What do you brew?

[S.F.B.]

My recent 2 month hiaitus from brewing left me with none of my own beer in the fridge and no ambition to go out and buy any. It got me to thinking. What should I brew to be ready in a hurry? Well it ended up being my usual brown ale. It is easy to brew. It ferments really quick (5 days). And it tastes pretty good even when it is young.

Is there a beer you brew on a regular basis when in a pinch like this? :confused: Enquiring minds.

[brewmonkey]

Hefewiezen

Whenever we got tight in the pub we would crank out a hefe. Probably one of the quickest beers to get out.

[b3s]

i brew my QAD (quick and dirty) Pale. 8# light DME, 1# crystal X (where X is how dark i want it), 12 AAUs bittering hops, 6 AAUs aroma hops. from boil to carboy takes me about 90 minutes and 30 days later i'm drinking it....not the worlds greatest beer, but definitely not bad at all.

i like to use this one to see if i like a particular hops variety (i.e. i'll do all one hop type).

in fact, i just brewed this one on sunday and it's in primary right now (well, OK, i went with 9# light DME this time).

[ray m]

For me its probably an American Pale. Usually ready in 4 weeks (1 week in primary, 1 week in secondary w/ dry hops, & 2 weeks in bottle/tap-a-draft). Very simple brew with no surprises---and tastes very good:)

[Pappy]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Hefewiezen

Whenever we got tight in the pub we would crank out a hefe. Probably one of the quickest beers to get out.

Just curious as to how long it takes you to crank out a hefe.

[OldHooky]

4-5 days fermenting, a week in the secondary, and was tasty after a week in the bottle.

[toneyc]

B3s: Nine pounds of DME? wow.

I really like the AHS Blonde Ale from Austin Homebrew. Very simple, 7 lbs extract and two ounces of hops. I brewed two batches up on Tuesday because I somehow ran out of beer while I wasn't paying attention. As simple as it is, I think it is the best beer that I have brewed in three years!

:)
Toney.

[paul84043]

Funny how that works isn't it?
The Black & Tan that I'm always raving about is very simple and fast. I think it's 1 pound of dark roasted barley steeped for 45 minutes. 6 pounds (or whatever makes you happy) of dark LME, very conservative hop additions, I think Saaz. I always use White labs yeast, I can't remember which one goes into it, I think it's a common ale yeast. (California?)
It's been a few months since I made one, so the recipe is a little fuzzy....
My problem is that my brain is full, so to learn something new, I have to dump something old....

It's one of the fastest fermenting beers I have made, I had one finish primary in three days once. It was in bottles within a week.

We really like Hefe's too, but they take a few extra days to ferment. They mature really quick though and sure are good!

[emenzer]

just bottled a bass clone. ligt dme and light lme half and half, brown sugar, danstar notingham english yeast, fuggles hops. Tastes great, just waiting for carbonation!!!! Should be about 1 more week to go.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by Pappy
Just curious as to how long it takes you to crank out a hefe.

You can put one online in about 10 days if the planets align for you. As you do not need to add finings/filter it you can cut about 14 days off the condition cycle.

[b3s]

Originally posted by toneyc
B3s: Nine pounds of DME? wow.


i don't do small beers :)

[brewmonkey]

My small beers usually start at 14-15P.

[OldHooky]

What does the term small beers mean?

[paul84043]

I think you actually hear the term "big beers" more often and small beer is inferred...

A big beer can be several things, high gravity, strong presence, lots of flavor, typically a combination of those. A small beer would be anything that you would consider somehow "less" than your average beer. Lower alcohol content, very light body.
Kind of like comparing a good amber ale to a light pilsener, the Pilsener would be classified as "smaller".
I personally don't bring color into the equation, though some might. My personal experience has shown me that color really means nothing, other than it's esthetically pleasing and typically gives you a decent idea of the style of the beer. I can make a light colored beer that will knock you on the floor, and also a black beer that's very easy to drink all evening.

It's very subjective and really based on your personal preferences.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by OldHooky
What does the term small beers mean?

A beer with low original gravity. Historically made with the runnings from a mash after the higher gravity runnings have been collected for making a bigger beer.

Lately my beers seem to settling in around 16-18 P.

[sallad]

small beers tend to be quicker beers.. my quick beers are all extract with 2oz of hops (usually around 6-9AA%): about 4-5lbs DME, 1oz hops for anywhere from 45-60min, 1/2oz for 20-30min, and 1/2oz in the last 5 min. just a straight boil, cool, and pitch your favorite ale yeast!

about 5days primary, 5-7 days secondary, and into the bottles. 3 weeks after brewing, these babies are ready to drink!

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Fast_Eddy

Lately my beers seem to settling in around 16-18 P.

What's the "P" stand for?

[Jeff]

I will answer Pappy's question but ask another.

P refers to Plato which is a method of measuring specefic gravity. I think a lot of micro breweries use it.

Now for my question: Is there a simple equation to convert Plato to specefic gravity?

[Pappy]

Ahhhhh, okay. My hydrometers have a scale referred to as "balling". I want to say i've read somewhere that's the same as Plato. True?

[homebrewaddict]

Originally posted by Jeff


Now for my question: Is there a simple equation to convert Plato to specefic gravity?

There is. Simply multipy the Plato by 4, and that is the last digits of the SG.

E.G: 4 degrees Plato = 1.016 SG.