Caramel cream ale?

[GottaGetABrew]

hey all, I brewed this on 5-31 and bottled it two weeks and two days ago. Tried the sample I pulled on bottling day and didn't think the sweetness or vanilla came through much. I also added 3 oz of vanilla at bottling. Popped my first one tonight, excellent carbonation already and it tastes wonderful. I can't wait to see how it ages out given my perceived changes in this short amount of time. I am already thinking I need to get another batch started.

 

[ctufano]

I'd say start another batch man! If I could, I would for sure.

I had a friend over yesterday to help me cap my cream stout as I filled the bottles, and he went bat****crazy over this one and sent him home with a 32ozer.

This is one helluva beer -- in my experience, the vanilla comes out even more in time. I, too, added 3 oz at bottling, and I personally like it but get a lot of comments about it being 'candy like' so next time I may cut back to 2oz at bottling

 

[Heckle]

Interested to see if you ferment all that out. Mine went from 1.055 (brewed to recipe) and has stopped at 1.020, which puts me at I believe a 4.4% or so

I brewed this on 7/2 with an OG of 1.058. Checked it today and it is at 1.018. Going to check again in a couple of days.

 

[Caldmoore]

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

So, my first batch without my hand being held and I goofed already. I added the 1.5 cups light DME to the boil instead of at priming along with the other two DME's. Anyone have an idea what the result will be? Any steps to correct any upcoming problems? Thank you!

 

[ctufano]

Is that the only DME you added? What step are you at now? If you havent pitched yeast, I would add the rest of the DME (hell, I'd just add teh 6 pounds total + your 1.5 cups) and go with that, it will be a lil stronger in alcohol than needed but thats ok

if you finished the boil and pitched yeast, well, i dunno then. its gonna be very weak :\

 

[Caldmoore]

Yeah! Thank you for the quick reply. We just finished putting it to primary, was at the boiling part when I realized my goof. Cooling it down to pitch the yeast now. We shall see! Thanks again!

 

[MetallHed]

ctufano sent me two bottles of this brew.

this stuff is GGOOOOODDD. really good. It's now on my "to-brew" list.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I took a sample yesterday (3 weeks in). It really tastes quite bitter. I am sure it will mellow out with age. I plan to keg around the 6 week mark. I put 2oz of vanilla in with primary and will put another 2 oz in when I keg.

 

[GottaGetABrew]

Yeah, mine had a strange mid-tone a couple of weeks after I brewed it but the one I just cracked open is perfect. Give it a little more time. I am going to get another batch going next weekend.

 

[ctufano]

Caught off guard with nothing to brew in my pipeline and I am bottling some stuff up today. Just made an order for Brewmasters Warehouse to go pick up ingredients for this brew again!

People loved it the first time, might as well make up some more!

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I took a sample yesterday (3 weeks in). It really tastes quite bitter. I am sure it will mellow out with age. I plan to keg around the 6 week mark. I put 2oz of vanilla in with primary and will put another 2 oz in when I keg.

Almost a month on from this post and the flavors are nicely balanced and it does not taste bitter at all. It is carbed and I had a glass yesterday. I am on the fence about this. I am not sure if I really like it or that it is just ok. I need to drink more before I make my judgment on this.

 

[Nud476]

Hey guys, I love the forum
Im new to brewing, have a couple extract kit brews under my belt, and I have a quick question about this recipe...after reading all 70+pages....whew!
Steep the Carmel 60L for 45 minutes....do I have to rinse them after that? and how much water did you start with? (many have asked and its not been clearly answered)
Im reading a lot of posts about partial mash and sparge water and Mash-in and Mash-out and Im confused!
I dont have a Mashtun....is this an experienced recipe that I should not try now?
Thanks, sorry for the newb question but you gotta start somewhere and I couldnt find the answers...

Thanks again,
Sean

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I find it very sickly and not a huge fan. My SWMBO loves it though and chugged 4 pints of it yesterday.

 

[psusoccer21]

I followed the recipe to a T. After 3 weeks in the bottles, the beer is flat. There is little to no carbonation at all. I did not use priming sugar because the recipe called for lactose and DME. I've always had great carbonation with my beers. Anyone have some advice? I'd hate to scrap 2 cases of beer but there's no way I could drink it flat.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Wait longer. Other wise you can uncap then all and drop a carb tab in each to try to save them.

 

[psusoccer21]

Wait longer. Other wise you can uncap then all and drop a carb tab in each to try to save them.

Thanks for the quick reply. How long do you suggest I wait before I go the carb tab route? Thanks.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

maybe another couple of weeks. If you have nothing by then, I'd use the tabs.

 

[Solaris79]

Brewed the original recipe over 3 weeks ago. Kegged it a week ago. Used 4 oz in the keg. Tastes like toasted marshmallows!

