Caramel cream ale?

Yakima 728
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So, I brewed this up last weekend as a PM. I added my lactose to the boil (4 oz). This only bubbled the airlock for about 2 days ( I realize that is no sign of anything but, just sayin) after 5 days, I have very little Kraussen. It almost looks like it's in secondary. I added 2 oz of vanilla tonight and am thinking I may let it sit in primary for another week or so.
I am a little worried about alcohol content, although when I cracked it tonight it smelled like alcohol. My thought is a little vanilla on the trub, a little in secondary (another 2 oz) and maybe add a little lactose and vanilla to the keg about a week after secondary rack. Whadda ya think??
Ready to drink a few days after the kegging??
 
One more thing, I added all of the DME in the boil. Should I add more at keg time or just force carb it? Thanks
 
I dropped mine into fermentation on Jan 8 using a yeast starter, took about 12 hours to really get going. 3 inches of krausen on the second day. Can't wait to get this bad boy bottled and ready to drink.

My wife, who says everything tastes like Bud :(, said that sounds good, looking forward to trying it

So stoked

Toy4Rick
 
I brewed this a little over a month ago and been drinking on it for a week. It's smooth and creamy. A lot more caramel flavor than I expected.

10# Marris otter
1.5# C-60
1# C-80
1# Honey malt
1 oz EKG at 15
1 oz EKG at 10
1.2 oz EKG at 5
1.5 oz Willamette at 0
14 grams Sterling English Ale yeast

6.3 ABV
 
This is 2 weeks in the fermenter and so far, it tastes very good

What gravity readings should we be expecting?

My OG was 1.052
SG after 14 days is 1.016

Toy4Rick
 
So 1.016 was it after another week. Bottled it and 9 days later, we cracked the first one or two or 6 :mug:

It tastes very good even this young, hope I can wait for it to condition before I finish it all off

Toy4Rick
 
Has anyone noticed that this beer is highly unstable? The vanilla flavor disappears over time, I'm planning on taking a fresh and aged sample in my GC/MS at work to analyze what off flavorings are present and do some stoichiometry to see what happens to the Vanillin and other compounds found in beer.
 
Woodbury419 said:
Has anyone noticed that this beer is highly unstable? The vanilla flavor disappears over time, I'm planning on taking a fresh and aged sample in my GC/MS at work to analyze what off flavorings are present and do some stoichiometry to see what happens to the Vanillin and other compounds found in beer.
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Quite scientific of you. Please post your results. I will slightly disagree though. Over a three week period in the keg I did not detect much change.
 
Stevo2569 said:
Quite scientific of you. Please post your results. I will slightly disagree though. Over a three week period in the keg I did not detect much change.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I most certainly will. Although initially it doesn't change much, but over a 1-3 month time period the beer changes dramatically. I want to know if the Vanillin is a martyr or if it bonds with another off flavoring. What I probably should do is brew a version with an without the vanilla and take headspace samples of each initally and aged 3 months to compare what off flavorings are no longer present.
 
I've finally brewed a caramel cream ale. When I joined HBT, this was the talk of the forum at the time. I bookmarked it but never got around to doing it. Made a small 2 1/2 gallon batch. Wow, that is just TOO sweet for me. I even cut back on the lactose/vanilla based on other experiences in this thread, but I can barely stomach it. Beautiful beer, though. Nice creamy head!

I am glad I tried it, though. The joys of homebrewing -- we get to try so many different things and learn what we like to drink. Figured out sweet beers are not for me. Thanks for the experience!
 
Woodbury419 said:
Thanks, I most certainly will. Although initially it doesn't change much, but over a 1-3 month time period the beer changes dramatically. I want to know if the Vanillin is a martyr or if it bonds with another off flavoring. What I probably should do is brew a version with an without the vanilla and take headspace samples of each initally and aged 3 months to compare what off flavorings are no longer present.
Click to expand...

I brewed this back in aug/sept last year and I agree that it does change a bit over a few months. Mine was in primary for 3 weeks, 3 weeks in bottle then started drinking. The vanilla does seem to mellow considerably over time but overall it was a good beer for the 2 months or so it took me to finish it off. My personal experience was it hit a nice balance around 6 weeks of bottle conditioning.
 
Mine was in the fermenter for 3 weeks, started tasting a few at 10 days in the bottle, it was OK. After 2 more weeks, it's getting better by the day. The vanilla has all but disappeared at 4 weeks where it was slightly present at 10 days. Definitely sweet but ooohhhh sooooo tasty

Toy4Rick
 
I think I'm going to brew this one next. What is the thought of using WLB001 California ale yeast? I washed some and like what it has done and not buying it for a few brews now? Ideal fermentation is 68-72 degrees, but I ferment between 62-64 degrees without any worries.
 
Brewed this again last night. Put 1 madagascar vanilla bean in boil at end of boil, and will add 2 oz pure vanilla extract with lactose at kegging.

Thoughts?
 
