Caramel cream ale?

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Just wanted to shout out to Cheese and say thanks for throwin such an awesome recipe up! I have this sitting in primary and it looks and smells AMAZING even after a couple days I tasted a reading sample and it was pretty damn good for only being 2 days old. :mug:
 
Damn, this looks amazing! It'd be nice if an eHBS would put this together as a kit; the hops are kinda hard to find, and paying shipping on 3 different orders to get 'em all seems a bit over the top. The LHBS might have them, but their selection didn't seem all that great the last time I was there.

Do any eHBS do custom kits, with a kit-size discount?
 
Just had my first pint of this last night and WOW! Great recipe! It's been in the bottle now for two weeks and I'd venture to say it's still a bit green, still great though...it will only get better.

I did 2oz of high quality vanilla at bottling and I'm very happy with the results (For my taste it was just the right amount as I suspect it will mellow over time), also bumped up the hop additions to 1oz each. I still find it very well balanced and think it will be a great addition to the stash.
 
Put this into primary today. Man it smelled awesome. Made a few adjustments. Used a London Ale yeast since they were out of the German. Figured the oaky, woody feel would go nice, and rather than Crystal used Mt. Hood. We'll see what happens.
 
This is gonna be my third beer as a home brewer. Need to go get a second fermenter before I can brew it, but I'm pretty excited.
 
Brewed it up tonight, chiller is running right now. Fairly smooth process, had a big dumb*ss moment when I started to take the second runnings from the MLT into my Ale Pail (for movement to the cold outside and for measurement purposes) and ran to the bathroom real quick. Came back to find a slowly creeping puddle of beautiful golden wort on the floor, as I left the spigot open. DOH!
But everything worked out very well, sampled OG @ 1.060. tasted great!
 
is this the recipe that is used, or is there another updated one in this 50+ page thread? I don't have the patience to read ALL of this. I want to make it, but I am getting a brain cramp reading all of this. But, Wow< it must be good with all this responce
 
bgrand281 said:
is this the recipe that is used, or is there another updated one in this 50+ page thread? I don't have the patience to read ALL of this. I want to make it, but I am getting a brain cramp reading all of this. But, Wow< it must be good with all this responce

i used the recipe on the first page... maybe the 3rd or 4th post in the thread. it turned out grat and i've gotten much good feedback for it.
 
does this recipe have actually caramel flavor? Or is it a subtle hint like a Leinies honey weiss, wiath the honey that you don't "taste" but is there in the sences of the beer?
 
Well, I made it about a year and a half ago. I think it tastes like cream soda with beer. I don't really know if that's what you're asking, but the vanilla is there along with some cloying sweetness. I don't recall specifically caramel. If you like cream soda pop, you'd like this.
 
Does anyone know where all the ingredients can be purchased at once online? I would rather get it all in one shot rather than paying shipping from three different suppliers. I want to try brewing the first version next weekend.
 
thunderbyte said:
Does anyone know where all the ingredients can be purchased at once online? I would rather get it all in one shot rather than paying shipping from three different suppliers. I want to try brewing the first version next weekend.

The hops are going to be the only hangup for you ordering everything online - I had to use a combo of the LHBS and online. I'd buy the vanilla locally if you can as well, online prices for the high quality stuff are quite high.
 
Well brewed a batch of version #1 today. Here's to hoping I love it as much as everyone else in the previous 57 pages of comments! I couldn't fit the hose I have onto the tube in the airlock, so I'm hoping to not have the furious fermentation some have described.

Tomorrow, I'm brewing a honey beer. I've done it once, here's the original recipe. I'm doing it a little different this time.

7 lbs honey
1 lime (sliced)

5 tsp yeast nutrients

2.5 oz kent goldings hops (bittering)

Nottingham yeast

Add all the honey as you would a malt. Add the hops at the beginning of the boil. At 30 mins, add the sliced lime.

At the end of the boil, fish out the lime slices, add yeast nutrients.

Follow the 1-2-3 or the 2-2-3 or whatever method you choose.

The beer is a nicely balanced brew, with a pleasant nose and a nice honey aftertaste. Not cloyingly sweet at all.
 
thunderbyte said:
Does anyone know where all the ingredients can be purchased at once online? I would rather get it all in one shot rather than paying shipping from three different suppliers. I want to try brewing the first version next weekend.

I just picked up the ingredients for this one form Beer Essentials in Tacoma WA today. They had everything except the vanilla extract on hand.

Tomorrow the stout gets bottled and this one goes in the primary.
 
