Caramel cream ale?

[srm775]

Okay I goofed up somewhere. Brewed following 1-2-3 (maybe why). Cracked one tonight. Quick dissolving head, very smooth and drinkable. Problem: carbonating with DME... smells and tastes slightly like rotten fruit... kinda like the smell of a wheat after a week in the primary. No vanilla flavor at all (3 1/2 oz). What am I doing wrong? I'm going to try this again with corn sugar to carbonate and much more vanilla!

Sounds to me like a bit of infection. Vanilla is a flavor that will dissipate with time. The more time in contact with the vanilla bean, the more intense flavor, but once that contact is no longer there, the flavor will immediately begin to dissipate.

 

[chesterchan]

Well I used 3.5 oz of McCormick pure vanilla extract. Ultimately I feel that I did not age this beer as long as I should have (which is of course all part of the learning process.) I also feel that I could have used vanilla bean(s) in secondary instead of extract. I am STILL having yeast off flavor issues. I recently made AHS apricot wheat and tried it 2 weeks in the bottle, and it had a sourness that faintly resembled the cream ale trial. I can only describe it as sour taste and funky smell like a wheat in the primary that is overpowering the apricot. It conditioned in temp between 65 and 78 which is a possible reason. My apartment gets cold but I put it in a little room with the furnace which is several degrees warmer. I don't mean to get off topic, but will it be a problem if I move the bottled apricot wheat into a warmer temperature?

 

[JoeMama]

Just bottled mine this evening and even the samples I tasted were wonderful! So smooth and yummy! I think the fact that I did this as a full boil might have played a part in this, but DAYMN!!!! I cant wait to taste this one when its ready!
-Me

 

[thunderbyte]

Im bottling mine this weekend. I am using the 1-2-3 method, but my schedule has turned it into 1-4-3. That extra couple weeks in secondary shouldnt hurt anything, right?

 

[JoeMama]

Im bottling mine this weekend. I am using the 1-2-3 method, but my schedule has turned it into 1-4-3. That extra couple weeks in secondary shouldnt hurt anything, right?

Id say just give it that extra time in the PRIMARY. You wont need more than a couple of weeks in the secondary if your goal is to clear it. IMO 2ndary isnt necessary for this beer unless you are racking it onto vanilla beans.
-Me

 

[srm775]

Id say just give it that extra time in the PRIMARY. You wont need more than a couple of weeks in the secondary if your goal is to clear it. IMO 2ndary isnt necessary for this beer unless you are racking it onto vanilla beans.
-Me

I'm pretty sure Cheese does a secondary with this beer. I would recommend a secondary with any beer like this. In fact, I would, and always to lager my cream ales for a bit (2-3 weeks atleast).

 

[thunderbyte]

Just to clarify my post, Im not considering leaving it 4 weeks in secondary. This Sunday when I will bottle it will be a total of 4 weeks in secondary so its not an option. I was just wondering if will hurt it at all. regardless I am going to bottle and see what happens. I have been watching this thread for a while so Im pretty excited about trying it.

 

[pww1]

what would be a good dry yeast to use with this recipe, or is the Wyeast a deal breaker?

 

[Desert_Sky]

what would be a good dry yeast to use with this recipe, or is the Wyeast a deal breaker?

nottingham, or a chico strain. Its so sweet it's not going to make much difference

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Well I could not help myself so I brewed up a batch of this today but I made some changes and my OG is way up so I would like some advise. Here is what I brewed:

I first started with 6 gal water............
Steeped 1 lb Caramel 60L
2oz belgian special B
2oz Belgian Biscuit
2oz Honey gold

All for 45-50 minutes at 155-160

Malts
3.5 lb extra light DME
3 lb wheat DME
.5 lb sparkling amber DME


everything else was the same per the 2nd recipe. I ended up with 5 gal but my OG is 1.072. I know that I used 1lb more DME but should my OG be this high? And if its ok should I pitch another yeast pack? I did use Wyeast and put it in a starter yesterday before using. I know others modified this but my OG just seems a little high to me.

But I must say it smells and taste's great! So far the best tasting wort ever!

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Bump! Any advise on the high OG and if I should pitch another pack of yeast?

Smells delicious though I keep going into my brew room just to get a sniff! It has to be the best smelling beer that I brewed to date.

 

[chesterchan]

Srm 775 You're absolutely right! Definitely an infection. I wish I had my camera I would post a picture! Wild yeast??? What ever it is, it is almost lined up uniformly along the sides of the bottle. Definitely going to try this one again!

 

[srm775]

Bump! Any advise on the high OG and if I should pitch another pack of yeast?

Smells delicious though I keep going into my brew room just to get a sniff! It has to be the best smelling beer that I brewed to date.

Ryan, what's the problem again? Your starting gravity was high? Shouldn't matter that much. The terminal gravity is what matters.

Where about in Elmhurst, I used to live in Elmhurst?

EDIT: Ok, I just saw the original. Yes, 1 extra lb. of DME would bump the gravity up that much.

That's a lot of dark grains for this recipe. That much dark grain, and you'll end up with something very different from a cream ale. Though, it may not be bad.

If it's already fermenting, then I wouldn't worry about it, if not, then pitch another packet. It won't hurt anything either way.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Ryan, what's the problem again? Your starting gravity was high? Shouldn't matter that much. The terminal gravity is what matters.

Where about in Elmhurst, I used to live in Elmhurst?

EDIT: Ok, I just saw the original. Yes, 1 extra lb. of DME would bump the gravity up that much.

