Cream Ale Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale)

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I've noted in my beersmith notes for this brew to let it bottle condition for 6 weeks because that's how long ago I bottled it and I cannot believe the difference from a few weeks ago.

I used Notty on my version so that may explain the extra time. I was really impatient with this one so I'm clinging to the last few bombers but, what I really need to do is brew it again. : D
 
I've noted in my beersmith notes for this brew to let it bottle condition for 6 weeks because that's how long ago I bottled it and I cannot believe the difference from a few weeks ago.

I used Notty on my version so that may explain the extra time. I was really impatient with this one so I'm clinging to the last few bombers but, what I really need to do is brew it again. : D

Brew more! I always brew my next batch BEFORE I start drinking the previous batch of conditioning beer!

Cream of 3 Crops is the beer I now make every 3rd or 4th batch...it's just so drinkable and EVERYONE who has tried it loves it. :mug:
 
I've made this a couple of times and there is an aftertaste that I just don't like. I'm thinking of making a small batch and eliminating the rice to see if that's it. The recipe for 3 gallons I have is

OG 1.044
2-Row 3#
Flake Corn 1.8#
1/2 oz Willamette
Nottingham

My only question if this is too much corn. Your thoughts?
 
I've made this a couple of times and there is an aftertaste that I just don't like. I'm thinking of making a small batch and eliminating the rice to see if that's it. The recipe for 3 gallons I have is

OG 1.044
2-Row 3#
Flake Corn 1.8#
1/2 oz Willamette
Nottingham

My only question if this is too much corn. Your thoughts?

What kind of aftertaste? This beer should be crisp and mellow if you ferment it at the right temps (mid 60's) and give it a good 3 weeks to ferment and condition and then 4-6 weeks in bottles. drinking this beer before it's ready and it will always taste fruity because of the corn and rice adjucts.
 
I thought I'd remove the rice first and if that didn't get rid of it I'd do a batch without the corn and add the rice back in.

I don't know what exactly it is, I kind of get a wine-like after taste is maybe the best way I can describe it. I get the same thing from Budweiser and Old Mil Yuckie (I don't typically drink those beers unless there is ABSOLUTELY nothing else where I'm at). I entered the original recipe in a competition and it scored well but there's something I just don't like.

I started with eliminating the rice first as I drink Yuengling occasionally and don't get the same aftertaste from that beer knowing it's brewed with alot of corn. I know the lager yeast will produce a cleaner beer but just wanted to give this a try.
 
and give it a good 3 weeks to ferment and condition and then 4-6 weeks in bottles. drinking this beer before it's ready and it will always taste fruity because of the corn and rice adjucts.

Damn. Now I am worried about this beer being ready for our party. This is my first time brewing this beer. I am fermenting at 65 but I brewed this on 9/29 and our party is on 10/20. I was going to throw it in the keg on 10/10 and hope it was carbed up in time. I guess I should leave it longer and burst carb, which I have never done. I always use the 12psi set it and forget it method.

What do you think is the best course of action here ?
 
I don't know what exactly it is, I kind of get a wine-like after taste is maybe the best way I can describe it. I get the same thing from Budweiser and Old Mil Yuckie (I don't typically drink those beers unless there is ABSOLUTELY nothing else where I'm at). I entered the original recipe in a competition and it scored well but there's something I just don't like.

The first time that I brewed this beer(second batch is in primary now), I fermented at 70 degrees ambient with S05. After two weeks in primary and two weeks in the bottle, the only off flavor that I had was a very slight corn sweetness that completely went away after four weeks. No tart aftertaste at all.

How did you handle your water chemistry? I'm fortunate that my muni water is pretty good and I only add a little calcium carbonate to the mash water. This beer is so light that there's no hiding any astringency.
 
Damn. Now I am worried about this beer being ready for our party. This is my first time brewing this beer. I am fermenting at 65 but I brewed this on 9/29 and our party is on 10/20. I was going to throw it in the keg on 10/10 and hope it was carbed up in time. I guess I should leave it longer and burst carb, which I have never done. I always use the 12psi set it and forget it method.

What do you think is the best course of action here ?