I brewed this 3 weeks ago and force carbonated it the past 2 days...all I can say is wow. I only used 2oz of extract when kegging but I truley enjoy this beer. The wife loves it too. Thanks again for this recipe.
 
Brewed this beer on Sunday afternoon 3/4/12 and after 48 not a single bubble coming through the airlock. I've got no leaking on the lid, I checked. The only change that I made to V1 of this recipe was I used White Labs German Ale yeast. I left it sitting out for the recommended 3hrs before pitching it, and pitched at 70 degrees. It's sitting at 66 degrees right now.

Could I have yeast trouble? I know I've read that it can take up to 72hrs for fermentation to show signs, but it just worrys me a little, when others are having to use blowoff tubes and such. Should I just let it go as is or do I need to put the yeast that it called for (Wyeast) in there? Does adding another yeast strain, that's different, cause problems? Can I add yeast 48hrs after brewing?
Sorry for all of the questions but I'm really wanting this one to turn out good, but I've never gone this long without some noticeable fermentation going down.
 
Thanks for the reply. I don't know if it was a bad airlock fitting, or just time, but I quickly installed a new one last night and it was bubbling away withing a minute.
Excited about this one!
 
I'm new to homebrewing, and this was my third attempt at brewing, the first two being an Oatmeal Stout kit and the second a Honey Red ale. Given that I'm still working the kinks out of my process, those two beers were drinkable, but nothing to write home about.

So for my third attempt I collected a few ideas, this being one of them, and asked the wife which she'd like. She suggested that I brew this. So - off the the LHBS to obtain the ingredients.

I followed the original recipe, posted several years ago, to a tee, the only exception being that I didn't strain while going in to the fermenter. So, I expected a small amount of off flavors. I also didn't move this in to a secondary as I didn't think it required it. I added the double dose of lactose, DME, and vanilla extract at priming/bottling.


Original Recipe Followed:

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

It fermented for about a month, and it has been bottle conditioned for almost two weeks now. I cracked a bottle after only 5 or 6 days and it was flat. Fair enough - that was too early and I was eager. Cracked a bottle last night. Great color, solid carbonation. . .

. . .the taste was pure vanilla extract.

Now, I readily admit that I haven't read all 90 pages of comments here, but from what I've gleaned it seems that the vanilla flavor might mellow over the course of a few months in the bottle.

I was considering dumping this beer and chalking it up to an early experiment gone wrong. But after reading quite a few of the pages here, I'm not so sure if I should dump it and move on or keep it around to condition for a few more weeks.

Has anybody else brewed this and had the same issue?
 
I usually use only 2oz at priming. Perfect for my taste buds. My first batch had 4oz and was strong at first. It did mellow with age. Had a bottle that was over a year old and had a very lite flavor of vanilla. Don't toss it. Put it away.
 
Great brew! I am really enjoying having this caramel cream ale on tap. It followed a few disappointments with me being a new brewer so it gave me much more hope. All my friends and family like it as well. Its a perfect middle of the road beer in my opinion, it tastes like real beer but its also sweet and has a more non beer person taste. I did one of the earlier recipes with a total of 4oz vanilla I think. I would keep it at that for the next one as well. I also put 2 oz of bourbon in it. Great job Cheese
 
Okay, I'm giving this one a shot. I was looking for a good recipe for the nice (or "unreasonably warm", depending on your opinion) weather I seem to be getting this spring/summer and this looks quite good.

Should I bother adding vanilla pre-fermentation, or should I just add it all when I rack to the keg?
 
There is a AG posted in here somewhere I just transferred mine to secondary today, it seemed good I'm curious how it will be once it clears up and the rest of the lactose and vanilla is added
 
cdelap said:
There is a AG posted in here somewhere I just transferred mine to secondary today, it seemed good I'm curious how it will be once it clears up and the rest of the lactose and vanilla is added
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Keep us updated. Did you use the AG from Timekiller or Hopfan?
 
Going to do a 2.5 gallon batch tomorrow! I was too much of a tightwad to buy the liquid yeast, however, I was thinking of using Nottingham. Thoughts? Will using dry yeast change the flavor profile of this ale much?
 
knuckledragger said:
Going to do a 2.5 gallon batch tomorrow! I was too much of a tightwad to buy the liquid yeast, however, I was thinking of using Nottingham. Thoughts? Will using dry yeast change the flavor profile of this ale much?
Click to expand...

Can you post your recipe for 2.5
 
Chuckabrewski said:
Can you post your recipe for 2.5
Click to expand...

Well I'm attempting to do a BIAB experiment. I just scaled down the AG recipe using Beersmith. Basically it's 3# of 2-row, 2# wheat malt, and 8oz of crystal 60. Then cut the hops quantities in half as well. If you're using DME/LME just cut those quantities in half (I assume).
 
knuckledragger said:
Well I'm attempting to do a BIAB experiment. I just scaled down the AG recipe using Beersmith. Basically it's 3# of 2-row, 2# wheat malt, and 8oz of crystal 60. Then cut the hops quantities in half as well. If you're using DME/LME just cut those quantities in half (I assume).
Click to expand...

