Cream Ale or hefe?

I bottled up my cream ale July 23ish and have been cracking one a week as it was my first and I have no other homebrew to drink.

Here I am at 3 weeks and I just opened one of them last night. It tasted good...I will admit it wasn't what I thought it would be. Kinda like malty budweiser with flavor and a hint of hops, fruity and then yeasty.

I didn't fine, though I used irish moss (by the way, does that lend flavor to the brew cause I accidentally put it in while mashing then again in the boil ). There are yeast still in suspension in the bottle and though mostly clear, I swear to god that it tastes like a Hefebarley! Is there a way to bottle condition and have a clear beer? The last pour of course is the cloudiest but along the way there are dancers on the bubbles.

Now, I am not a fan of that yeasty flavor and am hoping that it is going to mellow out (given more time?) and possibly just plain go away. I am going to continue my once a week plan (and will be bottling a small brown soon to get one on deck) and when it tastes good I will drink it all.

I am kegging up my third brew and it is in secondary/keg now for the next month until time to carb and tap.

Remember, three weeks is considered a minimum time in the bottles, and is really just the time required for proper carbonation. Your beer will continue to condition and improve, well past those three weeks. The flavors you describe are typical for young beer, and will definitely mellow. Since you brewed a very pale and light bodied style, the "young" flavors and cloudiness really stand out.

When you do sample a bottle, be sure to chill it a good long time, at least overnight. That will allow the Co2 to dissolve into the beer, and give the yeast a chance to settle and even solidify somewhat on the bottom. Pour the entire contents in one motion, no tilting back and starting over. Stop once the sediment starts heading for the glass, and leave a 1/4" or so in the bottle.

So your first batch was all-grain? Gutsy move, and well done!

Irish Moss doesn't taste like much anything, but I've read that if you boil it for more than 15 minutes or so, it loses its magical powers.

Clear beer depends on the yeast used to brew it. More protein will cause chill haze.

Hefeweisen:
A true hefe is a wheat beer and the yeast are less flocculent so what you see the the yeast. Even though you used a fining medium the yeast still stay in suspension.

Cream Ale:
Yeast used in cream ale is more flocculent and so it flocks to the bottom of the container/bottle. This beer looks clear.

Matt Up North said:

Kinda like malty budweiser with flavor and a hint of hops, fruity and then yeasty.

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this is a pretty good description of a cream ale, actually, except maybe the yeasty part.

cream ales should definitely be clearer and not have yeast in suspension. what type of yeast did you use? no matter what, they need more time.

Allrighty. Looks like you all are saying the same thing. I am totally into the process and want to keep tasting so that I see how it goes all along the way. I used Chico Ale Wyeast.

Cream Ale:
Yeast used in cream ale is more flocculent and so it flocks to the bottom of the container/bottle. This beer looks clear.

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It is definitely clear, don't get me wrong, I am just amazed at the amount of things still in the beer. I mean, to me I guess that I thought that it would be clearer since I didn't suck any of the yeast cake. There are floaties in the beer though even after I kept it in secondary for about three weeks.

The Irish Moss package says to boil 30 mins.

BlindLemonLars:
So your first batch was all-grain? Gutsy move, and well done!

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My first batch three years back was a kit. After about three months in my closet at 55*f and still not really looking like it was doing much (San Francisco Summers, gotta love em!) I kegged it and it is still in that same keg, on a shelf doing nothing. I am sure it is no good and would be hard pressed to try and even taste it (though when I need the keg I will probably try it whilst dumping).

But yes, this is my first since and it was AG as I have learned more about fermentation and all that since the old days. My real problem now though is that I make wine and not beer, so I have a small lack of sanitation practices that I have had to build.

Once your beer has reached optimal carbonation levels...try to cold store as many of them as you for as long as you can. You'll be surprised what a lengthy cold conditioning does to clarify a beer and clean up the flavors (same goes with your kegged batch).

Cream ales can cold condition pretty quickly because of their simplicity.

Bigger, more complex beers will require longer, warmer conditioning before chilling.

Matt Up North said:

It tasted good...I will admit it wasn't what I thought it would be. Kinda like malty budweiser with flavor and a hint of hops, fruity and then yeasty.

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Sounds about right for a cream ale (minus the yeast, as another poster noted).

I did my first cream ale last month and it also has floaties in it. Like coagulated light-colored proteins. This was my first batch with any corn in it so I suspect that.

I've noticed that my bottles (only 2 batches but I've been very patient) require at LEAST 1 week in the fridge after 3 weeks of conditioning before the carbination and head are decent...and it also helps with the taste/flavors.

I haven't had a real beer out of a bottle for a long time, so help me out here. The carbonation is fine and even after an hour there is a covering of head as well as carbonation. When I drank this bottle (22oz), I poured one 12oz glass and sipped on it for about 20 minutes and then poured the rest and ate dinner, then I came back to it while watching a little TV and there was still bubbles as well as a skin of head.

Is that about right?

Also I have those coagulated particles. Dancers on the bubbles...

As far as cold, I had this last one in the fridge at least four days in the back (where juice freezes) and when I removed it I could see a cloud move from the bottom of the bottle to "contaminate" the rest of the bottle.

Congrats from another d00d who went AG from batch #1! Way to go man!

The "cloud" that moved is just yeast that had dropped out, but then got stirred up again. The longer you leave those bottles cold, the better that yeast is going to "stick" to the bottom.

Keeping the yeast out of your pour requires a steady hand and a little patience. But if you accidentally get yeast in, just think of it as a Vitamin B supplement.

Sounds like you're "doing it right" just fine. You get the usual RDWHAHB from me! But seriously, it sounds like you have a very good handle on the situation. You're doing really well mate!