As long as you have 2 full weeks after carbonation for it to condition and clear up it will be good, just a bit on the fruity side and possibly not fully cleared yet. It really starts to get crisp around the 4 week conditioning mark. Let it condition for 8 weeks or longer and it will be so clear people will wonder how you made beer like this without filtering it. :rockin:
 
I just wanted to add another picture of this very crisp and refreshing beer! This was my first attempt at BIAB and it worked great. This is a picture of the batch I brewed only 17 days ago...

20121004_183843small.jpg
 
Thanks for the recipe. I made this and it is as advertised. I'll try to keep some of this on hand for 'them'.
 
I'll be brewing 2 5gal batches this weekend. A good friend of mine is getting married and she wanted to buy some kegged beer. I'll give this and a pale ale as a wedding gift.

I'll keep you updated!!
 
So I am brewing my second batch of this stuff. going to brew 10 gallons and split the batches between two 5 gallon fermenters. half on Wyeast cream ale blend and half on US 05 to compare the differences. The first batch I made was with US 05 and I really like the result, but want to see if I can get it even cleaner.

This is going to be for my brother in laws birthday on November third that leaves me 3 weeks from brew date to have this ready, do you think that's enough time?

Any tips on how to get this nice in clear and clean and ready to go by then? My plan was 10-14 days primary , cold crash with gelatin for 3 - 5 days, then keg and hold at 40 degrees in till serving... tips appreciated
 
Just tasted my third batch after 2 weeks in the keg. Spectacular. Clean and crisp. A delightful experience without any fireworks. Thanks BierMuncher!
 
So I am brewing my second batch of this stuff. going to brew 10 gallons and split the batches between two 5 gallon fermenters. half on Wyeast cream ale blend and half on US 05 to compare the differences. The first batch I made was with US 05 and I really like the result, but want to see if I can get it even cleaner.

This is going to be for my brother in laws birthday on November third that leaves me 3 weeks from brew date to have this ready, do you think that's enough time?

Any tips on how to get this nice in clear and clean and ready to go by then? My plan was 10-14 days primary , cold crash with gelatin for 3 - 5 days, then keg and hold at 40 degrees in till serving... tips appreciated

I like the taste of this recipe made with both US-05 and Cream Ale blends but the cream ale yeast usually takes longer to finish and then to drop out of suspension. Thus, the us-05 might be batch to try to have completely finished in the short time you have to work with. Have you ever tried transferring the beer to the keg, cold crash for 24 hours and then add the gelatin while the gas is on for the keg? I do this method and it work just fine if I am trying to get something ready sooner.
 
msa8967 said:
I like the taste of this recipe made with both US-05 and Cream Ale blends but the cream ale yeast usually takes longer to finish and then to drop out of suspension. Thus, the us-05 might be batch to try to have completely finished in the short time you have to work with. Have you ever tried transferring the beer to the keg, cold crash for 24 hours and then add the gelatin while the gas is on for the keg? I do this method and it work just fine if I am trying to get something ready sooner.

You have a good point. I'll take the US 05 to the bday and save the cream ale yeast batch for myself....

On another note, Im planning on using a small amount of clean, but high alpha Magnum for a single bittering addition. Since the hops aren't really meant to shine in this one, I'm thinking this will be ok. I'm doing .6 oz of 14.7% Magnum at 60min for about 15 IBUs. Does this pose any problems? Brewing tomorrow so advice appreciated!
 
Anyone throw some wlp530 in here... I have an extra I was thinking of just for the fun of it to see how it comes out.
 
Brewed this 28 days ago. It's been on gas 7 days. I like it more and more with each glass. My lady just took a sip and said it was good. Normally she wouldn't like a beer like this so that's exciting. I did dry hop in keg with 1/4 once of Cascade leaves using a ss herb ball but I'm not sure that little bit is coming off. Very refreshing on this hot day in southern California!
 
Just wanted to add my experience using Nottingham Ale yeast.

I made 3 batches of this before using US-05 and always had a fruity (green apple) taste for the first 2 weeks in the bottle, then it would crisp up with more aging.

