julioardz said:You could look up the BJCP style guidelines for how they define the different styles. Here's how I see them differently.
A cream ale to me is a light, well attenuated lawnmower beer with balanced but faint malt and hop flavors. I would make it with 2-row and corn or rice adjuncts and maybe even some corn sugar to dry it out. It would be best served near freezing on a hot day, just like a light American lager from one of the big breweries.
A blonde ale would be similar, but I would make it with all malt and the flavor would lean more towards the malt side. When making a blonde ale, I use only bittering hops and keep the IBU low so that the malt flavor shines. I use brewers 2-row and some other malt like pale malt, Vienna, or Munich to bring out the maltiness a bit more, but it would still be light in color and flavor.
Those two, I think are similar enough that some commercial brewers aren't even sure which of the two they are making. A pale ale to me is a completely different beer. The hops would dominate the flavor. You may have a stronger malt backbone to balance it out, but the hops would clearly dominate the flavor profile. My pale ales have hop additions throughout the boil and are dry hopped, so I expect pale ales to have great hop flavor and aroma, but less than an IPA.
This is how I see them differently. Also, neither of these would have much yeast character, so I would use a clean American ale yeast and ferment on the colder side.
How exactly does it make it dry? Do you mean the mouthfeel?
APA / Cream / Blonde = Hoppy / refreshing / both
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