I may be making a home brew (5 gallon extract w/ spec. grains) for my sister’s wedding in March. I would appreciate any input on recipe ideas as I will most likely be brewing for the BMC crowd. Ale ideas only please. ;D
BMC crowd gah!
I brewed a California common for some friends wedding in hope of getting that crowd into it. Most of them felt it was too strong, too hoppy, just overall too flavourful.
I would try a mildly hopped Kolsch or a cream ale. Given that we are talking about extract with steeping Kolsch is probably a good bet. You don’t even need any steeping grains.
90% pils extract
10% munich extract
German hops (I like hallertaur) to ~15 IBU for the whole boil and maybe a little shot towards the end. enough extract to get you to 1.048 and call it good.
You might even be able to get away with a 30 minute boil. In that case just the one hop addition.
Here’s a partial mash recipe I did with the same goals in mind…
#177 Cream Swill
A ProMash Recipe Report
Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 6.50
Anticipated OG: 1.050 Plato: 12.34
Anticipated SRM: 3.7
Anticipated IBU: 23.5
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Pre-Boil Amounts
Evaporation Rate: 1.50 Gallons Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.50 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.038 SG 9.59 Plato
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
15.4 1.00 lbs. Pale Malt(6-row) America 1.035 2
7.7 0.50 lbs. Flaked Corn (Maize) America 1.040 1
30.8 2.00 lbs. Light Dry Malt Extract 1.046 7
46.2 3.00 lbs. Rice Solids Extract 1.042 1
Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.
Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
0.50 oz. Horizon Whole 13.00 22.9 45 min.
0.30 oz. Horizon Whole 13.00 0.6 1 min.
Extras
Amount Name Type Time
0.50 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)
Yeast
WYeast 1056 Amercan Ale/Chico
Mash Schedule
Mash Name:
Total Grain Lbs: 1.50
Total Water Qts: 2.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 0.50 - Before Additional Infusions
Tun Thermal Mass: 0.00
Grain Temp: 65.00 F
Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
sacc 0 60 155 155 Infuse 168 2.00 1.33
Total Water Qts: 2.00 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 0.50 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 0.62 - After Additional Infusions
All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in Quarts.
All infusion ratios are Quarts/Lbs.
Cream Ale, Kolsch, American Wheat, Blonde… I didn’t even realize they were all substyles of Light Hybrid Beer until after I typed them all out… But yeah other than making Light Lager for them… Those would be the best bets to get them to consider an ale…
Would the cream ale be more difficult?
I don’t have an extract recipe but I’ll be brewing a golden ale as my “lighter” beer for my wedding. It is lightly hopped with even portions of citra and galaxy hops. That and a cherry wheat and two different IPAs.
it would because the maize requires mashing. not so say your not up to it. but check out Denny’s posted recipe and decide if you feel like doing a partial mash. It’s not hard and it’s a great intro to all grain brewing. Cream ale exists to please light lager lovers so it’s a good choice. Probably better than Kolsch honestly, Kolsch or Am Wheat are easier to do extract or extract with steeping though.
In my recipe, all you do is “steep” at mash temps (around 150F) for an hour. Dead easy.
You could do cream ale and sub rice syrup for corn. I guarantee not one BMC drinker will ask about the missing corn sweetness.
Maybe I’ll get wild and make a pale ale!
If you make a killer pale ale, people will drink it. I’ve converted many a BMCer.
Anyway, the tap list for my own wedding is this: Kölsch, Munich Dunkel, Pale Ale and Saison. Toast beer: BGSA. We will be serving everyone from the BMC crowd, to grandparents, to our homebrew club members so we are trying to hit everybody. I don’t know what I would pick if I was limited to just one!
I’ve done exactly that for some special occasions it went over great every time.
If you keep the hop level in check and don’t overdo it (as many homebrewers and newbie commercial micro brewers often do) it almost can’t miss. Balance is the key to any beer, but especially a lighter tasting one like this. My standard for occasions such as this is usually OG 1.040 and 10 IBUs.
Just remember that without a lot of hops to hide behind, your sanitation will be especially important.
Perhaps a brown ale?
too much color. remember you drink first with your eyes
+1 to that!
I once made a Wedding Veil Pale Ale for a friend’s reception. 5 gallons were gone before any other beer. If you can make a beer that tastes similar to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, even mass marketed beer drinkers will love it.
+1. My gateway beers for BMC drinkers have been pale ales every bit as much as kolsch and cream ales.
Remember, to the uneducated beer drinker, color = heaviness. Id go with Dennys brews. Itlls taste good and should be nice and light. Your BMC friends will love how full of flavor a proper beer is.
2cents
Jeff
This is what I generally brew for the masses. I want to distinguish my homebrew from the usual BMC fare. A low-gravity brown can be quite flavorful without being heavy. And it’s not as intimidating as something like a stout or porter for the uninitiated.
At my son’s birthday party last summer I served my table-strength saison, a hoppy pale lager, and my oatmeal brown ale. The brown was gone in no time, the lager had a few fans, while my best friend’s wife and I had the saison all to ourselves.
Is there going to be any other beer in bottles or on tap?
One issue you get with BMC drinkers is even when they like your homebrew/craft beer they tend to get “overwhelmed” by the flavor after one or two. If there is a BMC beer available that they can switch back and forth between then that would give you the opportunity to brew a beer with more flavor and let people switch as necessary. I would still stay away from anything dark or anything with bitterness over 25-30 IBU.