can think of. They come in @ about 6.5% abv, perfect for a summertime wedding.

Have her check out this link and let her choose!

http://home-brewing.northernbrewer.com/search?asug=&view=grid&w=island+mist

 

[BroStefan]

There is a video on the Northern Brewer website that covers various strategies for serving beer to crowds.

 

[Blueflint]

Also, make sure the reception location will allow homemade alcohol...

I agree with this one. For our son's wedding, we rented the hall and did everything ourselves, home made beer and wine were huge hits!!!!!

On a nieces wedding, her hall rental was all inclusive including beer and wine, the servers, etc., absolutely no outside beer and wine allowed.... just make sure ahead of time.

Tony