Craft and specialty beers have skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade. Because of this, many individuals have taken to crafting their own ‘homebrew’ recipes. It is common for beer brewing enthusiasts to create batches to give to friends, family, and co-workers. It has also become common for people to supply, at least in part, their own gatherings or events with their personally crafted beer. Sometimes there is not enough notice to spend the four weeks typically required to brew a batch and home beer crafters turn to a process called “Fast Brew” in order to create the required amount of beer within a tight time frame.
It is considered much more difficult to produce a quality fast brew beer than it is to produce one the traditional way. This being said, there are some rules which, if followed, will allow for a successful and good tasting fast brew beer. Here we will go over just that.
Brew Ales: Lager is a very popular type of beer due to the depth of flavor. This flavor comes from certain ingredients that, if not left to ferment long enough prevent stabilization and produce a poor flavor. “Lagers require different fermentation times depending on the ingredients used. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to mellow out the harsh flavors used to brew the lager. “ Writes Bill Bryson, a homebrew expert at Writinity and LastMinuteWriting.
Ales are much more forgiving in terms of flavor and fermentation time. An Ale can be left to ferment for just over a week and not possess any of the harsh taste that a lager would.
Low Gravity: Simply put, the lower the gravity is the higher the chances that a quality, enjoyable, beer will be produced from a short fermentation time. A common low gravity style that would work with short fermentation time is the American Session Ale. Wheat and Rye based beers are also good options.
Use Bold Flavors: Beers brewed in a short amount of time are referred to as ‘green beers’. This is due to the higher amounts of acetaldehyde and diacetyl which create poor tastes. Using bold flavors can help mask these flavors and create a quality tasting beer in a short amount of time.
Use The Right Yeast: The process of fermentation converts sugars to alcohol and CO2. The fermentation agent in beer, like in many other products, is yeast. “When producing a fast brew picking the right strain of yeast is extremely important. One wants to stay away from Belgium strains and stick to those strains with high attenuation and flocculation. This ensures the beer takes on minimal phenol characteristics.” writes Josh Abbet, a DIY blogger at Draft Beyond and Researchpapersuk.
Failure to choose the right yeast will effectively render the beer undrinkable. There is much literature online outlining what types of yeast to use for different kinds of beer.
Carbonate Inside A Keg: Quick brews are almost always served from a keg. Normally, a beer is bottled and left to mature for 2 weeks. This is not the case with fast brews. Fast brews require forced carbonation within the keg, there is no time to wait for the process to happen in the bottle.
Fermentation Temperature: Fermentation temperature is important because every yeast has a temperature range at which it produces the best beer. For fast brews, it is recommended to ferment in the middle to high portion of the spectrum. Some people find that adding some sort of insulation over the fermenter is a good way to retain heat and maintain temperatures.
Fermenting in cool temperatures will cause the yeast to ferment slowly thus delaying production. Fermenting too fast will increase the number of esters and create a beer with an overly fruity taste, which, in most cases, is undesirable.
Conclusion: As we have seen, there is nothing wrong with fast brew provided certain measures are put in place to ensure a standard of quality is maintained. Failure to implement the above tips will almost certainly result in a beer with a harsh taste and almost certainly undrinkable. As brewers develop more advanced techniques, the process of fast brewing beer, especially for wheat and rye-based ales, is becoming more and more popular.
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Special Thanks to Ashley Halsey for this Great Beer Now guest post! Ashley Halsey is a professional writer at Luckyassignments.com, and Gumessays.com. Over the years she has had the opportunity to be involved in numerous projects all over the country. While she is not writing or traveling the mother of two enjoys reading and attending personal development conferences.
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