Cheesefood said:
EDIT 2/20/07: Please do not PM me with questions on this recipe. Post them to this thread. I get way too many questions that are already answered within this long thread, so consider reading the entire thing (or using the Search function) prior to posting.


Here's the final recipe that I'm brewing RIGHT NOW.

Malts
3 pounds extra light DME
3 pounds light wheat DME
1 pound Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes at 150'-165')

Hops
1oz Cascade for bittering (60 minutes)
.5oz Saaz for flavor (20 minutes)
.5 oz Tettnang for aroma (end of boil)

Yeast
Wyeast German Ale

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (10 minutes)
4oz Lactose @ 15 minutes
2 oz real vanilla extract

Priming
>1cup Lactose
4oz vanilla (Be careful! This may be too much vanilla for some people.)
1.5 cups light DME

I'm adding the Lactose in the last 15 minutes of the boil. I'll add the vanilla in the primary, because I don't want to risk losing any that bonds to the trub. So far, it smells fantastic but I'm still at the bittering hops boil. I think this should end up with a nice caramel flavor and a good hint (perhaps a suggestion size amount) of vanilla. I've had vanillas with way too much flavor and they tasted too much like candy. This should have a decent balance.

Notes: 11/4/05

So good. Can't even explain it - you simply must make this beer. I let it prime for almost 2 weeks before fridging it, then cracked one tonight after only about 30 hours. Great head, good lace, nice color, good body and nose. Pictures won't do it justice, but here's one anyways

cv.jpg



Ive read this thread until my eyes throbbed and still have questions.... is this an extract recipe or a partial mash? i guess the only difference would be putting the grains in my mlt soaking for the recommended 45 minutes and then pouring 170 degree water over them for a ten minute soak before adding the dme. i just dont want to add any steps if it will alter the outcome. can someone please help clear this up for me.
 
You just steep the caramel, then bring the resulting "tea" to a boil and add the extract. It's an extract recipe, with steeping grains. You can probably just steep the crystal for 20 minutes if you want.
 
looking forward to this brew. it will be my 3rd batch, and I will go AG. I read all 58 pages, and my eyes are blurry, work is now over( I started when I got to work) and I think I have it.

Cheese, thanks for sharing. You da man.
 
after readin about this brew[took 3 days to read it all] i just had to try it. bubbling away as we speak. i will say this best smellin stuff i ever brewed lol. i no this will bump up this post..heck thats how i found it to start with. and it looks just like the picture when in the bucket...
 
Ive had this in bottles for nearly two weeks, I opened one after a week and a half and it was carbed perfectly a little on the sweet side but im thinking the flavors will balance after a couple more weeks. Overall this is gonna be a beut.
 
add another 5 gal to the total. just kegged and its great and getting better every day. I am glad I put a few gallons in bottles because this keg is going to be gone in a day.........:mug:
 
Has anyone tried out any other flavoring extracts in place of vanilla in this recipe?

I've been thinking about adding in something else, a few examples being: maple flavoring, almond extract, butter flavoring...

I realize that buttery taste is often avoided, but might it be a good match for an adaptation of this recipe?
 
Maple maybe a great match with this, but I wouldn't use an artificial flavour. I'd use real maple syrup!

steve
 
Just cracked my first keg of Caramel Cream Ale. I tweaked the recipe a little bit because I Partial Mash and I have to say that this one is a keeper. I have been trying to come up with a good recipe and thought I would try it. Wow!! Definately going into my rotation.

My tweaking included:
White Labs Cream Yeast (WLP080)
0.5 lbs of Honey Malt
0.25 lbs of Munich Malt
0.50 lbs of Flaked Maize
0.50 lbs of Carapils
Replaced the 3 pounds light wheat DME with 3 lbs of 2 Row Pale Malt

Used the Hop schedule as per recipe. Might tweak that a little bit but not much.

Great Recipe and Thanks to everyone throughout this thread that made this one of my better beers...

TD

OBTW: Definately put the Vanilla in while kegging. I put it in after putting the wort in my conical. First time I dropped trub I could see the Vanilla.
 
I have 10 gallons of this in primary right now - moving to secondary this weekend. After 6 days the airlocks are dead still. I drew a bit out of each primary tonight and it has a nice flavor with a bit of bitter that lingers in the back of the throat. I still have an once of hops left and know that more of this will be brewed again.

Can't wait until I can try the final product.
 
I finally had to put this wonderful wheat beer into a heffe for admiration's sake.

beer_photos_001.jpg


Its better drinking out of a heffe glass!! Makes the Vanilla nose better!!!

The head is really moussey too

Damn!!! - Its empty already!!

