Utility beer recipe?

[Mr DNA]

Hey all- Right now in my basement I have 10 gallons of lagers, well, lagering, and I'm not looking forward to waiting 2-3 months before I can drink them. I was thinking of making a relatively quick simple ale, like an amber or a brown that i can drink in about 2 weeks. I can get a kit, but I'd like to think that I'm beyond that. My last 3 batches have been partial mashes.

What do you more experienced brewers use when you just want to fill your inventory? I am bottling, I won't have a keg system till march at the earliest, so filtering and force-carbonation is out of the question.

thanks!

[bub]

I have had plenty of luck putting a Hef in a bottle inside 2 weeks, having it carbed at that point might be ambitious. The key is keep the OG low so the yeasty beastys don't have to work too hard.
BUB

[Mr DNA]

Thanks, bub. I'm still recovering from a Hefeweizen OD a few years back (Sho the glashes ar 20 ounces? itsh only 5 to drink a hunnert then...yahoo!!), so I'm still not a fan of that style. I might just do an amber, trying to keep the OG around 1.045 or so.
Since tomorrow is my day off, i might just make a steam-er, california common as my maibock should be ready to rack to secondary. I've never pitched on top of a yeast cake nor have I attempted to make an ale with lager yeast. The yeast is WLP920 Old Bavarian Lager. Any thoughts on this? I've heard on the podcasts that pitching on top of another batch's yeast cake is a good way to over-pitch. Would dumping out half the yeast work? thanks

[valorian]

You could try making a Mild. Those have a low OG and don't need any aging time. Any of your "session" beers can be bottled quickly. Like Bub pointed out, the bottle conditioning is going to be your begest time constraint.

[DannyW]

Jamil's Ordinary Bitter is one of my go-to recipes now for a 2 week grain-to-glass turnaround.

[Mr DNA]

Thanks, guys!
I went to the HB store tonight after work and bought some stuff. Not the stuff I wanted (the closest HB store is, well, less than enthusiastic about good inventory), but something nonetheless.
My maibock is not yet ready for racking to secondary, so no steamish beer this time.
Here's a summary:
partial mash, 5 gal.
2# 2row Pale malt, mashed about 150, sparge at 160
.5# crystal (60L), with pale
4# amber LME
1# light DME
1oz Perle 60min
.5oz Fuggle 30 min
.5oz Spalt 5 min
.5oz Fuggle 5 min
1 pkg Munton's Dry Ale Yeast, in a 1 pint starter (made tonight, 1.045 OG)

ProMash puts this at 1.051 OG and 44IBU's. Fits the BJCP American Amber style pretty well.
I had some issues figuring out what hops to get. Buying supplies here is frustrating-I have a plan with at least 3 options for yeast and hops and stuff, but when I get there I throw everything out the window and guess at what they have will work. Lame.

Thanks anyway for the suggestions.

[bub]

I wouldn't suggest a starter for dry yeast usually, especially one that small. The way dry yeast is grown and processed you really aren't helping them, and could be causing damage. But what the hell do I know?
BUB

[Mr DNA]

hm. I read that on Jamil's site tonight after I did the starter. Oh well. I have 2 yeast packs and I made the starter with one. If something goes terribly awry I still have a backup.

THAT was a good lesson I learned last week- have backups! I now keep some yeast, DME, and hops around...just in case.