Cream Ale Critique!

[dumptrucksally]

boil size-2 gallons
batch size-5 gallons

Steeping:
8oz Golden Promise
8oz American 2-Row

Boiling:
4.5 lbs of Light DME

Hops:
@50 minutes---1oz Palisade hops
@30 minutes---.5oz Saaz
@10 minutes---.5oz Saaz

Any kind words..

 

[Poobah58]

It needs some corn to be a Cream Ale...

 

[maltMonkey]

If you want to stay within style guidelines you'll need to tweak a couple things:

--switch to extra light DME. the light DME puts you a little too dark on color.
--WAY too much hops. You didn't list the AA% on those hops, but I think Palisade is 9% on the low end which is WAY too much even by itself. Maybe 1/2 oz Palisade (60min) is all you need. Cream ales don't really have any flavor or aroma hops.
--Usually there is some corn in there as well.
--You didn't list a yeast, but something like Wyeast 1056 should be good for this.

 

[dumptrucksally]

So basically i'm making more of a blonde ale??

Can you steep Flaked corn or will i need to mash it?

 

[maltMonkey]

So basically i'm making more of a blonde ale??

I would call it more of a hoppy pale Ale....not an IPA because there's not enough alcohol content, not really an APA because of the Saaz, but that's probably the closest. You didn't list a yeast or the AA% of the hops so it's kind of hard to say for sure.

Can you steep Flaked corn or will i need to mash it?

You have to mash it.

 

[dumptrucksally]

Wyeast 1056 ... The palisades 7.2aau... The saaz were 5.4aau...

I'll probably cut the hops in half...

 

[Yooper]

You can "mash" the flaked maize when you mash the grains you have listed. Both of those are base grains, which must also be mashed. I'd mash them all together in a big grain bag at 153 degrees for 45 minutes in 3 quarts of water, and then sparge them with 170 degree water to get up to your boil size.

 

[olllllo]

Jamil has a Cream ale recipe on his podcast. I'm doing the AG version this weekend.

 

[dumptrucksally]

I've never mashed before.. Can i mash over a stove or do i need to have a seperate container??

 

[Yooper]

You can do it on the stove, or in the oven if prefer. You can put all the grains in one bag (loosely, though, so use a big grain bag). Bring a pot of water with the required amount of water (3 quarts for 2 pounds of grain is good) to 155 or so, and dunk the grains in it, like a tea bag. Make sure all the grains are wetted all the way through, and that the temperature stays right about 153 or so. Put the lid on the pot, and then set a timer for 45 minutes. Check it often, making sure the temperature stays over 150. If it starts to drop, you can turn the heat back on (not too high!) to bring it back up. Don't go over 155, though. You can dunk the grains often like a tea bag. After the timer goes off, use a strainer and lift the grains out and put them in the strainer over your pot. Pour 170 degree water (about a gallon) over the grains to rinse them thoroughly. That's it!

That's it- that's a partial mash.

 

[dumptrucksally]

That is awesome.. That is going to help me out tremendously.. Especially getting all i can get out of my grains.. Thanks for that Yooper.

 

[dumptrucksally]

Updated recipe..

1 lb Flaked Maize..
8oz 2-row
8oz Golden Promise

4.5 Light DME

1/2 oz Palisade @ 7.2aau 60min
1.2 oz Saaz @ 5.4aau 15min

wyeast 1056

 

[DeathBrewer]

looks tasty. i would go with the WLP080 if you want a true cream ale. ferment below 65°F and it will be nice and crisp and clean...like a lager.

 

[nugget]

You can do it on the stove, or in the oven if prefer. You can put all the grains in one bag (loosely, though, so use a big grain bag). Bring a pot of water with the required amount of water (3 quarts for 2 pounds of grain is good) to 155 or so, and dunk the grains in it, like a tea bag. Make sure all the grains are wetted all the way through, and that the temperature stays right about 153 or so. Put the lid on the pot, and then set a timer for 45 minutes. Check it often, making sure the temperature stays over 150. If it starts to drop, you can turn the heat back on (not too high!) to bring it back up. Don't go over 155, though. You can dunk the grains often like a tea bag. After the timer goes off, use a strainer and lift the grains out and put them in the strainer over your pot. Pour 170 degree water (about a gallon) over the grains to rinse them thoroughly. That's it!

That's it- that's a partial mash.

Wow, that is awesome, Everything I've read so far has made it so much more complex than that...

 

[Yooper]

Wow, that is awesome, Everything I've read so far has made it so much more complex than that...

Well, I'm a simple person really. And even though there is lots going on (starches converting to sugars, some long-chained), making beer, even all-grain, really isn't any more than using malted grain to produce fermentable sugars. Oh, there is lots of science behind it. But the basic mechanics are just that.

As far as yeast for your cream ale, I like a clean yeast. If you can lager, like Deathbrewer said, that would be great. Or a Kolsch yeast. But if you can't hold cold temperatures, the 1056 is fine. Try to ferment on the cool range of it's temperature, though, if you can- 62-63 degrees would be great and not give you any fruity esters.

 

[Poobah58]

You could also use one or both of these yeasts. I used the Kolsch in my last batch:
Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565)
California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112)