With the Nottingham the initial taste is much crisper and after 3-4 weeks it is SUPER crisp, very BMC like, more so than it is with US-05. Also the Notty tends to flocculate a bit better so the beer clears faster especially when cold conditioned for 1-2 weeks before drinking.
 
I think that either corn flakes or flaked corn work. I've always just picked up flaked corn at my LHBS since I'm getting other ingredients. Kinda fun though to do the minute rice and corn flakes for the story.
 
jasonclick said:
where do you get flaked corn? Is that corn flakes on the cereal aisle or is that something a LHBS would carry?

If you can't get it from your LHBS ( usually sold as flaked maze) then I would boil up an equivalent weight pound for pound, of corn meal, let it cool and wring it out in a dish towel or similar. Add it to your grist.
Even the most benign Flaked corn cereal has a lot of sodium added to it.
 
This is a staple in my brewhouse.... not one person that has tasted it had anything negative to say about it. I'm going to try the Notty yeast though. And YESD corn flakes right outta the box (the entire box) and minit rice (cuz its aready cooked).
 
This is a staple in my brewhouse.... not one person that has tasted it had anything negative to say about it. I'm going to try the Notty yeast though. And YESD corn flakes right outta the box (the entire box) and minit rice (cuz its aready cooked).

I keep my recipe with this using notty in the temp range of 62-65 F by placing this in a larger tub of water. It makes for a very clean crisp tasting beer.
 
I'm planning my first all grain cook next weekend. Would the three crops recipe be a good choice for first time og brewers?
 
Biermuncher, your recipes are simple and awesome. thanks brother :mug:

Brewed 3Crops last night almost exactly to recipe except I added 10oz crystal 60L just for fun and up'd the IBU a smidge. Looking at it today I feel like a mad scientist.

photo-15.jpg
 
HeyBru said:
Biermuncher, your recipes are simple and awesome. thanks brother :mug:

Brewed 3Crops last night almost exactly to recipe except I added 10oz crystal 60L just for fun and up'd the IBU a smidge. Looking at it today I feel like a mad scientist.

What the heck is going on in there? Looks like salad dressing! I've never had a carboy look like that in the 20 or so batches I've made!
 
Yes I did use a tab of whirlfloc, maybe should have used half? Its settling now.

Again Biermuncher you're the man :)
 
Yes I did use a tab of whirlfloc, maybe should have used half? Its settling now.

Again Biermuncher you're the man :)

You use one full tablet for a 5 gallon batch. You are fine. I just brewed this beer a month ago and I had very similar looking beer at the bottom of my bucket when I cold crashed.
 
I'm brewing this up this weekend. My sister in law has requested a "Maple Cream Ale" for her birthday in mid-December, so I'm going to brew this up and add in a few ounces of concentrated maple extract right before bottling/kegging.

I went with the California Lager yeast, because I'm looking for a clean, crisp, highly-attenuated beer, with moderate flocculation so I can get it nice and clear with no haze. I'm going to primary it for 3 weeks, then cold-crash, hit it with some gelatin, then add the maple extract and carbonate it for a week or so. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
 
Brewed this last wednesday. Used popcorn (grains, not popped) and, although they seemed intact after mash, gravity was spot on. Airlock bubbled like crazy for a few days and there seems to still be action in that carboy as of now.

I forgot my irish moss so I will try a cold crash and gelatin combo on saturday (10 days primary, 3 days cold crash, keg for carbonation and to be consumed on the 10th).
 
moboy said:
Is it not necessary to mesh out with this recipe?
Thanks

Mash off is largely a matter of personal preference. People either do them or not. The argument against is usually about tannin extraction and the argument for is mostly about making the sugars more dissolute and easier to rinse from the grain bed.

IMO; this is a 90 min mash and the enzymes are probably pretty bored at the end because they have done their thing so, I do a mash off raise just for the solubility thing. It probably helps too if you have trouble holding temp in your MLT because of the "extra" 30 min at Sacchrification rest although I don't seem to be afflicted in that regard.
 
Any thoughts on adding some Falconer's Flight instead of Crystal? How do you think it would come out? I would keep it around the same IBUs.
 
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