What do you think of my cream ale recipe?

I am working on creating my own cream ale recipe using beersmith in preparation for a spring brew. I like cream ales, but I have only brewed one once before. It was a kit from midwest. It was ok but like most kits I felt it was low on hops.
This is what I have so far for a 10.5 gallon batch....If there are any cream ale lovers out there, please let me know what you think, thanks :

1 pkg WLP080 cream ale yeast blend

15 lbs Briess Pale ale malt

3 lbs Flaked Corn

1 lb Crystal Malt 10L

1 lb Carapils

1 lb Honey (5 min)

1.25 oz Cascade Pellets (90 min)

1 oz Sazz Pellets (20 min)

1 oz Sazz Pellets (5 min)

* Fermented in basement which by then should be in the low 60's

I think the ingredients look great. A couple questions concerning numbers from Beersmith:

1. Whats the OG estimate (high 1.040s/low 1.050s?)
2. What temperature are you looking to mash at (Id suggest 152-153F to get good attenuation)
3. Whats your IBUs? BJCP says it should be less than 20 but classic pre-prohibition American styles were higher (25-30+)

Other than those questions it looks like you got a good recipe there. To be closer to style I might drop the 5 minute addition but since your looking to go a little hoppier leave it in.

Thanks for the feedback. According to beersmith:

1. The estimated OG is 1.052 (falls under the given limit of 1.055)

2. I usually mash at 152 for most of my brews so I think I will stick with that temp

3. The IBU's are 19. (just under the max of 20)

I am an IPA lover. I know this is not an IPA, but I would like to have a little more hop quality to it than the kits offer.

I added the honey because I was having trouble getting the ABV to be on the high end (which is desired) and keep the color within range using grain.

I added the carapils because I read that using flaked corn can compromise the head retention which is something I really value.

BigHead33 said:

Thanks for the feedback. According to beersmith:

1. The estimated OG is 1.052 (falls under the given limit of 1.055)

2. I usually mash at 152 for most of my brews so I think I will stick with that temp

3. The IBU's are 19. (just under the max of 20)

I am an IPA lover. I know this is not an IPA, but I would like to have a little more hop quality to it than the kits offer.

I added the honey because I was having trouble getting the ABV to be on the high end (which is desired) and keep the color within range using grain.

I added the carapils because I read that using flaked corn can compromise the head retention which is something I really value.

Click to expand...

All is right in the world! I say you'll have a fine Cream Ale there!

Thanks! I usually adjust my water chemistry because I have soft water. It really helps with hop bittering in the IPA's. Should I bother doing this for a cream ale? I read that soft water is prefered for cream ales.

I don’t have a whole lot of experience with water chemistry but I concur with your reading that soft water is preferred for Cream Ales.

I like the recipe! It looks great.

What is your water makeup? I'd go with as close to possible to distilled or reverse osmosis water, with just enough calcium chloride to get to +/- 50 ppm of calcium (probably about a teaspoon of CaCl2 for 5 gallons).

Hey Yooper, according to my water quality report these are the readings on average:

Ca 14 ppm
Mg 1.55 ppm
Na 7.8 ppm
S04 5.7 ppm
Cl 11.6 ppm

Thanks again for your help!

BigHead33 said:

Hey Yooper, according to my water quality report these are the readings on average:

Ca 14 ppm
Mg 1.55 ppm
Na 7.8 ppm
S04 5.7 ppm
Cl 11.6 ppm

Thanks again for your help!

Click to expand...

Good water! I'd use 5 grams (1 teaspoon) of calcium chloride per 5 gallons finished (I think you're making 10 gallons? so 2 teaspoons total).

Thanks! I'll give it a try and let you guys know how it comes out. I wont be brewing this for a few more weeks yet though. Im doing one more IPA on Friday and then next month will be the cream ale.

BTW when you say "finished", do you mean adding the CaCl in after the boil? I always add my salts in the strike and sparge water and calculate the amount needed by the volumes of water.

I calculated your recommended addition into my water profile and I came up with Ca 86ppm and Cl 139 ppm. Are these good levels for a cream ale?

BigHead33, how did the brew come out? I am thinking of making a 5 gal batch using 2Row, some Vienna malt, whole kernel corn and some rice to aid with head retention. I only have a yeast choice of S-33 or T-58. I am thinking S-33 but would like to hear from others. Thank you.

I havnt brewed it yet. I am actually brewing it this Friday. I am looking forward to it. I will let you guys know how it comes out

BigHead33 said:

BTW when you say "finished", do you mean adding the CaCl in after the boil? I always add my salts in the strike and sparge water and calculate the amount needed by the volumes of water.

I calculated your recommended addition into my water profile and I came up with Ca 86ppm and Cl 139 ppm. Are these good levels for a cream ale?

Click to expand...

I think she means 2 teaspoons for 10 gallons of finished beer, added to your brewing water (strike/sparge). You could probably use a little less CaCl to get the Ca to about 50. I usually end up doing about .7g/gal or so

I like to split my base malt with pilsner and a us 2-row. I think it gives it a really nice malt character. Honey might be good, but I usually just add sugar to help dry it out. I tend to associate pilsner malt with a slight honey flavor, anyway, so adding honey on top of that might be too much for my palate.

I also dry hop with Saaz for about a week. Maybe its gilding the lilly, but I like it.

I'm brewing one on Friday too. Can't wait!

Thanks for the tips. I have a bunch of 2 row that i need to use, but next time I will try the pilsner split. It sounds interesting.