Super Quick Beer Turnaround Questions

1) Doubtful . . . the sugar will start and finish very quickly, but those little yeast buggers still need to chomp down on the longer-chain carbs. It could make it more difficult for the yeast to adapt to their environment. If they binge-out on the simple sugars your attenuation may suffer.

2) Tricky at best. The key to a fast fermentation is to have a low OG (you've got that) and a high pitch count, if anything pitch more than you need.

A couple of suggestions: If you are ever going to use yeast nutrient, now's the time. Pitch lots of active yeast and don't be afraid to raise the temp on about day 3'ish. I would skip the cold crash step, just keep it warm until it goes into keg. If you have multiple kegs then rack a gallon (or even a half-gallon) into a separate keg. Chill and set normal carb'ing pressure and it'll be fully carbed in 24 hours (cold crashing at the same time). This can give you an extra couple of days in primary. Offer penance for neglecting your priorities for brewing.

 

I don't keg, so I can't comment on that aspect of the timeline, but actually it seems reasonable otherwise. For a low gravity beer like that, I usually find that final gravity is reached within a couple of days, which gives the yeast several days to clean up. You've got a starter going, which is helpful. I would expect this to work out fine.

Edited to add: here is an article you might find helpful.

 

Much of what has been said will be helpful.

Get the 1.046 OG, pitch at a high temp, like 75-80 degrees, and allow to "cool" on its own. Definitely over-pitch with a good bit of nutrient. If you can, get a huge starter going because you want fast start. Keep fermentation at the upper end of the desired temperature range to speed up the process and to get some more complex flavors. On the last night before the competition, rack it off the yeast.

As late as possible the next morning (after cooling it way down if possible) rack it again into the keg, and drop the temperature to around 40 degrees, and carbonate it.

The rest is up to the recipe. With such a young beer (no aging), I would aim for something very crisp and straight forward, and make sure to separate it from all yeast to clear it up.

Good luck!

 

I would think the longer you could have it at 32* the better especially for a light beer...

002 is the fastest yeast I’ve ever used, hands down. As long as you pitch a little more and add more O2 than maybe normal you won’t get much diacetyl. I’ve never found 1098 to be overly fast especially if you ferment it cold (which you NEED to for a blonde ale), I would recommend sub 64* for a clean profile.

 

With a tight turnaround like this, I'd recommend gelatin either in the primary during the cold crash and carefully rack off the clear beer or add it when you keg and plan to dump a couple pints of cloudy beer. It'll definitely improve the clarity and appearance, which may help your beer be crisper or be perceived as crisper/cleaner. Your plan and and beer choice to brew are solid.

 

1) No
2) Yes

 

Worst case, just do it. I had a 0 IBU IPA (used US-05 for the yeast) ready to keg in one week. It's delicious.