Choosing my next brew...not so easy?

I went in to my local HBS to check it out and ask a few questions, and was rather surprised!!

recently I made a thread here asking about suggestions for my next brew and was told that a cream ale would be more difficult to get right than a scotch ale as the cream ale flavor is delicate and would be more likely to show errors and a scotch ale isn't too difficult.

however when I talked to the guys at the store they said quite the opposite. they said that a cream ale is a pretty straight forward recipe and is not too difficult to get right. they also mentioned that traditionally scotch ales have to be agitated every so often to keep the fermentation from getting stuck (one mentioned that traditionally the fermented barrels had to be rolled to stir up the contents and keep the yeast happy) and for the reason of having to be better tended too the scotch ale might be tricky for a 2nd batch.


does anyone have any input on this subject?

I did a cream ale as my first AG batch... didn't really consider it hard at all.
Plus, it's been one of my favorite and fastest disappearing batches ever, which is why I now do it in 10gal batches instead of 5.
Honestly though, I think either would be easy enough to do. Just depends on what sounds better to you.

I went with a cream ale from Midwest for my third brew and it came out great. Give it a shot!

either will be fine. theres nothing inherently more difficult about scottish ales. You can use either the White Labs Edinburgh strain, or the Cal Ale strain...both will make a good beer with no special techniques like the guys at the lhbs mentioned.

Agreed as above, both of these styles are very straight forward their are no complicated techniques in mashing, fermenting or any tricky ingredients to add that I'm aware of. If you do a Scottish Ale you won't have to worry about constantly agitating the fermentor if you pitch a healthy supply of yeast to begin with.

I've been drinking my first brew all night. Midwest Liberty Cream Ale.