Thinking of this for my 2nd batch, thoughts?

this is a honey cream ale I found. I want something light and easy for the womens and a good "on the water" beer for spring and summer.

Any insight or thoughts on this recipe? Also, my LBS has fresh grains and yeast, but canned extract. Is it worth using their ingredients or just use Brewers Best Cream Ale as a base and add honey?

Just bottled my 1st, an IIPA, yesterday :rockin:, thanks for the help!


0.25 lbs. Crystal Malt 20°L info
0.25 lbs. Belgian Aromatic info
0.25 lbs. Belgian Caravienne info
2.00 lbs. Dry Light info
2.00 lbs. Liquid Light Extract info
3.00 lbs. Honey info
0.3 oz. Hallertau Hersbruck (Whole, 13.8 %AA) boiled 30 min. info
0.3 oz. Saaz (Whole, 12.2 %AA) boiled 30 min. info
0.3 oz. Saaz (Whole, 12.2 %AA) boiled 20 min. info
0.5 oz. Perle (Whole, 5.50 %AA) boiled 10 min. info
0.50 tsp. Irish Moss (not included in calculations)
Yeast : Wyeast 1320 info

I did the Brewers Best kit as my first kit and was happy with the results, but it wasn't great by any means.

That recipe is much more advanced than the BB kit and I think will create a much more flavorful beer.

As long as the canned extract is not very old (check the date on the can) you should be fine with the canned. That is what is in the BB kit. One thing you might want to do is replace the 2 lbs of light LME and use all Dry. I would substitute about 1.6 or 1.7 lbs of DME for the LME. You could just use a total of 3.6 or 3.7 total lbs of DME.

That is also a much better hop selection and schedule than the BB kit will offer. Obviously, the kit might be an easier way to go and you can just add the honey as you suggested. I just think that recipe looks way better than the BB kit.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out!

I made a Midwest kit cream ale a year or so ago that turned out really well. It was simple, the ladies like it, and Midwest sent very fresh ingredients. I'd be cautious about getting too complex with the recipe for your second batch. Cream ales are generally pretty simple.

Honey is pretty much 100% fermentable so it may dry it out more than you want. Maybe try a little honey malt instead.