VERY quick turn around ideas?

[Shepbrew]

Does anyone have any recipes for a very quick grain to glass? Doesn't even have to be beer but just something refreshing, alcoholic and preferably on the lighter easy drinking side?

Having a party on July 1 and had plans to have the keezer full. Was filling up the last keg today, a cider, and yep tastes vinegary. I backsweented and put on gas and hoping that a week from now it may be drinkable but would love to hedge my bets a bit and get something going to replace.

I feel like I'm dreaming abut but maybe someone has a great idea? Like I said, it's to replace a cider so really anything easy drinking and refreshing would work!

Thanks.

 

[woo_pig]

Hefewisen. 12 day turn around.

 

[Ashevillain]

You could try making a ~2% or less wartime english/german beer. These were sometimes as low as OG 1.011 if you can even believe that haha. Check the OGs on page 142.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've made Wheat beers and Saisons in a week. They're still very yeasty though after only 24 hour cold crash. Transfer and force carbonate.

 

[JonM]

Another vote for hefeweizen. I've done grain to glass in 12 days, but I bet with burst carbing, you could do 9.

 

[arnobg]

Centennial Blonde with lime and watermelon. Made the fresh watermelon concentrate and Lime tincture while it fermented. Finished in like 9 days grain to glass and super refreshing.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1498318729.004662.jpg

 

[Shepbrew]

Some good ones, though I'm looking at 6 days. I know I'm pushing my luck on that timing.

Don't have the ingredients on hand for a hefe or a saison but could do a blonde. The fastest I've ever gone grain to glass on a blonde was 10 days....

Any non beer ideas that could be faster?
As for the wartime ales, interesting idea, could use that as rehydration after a strong IPA maybe? Haha

 

[IslandLizard]

Centennial Blonde with lime and watermelon. Made the fresh watermelon concentrate and Lime tincture while it fermented. Finished in like 9 days grain to glass and super refreshing.

Great idea!

How did you make your watermelon concentrate?

Is that tincture lime zest soaked for a few days in some vodka in a mason jar?

 

[jmcquesten]

Hefeweizen - primary till active fermentation slows (3-4)days, then transfer to keg. Any further fermentation will help with carbonation. Once in keg, hook up to co2.

Edit: Nevermind, just reax that you are limited to what you have on hand.

CENTENNIAL BLONDE ALE

 

[IslandLizard]

How about sangrias? Very refreshing, as alcoholic as you make them, and easy drinkers.

 

[arnobg]

Great idea!



How did you make your watermelon concentrate?



Is that tincture lime zest soaked for a few days in some vodka in a mason jar?

I used BierMuncher's base Centennial Blonde and added the watermelon concentrate and Lime tincture at kegging.

Juice half of a large watermelon or a whole small melon and collect half a gallon of watermelon juice. Freeze that half gallon in an empty water jug. After it freezes turn it upside down over a mason jar or other container at room temperature and let it drip/collect until you have 32 ounces. Repeat process one more time and collect 16 ounces. That 16 ounces you have is the concentrate. The stuff that is left behind in the water jug is mostly the water, the stuff that you collect is the good stuff which melts first. You can now freeze the concentrate until keg day in which you just thaw it out before and rack your beer on top of it in the keg.

For the lime I just zested 4-5 likes and set it in 2 oz of vodka. At keg time I strain the zest out and add the vodka tincture to the keg with the melon concentrate.

The end result is amazing and it is super refreshing but it fruity at all.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've never tried this, but perhaps serve a slice of cucumber or some cucumber juice with your vinegary cider?

 

[IslandLizard]

I used BierMuncher's base Centennial Blonde and added the watermelon concentrate and Lime tincture at kegging.

Juice half of a large watermelon or a whole small melon and collect half a gallon of watermelon juice. Freeze that half gallon in an empty water jug. After it freezes turn it upside down over a mason jar or other container at room temperature and let it drip/collect until you have 32 ounces. Repeat process one more time and collect 16 ounces. That 16 ounces you have is the concentrate. The stuff that is left behind in the water jug is mostly the water, the stuff that you collect is the good stuff which melts first. You can now freeze the concentrate until keg day in which you just thaw it out before and rack your beer on top of it in the keg.

For the lime I just zested 4-5 likes and set it in 2 oz of vodka. At keg time I strain the zest out and add the vodka tincture to the keg with the melon concentrate.

The end result is amazing and it is super refreshing but it fruity at all.

Ah, freeze concentrating the juice! All the good flavor and only some of the water.

Thanks!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

6 days grain to glass SERVING time seems undoable for any beer.
You need to take in carbing. I carb at 40 psi for 24 hours these days but that still only gives 4 days from brew date for fermentation to start and finish and the yeast to drop out or cold crash.

I'm thinking your beer will most likely be crappy (ish) at best and not worth serving...buy a good beer and serve that...your friends will appreciate it...Just my .02 cents

 

[Shepbrew]

Sangrias may be the winner!
Good idea!
Have two IPAs and a cream ale, so the sangria will go great!

