I'm getting married next year and have a venue which allows me to provide all my own alcohol. I've done plenty of home brewing in the past but never really put to the test how long I can store my home brew for. I'd like to get started as soon as possible so that I can make as much home brew as I can but I don't want it to go "bad" before the big day!
Can anyone suggest when I should do my first brew and how long I can expect it to keep for? I'll mostly just be doing lager and cider kits.
Cheers!
Brewing for my wedding
-
neilmcca
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Some kits such as Brewferm don't reach their peak (i believe) for 18-24 months,
even if you were making other kits, Coopers etc, i'd imagine they would be more than fine so long as they were in glass bottles,
i'm not sure about plastic bottles (never used them).
and congratulations
even if you were making other kits, Coopers etc, i'd imagine they would be more than fine so long as they were in glass bottles,
i'm not sure about plastic bottles (never used them).
and congratulations
-
bigdave
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Your brewing plans should be lagers first if you're intending lagering. Big beers next as they can take longer to come to their prime. Regular ales next and lastly any ales with lots of aroma hops as they'll lose the benefit if the hops within a few months.
-
floydmeddler
- Telling everyone Your My Best Mate
- Posts: 4160
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:37 pm
- Location: Irish man living in Brighton
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Kits or A.G?
-
neilmcca
Re: Brewing for my wedding
floydmeddler wrote:Kits or A.G?
demmeister wrote: I'll mostly just be doing lager and cider kits.
-
floydmeddler
- Telling everyone Your My Best Mate
- Posts: 4160
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:37 pm
- Location: Irish man living in Brighton
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Sorry... didn't see that.
I did my own wedding beers too. It added something very special to the day. Here are my beers: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51430&hilit=+wedding
I kegged in 5L minikegs. They worked well and looked great. However, if I were to do it again (Scary thought!), I'd serve from 25L Jerry cans or 25L pressure barrels. Those minikegs were a bit of a fecker to transport/store etc.
With regards to how long you can store them for, it depends on the style. I'd defs get that cider brewed ASAP as cider gets better with time. If you're doing something light and hoppy at around 4%, brew it 4 weeks before the wedding so that it's fresh and still hoppy. Maybe you could do a darker maltier beer at around 5%. You could brew that around 8 weeks before the big day so that it can develop.
Hope this helps. Oh! and congratulations!
I did my own wedding beers too. It added something very special to the day. Here are my beers: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51430&hilit=+wedding
I kegged in 5L minikegs. They worked well and looked great. However, if I were to do it again (Scary thought!), I'd serve from 25L Jerry cans or 25L pressure barrels. Those minikegs were a bit of a fecker to transport/store etc.
With regards to how long you can store them for, it depends on the style. I'd defs get that cider brewed ASAP as cider gets better with time. If you're doing something light and hoppy at around 4%, brew it 4 weeks before the wedding so that it's fresh and still hoppy. Maybe you could do a darker maltier beer at around 5%. You could brew that around 8 weeks before the big day so that it can develop.
Hope this helps. Oh! and congratulations!
Last edited by floydmeddler on Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
demmeister
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Thanks for the comments. I think it'll really only be some different lagers and some cider. I don't think enough of the guests will want to drink ale to make it worth while brewing a batch. With the wedding being at the start of July, I'd guess anything I brew in the first few months of 2014 will be good to drink for the wedding. Does that sound right? I can always get started sooner if it'll keep
-
floydmeddler
- Telling everyone Your My Best Mate
- Posts: 4160
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:37 pm
- Location: Irish man living in Brighton
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Well, a good lager should be aged before drinking... so I suppose why not! I'd defs get cracking with the cider ASAP though.
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Not to shoot down your brewing plans but another idea might be to visit a local small brewery and see about getting a couple of casks for your wedding.
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Not to shoot down your brewing plans but another idea might be to visit a local small brewery and see about getting a couple of casks for your wedding.
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
-
floydmeddler
- Telling everyone Your My Best Mate
- Posts: 4160
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:37 pm
- Location: Irish man living in Brighton
Re: Brewing for my wedding
He has a point... kit beers at a wedding might not quite cut it...Donald wrote:Not to shoot down your brewing plans but another idea might be to visit a local small brewery and see about getting a couple of casks for your wedding.
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
-
bigdave
Re: Brewing for my wedding
I'm currently working on the bottle label artwork for a wedding that's being supplied by a brewery. It seems to be quite popular at the moment.Donald wrote:Not to shoot down your brewing plans but another idea might be to visit a local small brewery and see about getting a couple of casks for your wedding.
I was at a great do last year where the bride and groom had been to the brewery, chatted about exactly what sort of beer they wanted and then delivered a few casks - with their very own pump clips for the big day!
-
demmeister
Re: Brewing for my wedding
Thanks for your comments, I think we're happy enough with the quality of the kits we've brewed in the past so we'll stick with that for now. Maybe we'll do a tasting nearer the time and see what the general consensus is
We've got two cider kits brewing now (one strawberry and one pear) - they smell great! We did wonder how much stock to put in the best before dates on the kits we're buying. The cider ones have a best before of June 2014 and we're not sure if that means you have to brew it before then or drink it before then. Any advice on that detail would be appreciated!
We've got two cider kits brewing now (one strawberry and one pear) - they smell great! We did wonder how much stock to put in the best before dates on the kits we're buying. The cider ones have a best before of June 2014 and we're not sure if that means you have to brew it before then or drink it before then. Any advice on that detail would be appreciated!