 

[craig_reed]

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

You have vanilla on here two places - are you adding it in two separate spots? I was thinking it would just get added to the secondary with the lactose? Could you let me know the amount and where you add the vanilla/lactose? I see 4oz and 2oz in your above recipe. This looks like a great beer!

One last question- 3 weeks in primary, no secondary, and a few MONTHS in bottles before it was good to drink??

 

[ctufano]

You have vanilla on here two places - are you adding it in two separate spots? I was thinking it would just get added to the secondary with the lactose? Could you let me know the amount and where you add the vanilla/lactose? I see 4oz and 2oz in your above recipe. This looks like a great beer!

One last question- 3 weeks in primary, no secondary, and a few MONTHS in bottles before it was good to drink??

One is primary one is at bottling. I boil my vanilla w/ priming sugar and lactose, then add to bottling bucket and rack in from the carboy.

Add it in the two places ... the vanilla comes out stronger with age, so I'd suggest at most 3oz at bottling, whatever it says at brewtime leave it at that.

Basically, everything above >>PRIMING<< is for brew day, then you use the additional lactose, vanilla, and DME at bottling as your primer.

The longer it ages in bottles, the better it gets --trust me. I'd brew to batches back to back. I am on my 2nd now, cuz after just a month my friends drank ALL of this brew.

 

[craig_reed]

The longer it ages in bottles, the better it gets --trust me. I'd brew to batches back to back. I am on my 2nd now, cuz after just a month my friends drank ALL of this brew.

Ahh - So would you think the 1,2,3 method would work well for this beer? Or more like 1,2,6?

I am a believer in using the secondary fermenter, I like to get my beer as clear as possible. I know others just leave it all in the primary, I will try that someday, but for now I like using the secondary.

 

[craig_reed]

I forgot to ask... ctufano, did you brew the reciepe to Cheese's recommendation (my last post)?

 

[ctufano]

Yup, i did the one you posted. As far as the staging, however you like man. Mine never got clear even in the bottle, I dont think you will get it very clear no matter how ya stage it .. only with time. But ya, 1-2-3 or 1-2-4+

 

[craig_reed]

Yup, i did the one you posted. As far as the staging, however you like man. Mine never got clear even in the bottle, I dont think you will get it very clear no matter how ya stage it .. only with time. But ya, 1-2-3 or 1-2-4+

Yeah I guess my statement of clarity was more of a general statement. In addition, I just think it helps eliminate particles as a filtration step I guess. I dunno, just me!

This beer looks awesome - can't decide between this and the Blood Orange Hefeweizen I have been wanting to do. Maybe I'll do both!

 

[srm775]

stop making this beer. it's terrible and pretty much a joke.

 

[nostalgia]

A delicious, delicious joke

-Joe

 

[craig_reed]

I plan on brewing this recipe this weekend! Sounds great - and now I have an opening to squeeze it in.

I am going to use LME instead of DME I think - see how that turns out.

 

[Solaris79]

So, this weekend, I pulled a half glass off of my keg just to see how it was coming along for aging, and I thought the beer was just ok now. So I got to thinking about what so I like about this beer, and what do I not like. As I was thinking, it came to me what it was missing. It felt to me, and maybe because it's cooling off and becoming fall, but the first thing I thought of is nutmeg. So I walked into the house in search of some nutmeg, and stumbled across a small container of clove. Remembering that a lot of styles have hints of clove, I opened it up and took a whiff. Instantly, I knew that this was the flavor component I was missing in this beer! Pure clove powder is extremely strong, so I took a small pinch and tossed it in my beer. Grabbed a spoon and mixed the beer up with it. In my opinion, this was one of the best fall/winter beers I've tastes yet. I may be adding some to the whole keg carefully, because this beer has now gone to the next level.

 

[AbeLincoln]

Hi. I'm very curious to try this recipe and would like to know if there is an optimal fermentation temperature for this beer.

Wyeast's website indicates that their 1007 German Ale yeast functions ideally (between 55-68° F (13-20° C). They also indicate that within this range, the "higher temperatures may produce mild fruitiness." I've used this yeast before at between 62 and 64° and found it to produce a very clean tasting (albeit cloudy) ale.

Does this cream ale recipe benefit from being on the cooler side or the warmer side during fermentation... or like many things is it simply a matter of preference?

Thanks.

 

[Gsidej]

I'm a long time lurker that just decided to try this recipe yesterday. I followed almost everything exactly for the v1 recipe. But I made a mistake. For the caramel I steeped it after I did the boil. So instead of steeping it at 160 for 45 min then raising it to a boil and adding the DME and then everything else; I boiled, added the DME and everything else, then lowered the temp to 160 and steeped for 45 min.

Now my brew has been sitting in primary for 14 hours. How can I fix this? I'm assuming the caramel flavor will be really weak as things are going. Also when I took the OG it was at 1.042 which seems lower than what most people got. Is it worth it for me to steep and boil more caramel, cool it then add it? or should I just leave it be?