That's a lot of dark grains for this recipe. That much dark grain, and you'll end up with something very different from a cream ale. Though, it may not be bad.

If it's already fermenting, then I wouldn't worry about it, if not, then pitch another packet. It won't hurt anything either way.

Thanks for the reply! I am off of York and North. If you know of Hamburger Heaven my street is behind the big Lutheran Church across the street.

As for the beer it started bubbling away with in hours and is looking good. My only worry is that I haven't had a beer get lower than 1.020 but then again all my beers have had high OG. I must also say that this is the first time I drank the entire gravity tester beaker of wort! I was damn tasty! I do have another smack pack in the fridge that I was going to use for the Boom Boom recipe next but I just realized that I wont have any more primaries for a least a few weeks so I thought I should just pitch it.

I also found some vanilla beans at Jewel the day after brewing this so now I have a few beans soaking in Bourbon and a few in Vodka for priming and the Boom Boom=)


Thanks

Ryan

 

[pww1]

If i wanted to do this as a partial mash should i just replace the Light Extract with a couple of pounds of pale malt or any other suggestions? This recipe seems really intriguing.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Brewed up the Boom Boom and yes it is Boom Boom! When I went to check on it yesterday the lid was a dome and the air lock was all crusty and full! When I pulled the air lock beer and foam hit the ceiling! Looks like she was just about to blow the top! Now my brew room smells even better!

 

[JoeMama]

Brewed up the Boom Boom and yes it is Boom Boom! When I went to check on it yesterday the lid was a dome and the air lock was all crusty and full! When I pulled the air lock beer and foam hit the ceiling! Looks like she was just about to blow the top! Now my brew room smells even better!

The exact same thing happened to me with my batch of this. VERY violent fermenter, and the krausen was through the roof (needed a blow off almost immediately)

Word of advise though - Let this beer run its full conditioning course. It was okay when green, but it has gotten WAY better now that it has some age on it. Would I make it again? The jury is still out on this one. Definitely an interesting brew!
-Me

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

The exact same thing happened to me with my batch of this. VERY violent fermenter, and the krausen was through the roof (needed a blow off almost immediately)

Word of advise though - Let this beer run its full conditioning course. It was okay when green, but it has gotten WAY better now that it has some age on it. Would I make it again? The jury is still out on this one. Definitely an interesting brew!
-Me

Did you primary and secondary or just primary and bottle condition? And how long for each?

Thanks!

Ryan

 

[JoeMama]

Did you primary and secondary or just primary and bottle condition? And how long for each?

Thanks!

Ryan

This was the first beer that I threw into the secondary (just to say I did it - no real reason) I believe it was 2 and 2. I did my final vanilla and lactose addition in the bottling bucket with the priming sugar during bottling time. Somehow when I finally hit the 3 week mark for the bottles, half of them were gone. :cross:

In that period leading up to the '3 week rule' they were just 'okay'. Tasted like ass at 1 week, pretty okay at 2.5 weeks (most of this was the drinking time) and now that they are at the 3 week rule they are almost downright tasty.

If I did this beer again, I would just follow my normal routine of 3-4 weeks in the primary, then straight to the bottle/keg. I would only use the secondary this time if I was racking onto vanilla beans. I just used an organic vanilla extract for this one.

Time definitely made this beer better IMO.
-Me

 

[chumprock]

My wife has asked me a great question. She loves those "salted caramels" and wondered how this recipie could be modified for a "Salted Caramel Cream Ale"?

I've never considered salt, but its a mineral that I assume would really goof with water chem?

 

[Christian]

Holy crap i can't believe i actually just read all 65 pages of this thread......but i did.

I am so intrigued by this recipe that i am going to run out tomorrow morning and round up the ingredients and brew it up tomorrow afternoon..........and i wasn't even planning on brewing this weekend.

 

[twst1up]

well, i finally placed an order with northernbrewer today including the ingredients to make this. I'll be using vanilla beans in as well as pure mexican vanilla. I'll prob also use 1056

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Watch the vanilla... I followed recipe and it's WAY too much. I think the Mexi-nilla is much stronger that the others.

 

[BierMuncher]

Watch the vanilla... I followed recipe and it's WAY too much.

+1.

Way over the top. This has potential to be a decent beer but back off on the vanilla.

 

[cheeseshark]

+1.

Way over the top. This has potential to be a decent beer but back off on the vanilla.

How much backing off would you suggest? Thanks...

 

[Ridemywideglide]

I'd have to say half what the recipe calls for..

 

[Yooper]

I'd have to say half what the recipe calls for..

Maybe even less than half? Vanilla is nice, but if it's way overdone, this recipe tastes like cream soda with beer added to it. Not like beer with vanilla added.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Maybe even less than half? Vanilla is nice, but if it's way overdone, this recipe tastes like cream soda with beer added to it. Not like beer with vanilla added.

Agreed, that's about how mine ended up.. Made me want to try it over ice cream.

 

[USM_Eagle]

I now have a version of this in the bottle (has been for 2 weeks). I used cheese's basic recipe but made it a brown ale. For my taste I used darker malts and cut the vanilla/ lactose because I didn't want too much vanilla or non-malt sweetness. I stuck with the German ale yeast and was glad I did. I like hops so I bumped the flavoring up to an ounce. It is still early but I regret doing that now. Maybe in a couple weeks it will balance out better.
I will make this again for sure.
Thanks cheese .

Mike

 

[the_merlin]

Should I keg the Caramel Cream Ale to the beer gas/stout faucet or to the CO2/regular faucet?