Brewing schedule help

[McUbermensch]

I am brewing quite a few batches for my buddy's wedding that is happening on July 14th 2018. I am brewing a batch of a standard pale ale, a pale ale with lime zest and vanilla added, a Kolsch dry hopped with whole cone citra, and a Saison based loosely on The Alchemists Farmer's Daughter. All beers will be kegged so bottle conditioning isn't an issue.

What I need help with is figuring out when to brew each of these beers to give them just enough time to site in the keg and come together at the same time. I know I want to wait as long as possible for the traditional pale ale and the dry hopped Kolsch but I'm unsure when the Saison should be brewed. I feel like I could get that one out of the way within the next few weeks and it would be fine to mature in the keg for a few months.

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

I like to let me kolsch sit for at least 6 weeks before tapping. I use WY2565 and it takes a long time to drop clear. I'd brew the kolsch soon, let it condition until the wedding, the do a keg dry hop a week prior to the event, being sure to purge it really well when you do to limit oxidation. I'd also brew the saison soonish, I like to let mine condition warm (mimicking bottling conditioning) for at least few weeks, but in my opinion almost all beglian beers get better with a little aging. the pale ales i'd do fresh.

 

[Kent88]

What yeast are you planning to use for the Saison? Something like Wyeast 3724 might take some time in a warm secondary to finish up nice. You could also have a backup saison yeast like Wyeast 3711 to inoculate with after krausen is finished. If there aren't a lot of late hops that you're hoping to keep flavors from, then I'd suggest you try to have that kegged a month before the event.

The pale ale with vanilla and lime zest (which sounds like an odd, interesting combo) would probably be the brew I'd be looking at next. Unless you've brewed this one a couple times and know exactly what to expect I would assume you'd want to have that packaged and ready a couple weeks before you intend on serving it, and knowing when enough of the flavor has infused itself into the beer could take plenty of sampling.

Kolsch made with a true kolsch yeast could take ages to clear up. Do you have a means to filter? If not, do you have some other means of clarification? I haven't used gelatin before, so I don't know how well that works for getting yeast out of suspension.

You probably have a pretty good idea of what to do with the standard pale ale. Do the pale ales use the same grist? Is that a scenario where you are brewing a double batch that day?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

ah yes I forgot that. Gelatin with kolsch yeast helps a good deal, i've been doing that a few years now, but it still takes a while to drop clear.

 

[McUbermensch]

What yeast are you planning to use for the Saison? Something like Wyeast 3724 might take some time in a warm secondary to finish up nice. You could also have a backup saison yeast like Wyeast 3711 to inoculate with after krausen is finished. If there aren't a lot of late hops that you're hoping to keep flavors from, then I'd suggest you try to have that kegged a month before the event.

The pale ale with vanilla and lime zest (which sounds like an odd, interesting combo) would probably be the brew I'd be looking at next. Unless you've brewed this one a couple times and know exactly what to expect I would assume you'd want to have that packaged and ready a couple weeks before you intend on serving it, and knowing when enough of the flavor has infused itself into the beer could take plenty of sampling.

Kolsch made with a true kolsch yeast could take ages to clear up. Do you have a means to filter? If not, do you have some other means of clarification? I haven't used gelatin before, so I don't know how well that works for getting yeast out of suspension.

You probably have a pretty good idea of what to do with the standard pale ale. Do the pale ales use the same grist? Is that a scenario where you are brewing a double batch that day?

I'm using WLP510 (Bastogne) for the Saison as that is what The Alchemist uses for Farmer's Daughter and while it isn't a true "Saison" it comes out wonderfully and will be perfect for a hot summer's day in Kentucky.

The pale ale with lime zest and vanilla is the bride's favorite. It is a less ambitious take on the milkshake IPAs that some breweries are doing right now. This will be my fourth time brewing it so I have the flavor additions and timing down on that one pretty good. The grain bill for this and the traditional pale ale are the same but the hopping schedule is different as I use lime zest late in the boil in the place of hops. Another perfect brew for a hot summer day.

For the kolsch I'm not too concerned about clarity. I will use gelatin to help get the yeast out of suspension but these beers are going to be served to people who aren't going to be concerned with clarity. I'm sure the beers will be served in solo cups so appearance won't be a factor.

 

[Kent88]

ok, WLP510. Looks like that should tear through a saison strength wort with no problem. Medium flocculation, so I'd give it a little longer to clarify, but it is a saison and they're allowed to be a bit cloudy.

How much contact time will there be with the vanilla (vanilla bean or vanilla extract?).

Edit: I'm pretty sure that there is such a thing as a clear solo cup. You should request they use clear rather than red so you can show off your clear beer.

 

[McUbermensch]

ok, WLP510. Looks like that should tear through a saison strength wort with no problem. Medium flocculation, so I'd give it a little longer to clarify, but it is a saison and they're allowed to be a bit cloudy.

How much contact time will there be with the vanilla (vanilla bean or vanilla extract?).

Edit: I'm pretty sure that there is such a thing as a clear solo cup. You should request they use clear rather than red so you can show off your clear beer.

I split the beans and scrape out the insides and mix them with a little lime juice and vodka (for sanitation) and they go right into the keg so the contact time is really indefinite. The first few pours have some of the tiny vanilla beams floating around but they are usually all out of the keg in no time.

Good idea on the clear cups!

 

[Kent88]

So working backwards I'd say that the pale ales could be done the latest, closest to the event. The dry hopping will take longer than the time the vanilla needs to be in contact with the other half of the pale ale (I think that is how dry hopping works, you still want a couple days of dry hopping before serving, right?). Before that, I'd say the kolsch, so that you give it some time for the yeast to flocculate and fall out of suspension before you clarify, then dry hop x-many days before the event. Before that, the earliest beer you brew should probably be the saison.

What kind of yeast are you using for the pale ales and the kolsch? What are your intended OGs for all these beers?