Caramel cream ale?

Cheesefood · 09-21-2005, 04:05 AM

Anyone have Partial recipe for a caramel-cream brew? I'm thinking of something with a nice caramel taste and color, but with a bit of vanilla (and maybe lactose?) thrown in there for a creamy finish.

So if you have something like this, post the recipe please. I'd like to brew one this weekend. Preferably something not too bitter.

Darth Konvel · 09-22-2005, 01:58 PM

Find anything you like so far?

I found this one while searching for ideals:
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=19&item=4639

Cheesefood · 09-23-2005, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LupusUmbrus

Find anything you like so far?

I found this one while searching for ideals:
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=19&item=4639

Thanks! It's along the lines of what I've been picturing in my head. Here's a recipe the old Cheesebrain has come up with, let me get some reviews:

Malts
3 pounds extra light DME
3 pounds light wheat DME
1 pound Caramel Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes)

Hops
1oz Cascade for bittering (60 minutes)
.5oz Saaz for flavor (20 minutes)
.5 oz Tettnang for aroma (end of boil)

Yeast
WLP008 East Coast Ale

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 minutes)
A blend of:
4oz Lactose, disolved in 2 cups of boiled water
2-3 oz real vanilla extract
Added to the secondary and stirred.

What do you think? Too much hops? Too much malt? How do you think that yeast will do? I'm torn between a Wit yeast simply because I think the color will make for an impressive presentation, but I don't want the fruity flavors of a Belgian.

**Walker** · 09-23-2005, 03:17 PM

I'd avoid stirring the beer in the secondary if possible.

There is no reason that you can't add the lactose directly to the boil. Probably the same is true with the vanilla.

-walker

Cheesefood · 09-25-2005, 02:12 AM

EDIT 2/20/07: Please do not PM me with questions on this recipe. Post them to this thread. I get way too many questions that are already answered within this long thread, so consider reading the entire thing (or using the Search function) prior to posting.

Here's the final recipe that I'm brewing RIGHT NOW.

Malts
3 pounds extra light DME
3 pounds light wheat DME
1 pound Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes at 150'-165')

Hops
1oz Cascade for bittering (60 minutes)
.5oz Saaz for flavor (20 minutes)
.5 oz Tettnang for aroma (end of boil)

Yeast
Wyeast German Ale

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (10 minutes)
4oz Lactose @ 15 minutes
2 oz real vanilla extract

Priming
>1cup Lactose
4oz vanilla (Be careful! This may be too much vanilla for some people.)
1.5 cups light DME

I'm adding the Lactose in the last 15 minutes of the boil. I'll add the vanilla in the primary, because I don't want to risk losing any that bonds to the trub. So far, it smells fantastic but I'm still at the bittering hops boil. I think this should end up with a nice caramel flavor and a good hint (perhaps a suggestion size amount) of vanilla. I've had vanillas with way too much flavor and they tasted too much like candy. This should have a decent balance.

Notes: 11/4/05

So good. Can't even explain it - you simply must make this beer. I let it prime for almost 2 weeks before fridging it, then cracked one tonight after only about 30 hours. Great head, good lace, nice color, good body and nose. Pictures won't do it justice, but here's one anyways

Cheesefood · 09-25-2005, 05:05 PM

I have to say that I'm impressed by the yeast.

It was mfg'd on 9-15-05. Usually, I buy my ingredients, smack the pack, and brew the next day because the yeast takes a while to get going. This time, the pack looked ready to burst after just 4 hours.

I put it to rest last night around 10:30. Twelve hours later, and it's bubbling like a mad-man. This is one yeast infection I can't wait to taste. I can only imagine what's going on inside that bucket right now. I'm using the 1-2-3 strategy on aging this one.

OtherWhiteMeat · 09-27-2005, 05:20 PM

This looks great, if you dont mind id like to try it too. Ive never used hops at the end of the boil, how exacly is that done? Do you put it in after you shut the heat off, in which case, how long do you leave it in?

Whats the 1-2-3 aging stratigy?

**Walker** · 09-27-2005, 05:24 PM

"at the end of the boil" can mean a lot of things.

The basic point is that you are not going to boil them long enough to extract much bitterness. In fact, you might not boil them at all. What you are getting from them instead is the actual hop flavor and aroma.

If you throw them in with less than 10 minutes left in the boil, you get the flavor and aroma. You can also throw them in after turning the heat off and just let them soak there for 10 minutes or so.

and... the 1-2-3 aging is:

1 week in primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 weeks in bottles

then you drink it.

-walker

Cheesefood · 09-27-2005, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker

"at the end of the boil" can mean a lot of things.

The basic point is that you are not going to boil them long enough to extract much bitterness. In fact, you might not boil them at all. What you are getting from them instead is the actual hop flavor and aroma.

If you throw them in with less than 10 minutes left in the boil, you get the flavor and aroma. You can also throw them in after turning the heat off and just let them soak there for 10 minutes or so.

For me, it means that I turn the heat off, throw in the hops, set up my primary, dump some ice in and pour the wort through a strainer. I want the hops in just long enough to convert from pellet to trub so that it quickly releases flavor and aroma, but like Walker stated, no bittering. I don't like bitter beers, I like mine more on the sweet side. That's also why I try to strain out all my hops before putting it into the primary.

Go ahead and try this with me. I'm more than happy to hear your take on it. You might want to look around at different hops or yeasts to customize the taste to your liking.

Cheesefood · 10-22-2005, 11:50 PM

OK, I just bottled it today. I edited the recipe above to show my finishing touches. So far, YUM YUM!!!

Funny story:

I promised my wife I wouldn't make a mess today. I swore to her that the floor wouldn't get beer on it.

So I'm bottling, and I'm down to the bottom. I was using a 22oz bottle and trying to get the last of the beer out of the bucket. I lifted the bucket and angled it trying to get all of the beer out. Suddenly I felt warm, flat beer all over me. All over my sweater. All over my pants. All over the floor. All over the $250 table chair.

I was lucky enough to grab a chair that still had the protective plastic over the seat fabric. I ended up with a half filled 22oz bottle which, after a couple of swigs, ended up being just enough to fill a 12 ozer that was hidden behind the plant on the counter.

Anyway, it's a fantastic Caramel Vanilla Milk ale. Great mouth-feel, nice sweetness and vanilla flavor. I finally realized why I'm not getting enough head on my beer: I was previously using 3/4 cup DME instead of 1-1/4 cup. All is well now.

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