 

[Ashevillain]

Keg and lightly carb the sangria's so that it has a hint of the tasty soda version

 

[Benbigmac]

I'd recommend doing ginger beer I can turn out a gallon batch in less than a week my recipe is as follows:
-3 pounds ginger chopped then turned into a pulp
- 1 cup lemon juice
-1-2 tsp yeast nutrient
-1-2 packets lalvin EC-1118 (or other champaign yeast)
-2cups brown sugar.
So to quickly brew it heat water to simmer and dissolve sugar then boil ginger and then add lemon juice. Cool it to room temp and then add the yeast nutrient and yeast (which you should have started as per directions on packet) and the primary fermentation should take 1-3days and secondary you can cut off at 3-5 days and bottle

 

[RM-MN]

Some good ones, though I'm looking at 6 days. I know I'm pushing my luck on that timing.

Don't have the ingredients on hand for a hefe or a saison but could do a blonde. The fastest I've ever gone grain to glass on a blonde was 10 days....

Any non beer ideas that could be faster?
As for the wartime ales, interesting idea, could use that as rehydration after a strong IPA maybe? Haha

There's a store just down the road that sells beer already done and in cans or bottles. I suggest that as the best alternative. They probably have ciders there too.

 

[EagleScout]

How about Kvass? Some of the recipes I've looked at only take a few days because it's low ABV.
http://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/19/angelinas-easy-bread-kvas-recipe/

 

[Smellyglove]

I'm the third to say hefeweizen, you can do it in eight days if you use a first gen proper hefe yeast (liquid, like 300 or 380)

If you keg then transfer it after day five and add speise and set the keg at room temp, it will carb itself in three maybe four days due to the still active yeast. I use about 55ml speise for 0.5l bottles. You can do the math for a keg. This is if you have a good and healthy fermentation.

 

[Shepbrew]

Keg and lightly carb the sangria's so that it has a hint of the tasty soda version

Yep that's the plan now, have a nice peach mango one we are gonna try. Refreshing

 

[Shepbrew]

There's a store just down the road that sells beer already done and in cans or bottles. I suggest that as the best alternative. They probably have ciders there too.

The issue was not having beer or anything to serve, there will be lots of that, it would just drive me crazy to have 1 of 4 taps empty. No one else would even notice or care but my levels of obsessiveness could not take it haha

 

[Pkrd]

The issue was not having beer or anything to serve, there will be lots of that, it would just drive me crazy to have 1 of 4 taps empty.

Put a Tee junction on one of your beer lines and run the same keg to two taps. Call them different beers. See if anyone notices.

 

[eyebrau]

Put a Tee junction on one of your beer lines and run the same keg to two taps. Call them different beers. See if anyone notices.

Not a bad idea... especially if you also rig up a homemade Randall and run it through the second tap...

 

[SlitheryDee]

I think I would just try to make the blonde. Keep the OG around 1.040 or less. Pitch a lot of yeast (probably two packs or a healthy amount of slurry depending on what you have) and ferment in the upper middle of it's temperature range. The large pitch could cut 12 hours or so off your lag time while helping to limit ester production in the warmer ferment. Give it about 3 days to get the majority of the fermentation over with, then bump the temperature up to 75 degrees or so. Leave it until you're ready to transfer to the keg. I'm really hating the time you're going to have to spend chilling it too, but needing it ready to serve means kegging, then allowing to chill and carb over the night before and day of your event.

Of course, every fermentation is different. You might get lucky and have the active fermentation blow through in 3 days, or it might be slow and still be bubbling when you need it to be done. If you get one of those I would just leave it in the fermenter and live with 3 populated taps.

 

[IslandLizard]

I think I would just try to make the blonde. Keep the OG around 1.040 or less. Pitch a lot of yeast (probably two packs or a healthy amount of slurry depending on what you have) and ferment in the upper middle of it's temperature range. The large pitch could cut 12 hours or so off your lag time while helping to limit ester production in the warmer ferment. Give it about 3 days to get the majority of the fermentation over with, then bump the temperature up to 75 degrees or so. Leave it until you're ready to transfer to the keg. I'm really hating the time you're going to have to spend chilling it too, but needing it ready to serve means kegging, then allowing to chill and carb over the night before and day of your event.

Of course, every fermentation is different. You might get lucky and have the active fermentation blow through in 3 days, or it might be slow and still be bubbling when you need it to be done. If you get one of those I would just leave it in the fermenter and live with 3 populated taps.

This is all good and well under normal circumstances, but the OP was about 48 hours ago, so he's running really short on time by now. I think he's aiming for a Sangria, instead.

Good oxygenation, a vitality starter, and a large pitch all help to get the fermentation off the ground fast, but the aftermath of clearing and conditioning always seems to bite us. I'd rather have a cloudy Wheat, Wit or Hefe than a dirty Blonde. Well, maybe not.

 

[Shepbrew]

Just a quick update on this, the carbed sangria was awesome. Also, I left the nasty cider kegged and just gave it another try the other day, the flavour mellowed out pretty good, very drinkable. So all in all a win!
Thanks again for all the suggestions