:mug:

CHEESE - THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST BEER I HAVE EVER MADE! - NO FLIPPN' $HIT!
 
4 oz Vanilla (extract) - added dry to secondary fermenter
4 oz Vanilla (extract) - added dry to primary fermenter

Just add it as it comes? Stirring or not?


Another recipe suggest just ...
Add 3 oz of Vanilla at bottling.


How strong is 4 oz for primary and 4oz for secondary fermentation?
 
So good. Can't even explain it - you simply must make this beer.

Given the hopping schedule it seems like it would turn out kind of bitter for a caramel beer? Can anyone that has brewed this beer give a flavor profile?
 
I didn't want mine sweet so I used a different hop schedule.

1oz - Cascade 5.10AAU - @ 60 min
1.4oz - Saazer 4.40AAU - @30 min
0.75oz - Tettnanger 4.50AAU- @ 0 min

30 IBU's w/ 2.5 gal boil, using extract​


Mines not too sweet or bitter, pretty balanced good vanilla nose & flavor
 
EricK The Red said:
I just brewed a 5gal batch this afternoon and pitched it onto my ESB yeast cake (Wyeast #1968 London ESB Yeast).

This is my first attempt at pitching onto a yeast cake (knocks on wood).

Erick, that yeast will leave more residual sugars, than most other yeasts. I may use it, when I do this recipe, but I like sweeter beers.

For a person with normal tastes, I would have changed yeasts, or cut back on the crystal malt, probably 30%, or so.

steve
 
skou said:
Erick, that yeast will leave more residual sugars, than most other yeasts. I may use it, when I do this recipe, but I like sweeter beers.

For a person with normal tastes, I would have changed yeasts, or cut back on the crystal malt, probably 30%, or so.

steve

Thanks for the input Steve. I'm not going to add much more vanilla to the final product, I've got 2oz in the primary and it tastes ok as is.

BTW, I came home from work to a churning, foaming fermeter after only 12 hrs!!!
 
I am going to make a tweaked version of the famous CCA this weekend. here is my modified recipe:

7# 2-Row
1# Caramel Wheat
1# Caramel 30
1# Caramel 60
8oz Flaked Wheat
8oz Cara-Pils
8oz Lactose
2oz Vanilla Extract

1oz Hallertau ~4.5% @ 60min (~20IBU)

and typical priming schedule
 
OK this stuff is super. I just bottled 4 cases of it and all I can say is WOW.

This one will be around for a very long time.
 
Moonshae said:
Well brewed a batch of version #1 today. Here's to hoping I love it as much as everyone else in the previous 57 pages of comments! I couldn't fit the hose I have onto the tube in the airlock, so I'm hoping to not have the furious fermentation some have described.

Opened my first bottles this weekend, and WOW! This is a great brew. I'm thinking of brewing another batch right away, because I don't think it'll be around very long.
 
Ok, don't want to be a bummer on this thread but.... I really don't like this brew at all! It has been bottle conditioning for well over a month and the vanilla is way too pronounced. I mean, I would give this all away to my friends if I was not too ashamed to admit brewing it. I'll try one again in about another month, maybe it will be better. Sorry for the downer post.:(
 
Redweasel said:
Ok, don't want to be a bummer on this thread but.... I really don't like this brew at all! It has been bottle conditioning for well over a month and the vanilla is way too pronounced. I mean, I would give this all away to my friends if I was not too ashamed to admit brewing it. I'll try one again in about another month, maybe it will be better. Sorry for the downer post.:(
You're not the only one...
 
Redweasel said:
Ok, don't want to be a bummer on this thread but.... I really don't like this brew at all! It has been bottle conditioning for well over a month and the vanilla is way too pronounced. I mean, I would give this all away to my friends if I was not too ashamed to admit brewing it. I'll try one again in about another month, maybe it will be better. Sorry for the downer post.:(

Thanks for the honest opinion. Everyone has different likes & dislikes. There are lots of folks who enjoy this, and others who don't. I belong to the latter group mainly as I tend to be a Reinheitsgebot purist for beers.
 
I love this beer, but brewed it with much less vanilla than the original recipe called for. I probably wouldn't like it as much if i used more vanilla than i did. If you do try it again, cut some of the vanilla out and see what you think.
 
I still have 7 - 22 ounce bottles from my original 5 gallon batch from February...2007.

I'll pull one out every now and then and sip it during a brew session. More for old times sake than beer enjoyment.

Too many not-beer ingredients for me and the extract twang is a bit strong.

Like I said...brings back memories of early brewing. ;)
 
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