I'm intrigued by cream ale. Could anyone chip in with opinions and suggestions on brewing one, and any pitfalls to avoid?
Obviously it is more a US style of beer, but to be honest it doesn't half remind me of some of the simpler, less prestigious UK beers with its adjunct use and aim of being easy drinking, lighter, cheaper and faster out the door for drinking. It's aiming roughly for the same target taste I think. Cleanish tasting pseudolager, without all that difficult, time consuming German brewing expertise and attention to quality
So what is the best way of brewing a good one simply? I'm AG and would look to dry yeast as I'm not prepared enough just at the moment to get a starter going. No posh lagering gear either, just simple cooler mashtun+boiler+brew bucket.
Malt would be MO, because that is what I have. It seems that even paler malts would be the ideal though, but hey. Hop wise, I have a freezer full of UK hops, some unopened saaz, aurora and hallertauer hersbrucker and some high alpha NZ ones.
So, any experiences or thoughts on
- lager yeasts at room temps or cooler, cleaner ale yeasts?
- what approach to hops? High alpha in the boil then just a hint of something tasty as a flavour addition?
- hop types? Traditionally lager types rather than ale types maybe?
- what adjuncts give what flavours? Should I be thinking flaked rice, maize, simple sugars or a mix? What proportions would you get away with?
- is the aim to go for a very dry finish, or is a little bit of sweetness preferred just to hold on behind the low hopping rates?
- am I wasting my time and I'd be better off just doing a straight, unfussy, all malt pale ale instead of trying to cut the same corners that megabreweries get slated for cutting?
Obviously it is more a US style of beer, but to be honest it doesn't half remind me of some of the simpler, less prestigious UK beers with its adjunct use and aim of being easy drinking, lighter, cheaper and faster out the door for drinking. It's aiming roughly for the same target taste I think. Cleanish tasting pseudolager, without all that difficult, time consuming German brewing expertise and attention to quality
So what is the best way of brewing a good one simply? I'm AG and would look to dry yeast as I'm not prepared enough just at the moment to get a starter going. No posh lagering gear either, just simple cooler mashtun+boiler+brew bucket.
Malt would be MO, because that is what I have. It seems that even paler malts would be the ideal though, but hey. Hop wise, I have a freezer full of UK hops, some unopened saaz, aurora and hallertauer hersbrucker and some high alpha NZ ones.
So, any experiences or thoughts on
- lager yeasts at room temps or cooler, cleaner ale yeasts?
- what approach to hops? High alpha in the boil then just a hint of something tasty as a flavour addition?
- hop types? Traditionally lager types rather than ale types maybe?
- what adjuncts give what flavours? Should I be thinking flaked rice, maize, simple sugars or a mix? What proportions would you get away with?
- is the aim to go for a very dry finish, or is a little bit of sweetness preferred just to hold on behind the low hopping rates?
- am I wasting my time and I'd be better off just doing a straight, unfussy, all malt pale ale instead of trying to cut the same corners that megabreweries get slated for cutting?