Cream Ale help.

Good morning HBT. I've got some yeast that needs to be used so came up with this. This will be my first BIAB (I've done all-grain once before and had equipment failure, long story) and first created recipe.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/31487/golden-cali-cream-ale

2.5 Gallon recipe btw.

Don't know if the link works so me know and I can post. I'd like it to be golden colored and this is more yellow it seems so suggestions would be great.

The OG and FG are much higher than a traditional cream ale but the that's more due to the yeast since it finishes in the ABV, IBUS, and SRM

Yes, there's a permissions error when you click on the link. Just go ahead and post it in the thread.

4.25 lb American - Pale 6-Row
1 lb Flaked Corn
0.25 lb American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)

0.25 oz Cascade 60 min
0.25 oz Cascade 15 min


OG 1.059
FG 1.018
ABV 5.35%
IBU 19.41
SRM 3.48

Mash at 152 for 90 minutes (Probably do 70 then bring it up to 170 with no sparge)

California Lager yeast

Battles4Seattle said:

4.25 lb American - Pale 6-Row
1 lb Flaked Corn
0.25 lb American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)

0.25 oz Cascade 60 min
0.25 oz Cascade 15 min


OG 1.059
FG 1.018
ABV 5.35%
IBU 19.41
SRM 3.48

Mash at 152 for 90 minutes (Probably do 70 then bring it up to 170 with no sparge)

California Lager yeast

Click to expand...

That looks good to me, although I like my cream ales to start at a lower OG and to end at a lower FG. If you mash at 150, it would probably finish at 1.007-1.008 or so. I like about 1.048-1.050 for an OG for a cream ale. You shouldn't end at 1.018, not with that grain bill, so you might get a bit of a "boozy" cream ale if you start at 1.059.

Thanks Yooper!

Yeah I thought it should finish lower since 1.018 seemed really high. What would work best to lower the OG? Reducing the 6-Row and Corn? I'd like to not make the color so light. Maybe add a couple oz of biscuit malt?

I saw when searching you did a cream ale at 150. Good idea.

Brewer's Friend had the efficiency at 75% so I lowered to 70% and made some adjustments.

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Cream Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3.5 gallons
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 4.78%
IBU (tinseth): 20.21
SRM (morey): 4.12

FERMENTABLES:
4 lb - American - Pale 6-Row (75.8%)
0.9 lb - Flaked Corn (17.1%)
4 oz - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (4.7%)
2 oz - Belgian - Biscuit (2.4%)

Looks pretty good to me!

nice, simple. should be delicious

Looks pretty good to me. The 6 row will help clear up the cloudiness from the flaked corn. Have you thought of plugging in a Kolsch yeast for this?

There's a few good New Glarus Spotted Cow recipes out here. I brewed one up last month and it came out pretty damn good! The spot on clone recipe is post 187. My recipe is post 298.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/sp...-challenge-will-donate-25-homebrewtalk-80344/

Thanks OldDirty! I had been reading something Revvy posted that had the cream ale guidelines so thought 6-row would work best.

I had been reading that thread, I went to Total Wine to look for Spotted Cow tonight and could not find it so I'm drinking Genesse Cream Ale now. I would like to try it with Kolsh yeast but have California Lager that I want to use.

6-row was the standard for most American beers prior to Prohibition from what I understand. It also is on par with standard American 2-row but still retains the larger grain husk. I think that's where it helps with beer clarity.

Unless you live in Wisconsin, you won't get any New Glarus beers! The company only sells there and they have a hard enough time keeping up with demand. Genessee is an ok example but I guarantee yours will be tons better! You won't have to worry about pasteurizing or long shelf life that would diminish lesser beers.

Went and picked up all the ingredients from the LHBS. The store expert said 6-row had to have a step mash and I shouldn't do it in BIAB so reluctantly got 2-row. Victory instead of biscuit.

For the future, is his step mash only correct for 6-row?

6 Row Barley has more protein and more enzymes than 2 Row.

The increase in enzymes make it ideal for high adjunct beers.

The increase in protein make it ideal for feeding to livestock.

Modern well modified 6 Row does not require or benefit from a step mash. The so called "expert" was probably referring to a protein rest or a beta amylase rest. Neither is necessary.

You could have easily done this BIAB.

Be cautious when speaking to local homebrew store owners. Their agenda is to sell the products they have and, if possible, to sell the products with the highest profit margins.

Next time, don't speak to them regarding what it is you are doing, they will impose their agenda on you. Just do what you have planned to do and see how it turns out! That's what makes the hobby fun.

Battles4Seattle said:

Went and picked up all the ingredients from the LHBS. The store expert said 6-row had to have a step mash and I shouldn't do it in BIAB so reluctantly got 2-row. Victory instead of biscuit.

For the future, is his step mash only correct for 6-row?

Click to expand...

No. Sure, you could do a protein rest, but it's not necessary at all!

Thank you both, HBT is a much more reliable resource.

"Modern well modified 6 Row does not require or benefit from a step mash. The so called "expert" was probably referring to a protein rest or a beta amylase rest. Neither is necessary."

Haha I meant to put expert in quotes too. Yeah he mentioned both a protein rest and step mash but didn't know if they were the same thing. After he told me it would be impossible to brew 6-row in BIAB I asked if he had ever brew that way and he hadn't...

I think he was trying to help but oh well live you learn.

Man, I've made several cream ale batches with BIAB and six row and never had a problem.

good thing nobody told my 6-row it wouldn't work in a bag

Brewed this yesterday with only a few problems. I'm unsure how well I kept the temperature at 150. I would stir the grains every 15 minutes but when I'd remove the lid the thermometer would read 160 but once stirred it would be between 148 and 152.

Pre boil gravity was 1.044 and after was 1.052 (target 1.056) and a little more than 2.5 gallons.

Bubbling away starting in about 8 hours.

Bottled tonight and sample tasted very good. FG 1.007 and very clear, California Common did great.

So I've had a few bottles of this now so thought I'd update with results.

I thought the California Lager yeast did a good job, very crisp and clean. When I brew this again I'll use 6-Row for sure, maybe add 1 oz more of victory to change the color slightly and possible lower the % of corn slightly.

For the hops, Cascades didn't seem to fit the style well, I have no problem with them but I'd probably use something closer to a noble hop. Maybe Willamette, Saaz, or Crystal. I think with such a clean pallet something like Centennial would be fun but I probably use those too often.

All together I am very happy with my first successful All-Grain and since brewing this I've upgraded to a 10 gallon mast tun.

Anyways cheers!