Cream Ale extract help??

Hi, I recently tried Narragansett's Cream Ale and loved it! Never been a big fan of that style but it's probably the best cream ale I've tasted. I want to brew an extract version. Since I'm a total newbie, can anyone suggest the extract subs for the fermentables? I'd also love any input on the ale yeast for lagering and length of lagering (I do have a temp controlled mini-fridge). Thanks so much! Their website says:

"5% Alcohol by Volume and 28 IBUs. Gansett Cream is our first year-round craft style and is a perfect example of a Pre-Prohibition cream ale — only slightly hoppier. Gansett Cream is made with quality ingredients like 2-row pale, Munich, Vienna, and Cara-malt for a creamy head! We used Columbus hops for bittering and a touch of Willamette hops for a slight hop aroma. Bright gold in color and brilliant in clarity, this session ale delivers an extra pop of hop bitterness found only in cream ales of the early 1900′s. Our cream ale was brewed with an ale yeast and lagered at 38 degrees for a clean, crisp finish.

I would suggest you google for a clone recipe. The description gives very little information on what is in the beer.

the last cream ale I brewed looked like this:

3 Lbs Liquid Malt Extract

4 Lbs Pale 2-Row
0.25LB Cara-pils
0.5 Lb Vienna
0.5 Lb Corn Grits

2 oz cascades ( I believe 1 oz at 60 and 1 oz at 5)

It's delicious!

kwingert said:

I would suggest you google for a clone recipe. The description gives very little information on what is in the beer.

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Joking? Seems to me that the description is very...well....descriptive. Sounds like you have all the ingredients and IBUs and %abv. With a little research, you could figure this one out pretty easily I would suspect. You could at least get pretty darn close. You can be pretty sure that it's an American yeast, you could probably use safale-05.

I thought there was alot of info in there too. For the record, I did goggle for a clone recipe before I posted. .
I will continue to research. Thanks.

If it were me I would take the abv and then look up a cream ale with similar abv and then sub out ingredients to meet the description as best I could. If you use a neutral yeast then it should get you close.

gcdowd said:

Joking? Seems to me that the description is very...well....descriptive. Sounds like you have all the ingredients and IBUs and %abv.

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gc: the guy said he was new, and needs help, so he may not be able to convert recipes. did you when you first started?

6 lbs Light LME (8.0 SRM) Extract 82.8 %
8.0 oz Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 6.9 %
8.0 oz Vienna (4.0 SRM) Grain 6.9 %
4.0 oz Caramalt (32.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
0.5 oz Columbus Leaf [16%] (60 min) Hops 25.6 IBU
0.50 oz Willamette [6.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale

lumpher said:

gc: the guy said he was new, and needs help, so he may not be able to convert recipes. did you when you first started?

6 lbs Light LME (8.0 SRM) Extract 82.8 %
8.0 oz Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 6.9 %
8.0 oz Vienna (4.0 SRM) Grain 6.9 %
4.0 oz Caramalt (32.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
0.5 oz Columbus Leaf [16%] (60 min) Hops 25.6 IBU
0.50 oz Willamette [6.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale

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For the record, I was quoting a response to the OP, not the original post. I was in no way trying to be a jerk.

Jamil's Cream Ale:

3.3lb Pilsner LME
3.3lb Light LME

0.6 lb cane sugar
0.6 lb corn sugar

1 oz liberty at 60 minutes
0.5 oz liberty at 1 minute

You can substitute rice solids for the sugar.

gcdowd said:

Joking? Seems to me that the description is very...well....descriptive. Sounds like you have all the ingredients and IBUs and %abv. With a little research, you could figure this one out pretty easily I would suspect. You could at least get pretty darn close. You can be pretty sure that it's an American yeast, you could probably use safale-05.

Click to expand...

Since the description doesn't say exactly what the grains are and in what amounts and this is a beginners forum, I guess I assumed it would be a little difficult for a new brewer to build a recipe from it.

Thanks for all the help, especially Lumpher!!! I'll be brewing it this Sunday and will post an update/pic when it's done!

I have a cream fermenting now, recipe calls for a fermentation on the cool side (60degrees) to get cleaner, more lager like character. My basement is 68, but I plan to refrigerate my bottles for 2-3 weeks after they carb.

Lumpher is the man. I had the cream ale in the primary for 3 weeks. dropped the temp to 38 F for an extra week. Kegged it last night. Force carbed it and it's delicious and a gorgeous looking beer. Thanks man. This will be a staple at my house!

how did it compare to narragansett's cream ale. wife loves this stuff.

I thought it was excellent. A little darker in color than I wanted but it was extract... I think she'll enjoy it.

Try adding all of your extract at the end. This will make your beer lighter. You'll also get better hop utilization. You may find that you need to tone down the 1 oz cascade at the beginning (maybe use Liberty or Willamette).

I have started doing 1/2 upfront and 1/2 at 15 min left. I just saw another thread that said the hops need some extract to get utilization. Are you just boiling hops for 60 min?

Getting a lot of utilization is not a priority for cream ales. A lot of recipies call for an ounce of 4-5% AA hop varieties. If you aren't getting good color, try using DME in the beginning. Cream ales should have a very light color, which can be difficult to do.