BIAB would be awesome i might try that soon. Did you cut out or add anything else from the original recipe?
 
Add me to the list... brewed a 6 gallon batch yesterday trying to stick the recipe as best as possible. LHBS didn't have the German Ale Yeast (claiming it may be seasonal), so I used Wyeast Kolsch. I thought about doing a starter, but decided to just activate the yeast pack and go with it (due to this being a low gravity beer and from reading I only need 50-100 billion cells). Also, they didn't have Wheat DME so I used LME. I used a vanilla bean I had soaking in vodka for 6 or 7 weeks (about an ounce or so). Depending on the taste at bottling, I may add a bit more. Also, used 1oz Tettnang at flame out (a bit of a mistake, but I do like hop aroma).

Measured Original gravity and got 1.044... right on target from what BeerSmith said. I started with about 4 3/4 gallons, but after the steeping and 60 minute boil I had to top up with probably 3+ gallons. Anyhow, within 12 hours it was fermenting away and I'm seeing pretty good activity in the air lock.

I plan on doing the 1-2-3 method, however, I don't normally rack to a secondary... so might just keep it in the primary for 2 weeks as usual then keg it.

Hopefully it goes well!

Cheers!
 
FourJ said:
Add me to the list... brewed a 6 gallon batch yesterday trying to stick the recipe as best as possible. LHBS didn't have the German Ale Yeast (claiming it may be seasonal), so I used Wyeast Kolsch. I thought about doing a starter, but decided to just activate the yeast pack and go with it (due to this being a low gravity beer and from reading I only need 50-100 billion cells). Also, they didn't have Wheat DME so I used LME. I used a vanilla bean I had soaking in vodka for 6 or 7 weeks (about an ounce or so). Depending on the taste at bottling, I may add a bit more. Also, used 1oz Tettnang at flame out (a bit of a mistake, but I do like hop aroma).

Measured Original gravity and got 1.044... right on target from what BeerSmith said. I started with about 4 3/4 gallons, but after the steeping and 60 minute boil I had to top up with probably 3+ gallons. Anyhow, within 12 hours it was fermenting away and I'm seeing pretty good activity in the air lock.

I plan on doing the 1-2-3 method, however, I don't normally rack to a secondary... so might just keep it in the primary for 2 weeks as usual then keg it.

Hopefully it goes well!

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Good post keep us updated with how it turns out.
 
Chuckabrewski said:
Good post keep us updated with how it turns out.
Click to expand...

Well, took a hydrometer measurement today... was at 1.018 and still bubbling (but spaced many seconds apart).

Had a taste of the sample, was actually better than I would have thought. I'm excited about how this will turn out, but undecided on how much Lactose and Vanilla I'll add when I keg it. Also excited because my other keg (dry hopped IPA) ran out tonight... ;-)

Might bottle some of it and add some Maker's Mark bourbon to those ones... any other ways to experiment when bottling? Thought about priming with different sugars... ie. sugared molasses, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc. Also thought about adding stevia for sweetness to see what that does.

A few other mistakes I know I made (but hopefully okay)...

Misread the thermometer and steeped the Crystal 60 for 35 minutes at 130-140 instead of 160 or so (steeped in full ~5 gallons water). From what I read, it's no big deal. Also, the grain was crushed about 2 1/2 weeks prior so I hope it's still good (most say to use within 2 weeks). Also, after steeping the grains I first added the hops then extract right away. I think I read to add the extract, bring back to a boil then add the hops. Took 10 minutes to bring back to a boil. Anyhow, I added just half the extract and the rest about 15 minutes before flameout (not sure why, but something I read somewhere). I had used Light DME (added all at 60 minutes) and an equivalent amount of Wheat LME (3.6lbs I think)... half at 60 minutes then rest at 15 minutes.

I'm using inline water charcoal filter from Aquasana. Hopefully not filtering out anything important!

Cheers,

Jeremy

SG: 1.044

Day 4: 1.018
Day 6: 1.014
Day 7: 1.013
Day 10: 1.012
 
Chuckabrewski said:
BIAB would be awesome i might try that soon. Did you cut out or add anything else from the original recipe?
Click to expand...

Um I also halved the Lactose and I'll do a little less than half the vanilla in the original recipe. I don't want it coming out too sweet. Im hoping for hint of vanilla. I'll be taking a hydro this weekend and report back
 
So I kegged this sucker today with 3oz. Vanilla extract and about a cup of lactose. Also bottled some 1 litre bottles with bourbon and did one with Sailor Jerry's spiced rum to see how that would turn out (Rum with strong vanilla flavour). Actually added 1.5oz per 1 litre... maybe a bit much, but we'll see!

About a week ago, I actually bottled a few early to get a sense of the flavour. I bottled one as-is, then one with extra lactose and the last with extra vanilla.

After a taste test, I decided to add the lactose and vanilla during kegging. Tastes great albeit a bit green (even at just 1 week in the primary and 6 days carbonating)!!

Cheers,

Jeremy
 

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