Cream Ale Critique & Questions

[rodwha]

I've created a small (1.75 gal) test batch of cream ale for next months order. I've asked about ingredients that are/are not proper, and it seems crystal malts or other specialty grains are not used to give color. It also seems they lack anything for head retention (or these would be misplaced if added), though I figure flaked barley isn't too far off.

This is what I came up with so far:

2 lbs 2-row
0.75 lb flaked corn
0.25 lb flaked barley
0.25 oz Mt Hood @ 56 mins
0.125 oz Mt Hood @ 21/7 mins
US-05

1.048/1.010
5% ABV
20 IBU's
1 SRM

The color at 1 SRM is too low as it begins at 3. But having looked I see nowhere in which anything is used for color. I'm usually not too stiff on the parameters, but this one I'd like to make proper.

 

[stpug]

You have a solid recipe in my opinion. If you NEED color without character then try something like 0.3% midnight wheat (i.e. just a pinch), and add it just before your vorlauf. I personally opt for a little character from character malts (not crystal).

 

[stpug]

I should mention that you beer may have a slight haze from the flaked barley and US05 though.

 

[rodwha]

I've not tried a very basic recipe such as this. I'm afraid it would be a bit boring with only the hops for any sort of character, and those are also light. But I did want an authentic cream ale.

1) I want to see how it compares to BMC

2) I want to see if I'd prefer it as the backbone for my jalapeño ale

My original recipe (5.5 gals) was going to have a more even hop schedule. For this I robbed 1/2 an oz from a rye pale and did what I needed to make it work. I've been thinking I ought to consider upping it to a 2.25-2.5 gal (Mr Beer keg) recipe but I actually don't care as much for using them as much as a bucket.

 

[rodwha]

I didn't know flaked barley would leave me with a haze.

Are you sure US-05 will too? I don't often care, but I have used Whirlflock in a few beers. I have noticed that my clearer beers aren't crystal clear as I've seen with some who put something behind the glass to show how you can read through it. Mine are "clear" but not that clear.

 

[stpug]

To me, cream ales are a "no thinker" beer, which just means that there's not a whole lot to think about when drinking them. You don't have to dwell on the hops, or malts, or much else - just drink them. They're not too potent, they're not overly flavorful, they're not too full bodied - just a nice drinker. Basically a rehydrating kind of beer

With that said, they can definitely be a bit underwhelming if brewed according to BJCP style guidelines and probably very comparable to Miller Lite.

I've formulated my recipe to put me more in the ballpark of a Gennesee Cream Ale which has much more character than most BMC beers, but certainly not an attempt to clone GCA. I like a nice, light grainy malt character with some subtle noble hops in the background, brewed NOT to taste like a lager (i.e. typical subtle fruity ale esters from "clean" ale yeasts). I usually fine my cream ales so they get really bright because I've found it just helps with the experience (they usually drop pretty clear all by themselves due to the light grainbill, but I give a little extra nudge).

I would recommend brewing up the larger batch size because once you have these ready to drink, they tend to go down by the 3's . You are perfectly fine brewing a 2.5-3 gallon batch in a bucket; just keep the lid closed until racking day and don't give it much longer than about 14 days (21 max).

Edit: Flaked barley has a tendency to leave a haze, and US05 has done the same to me. If you fine with something then it shouldn't be much of an issue, but crystal clear cream ale is a delicacy

 

[rodwha]

Mind sharing what you make?

This would be one in which very clear (or as clear as my typical "clear" beers are) beer would be good as presentation adds to the experience when dealing with BMC people. Would Whirlflock not get me as clear as clear ought to be? I'd like fairly clear after my typical 7 days in the fridge, though I understand a month of layering is typical for the style which will help clear all by itself. But to start pretty clear means crystal clear in a month...

I wanted more hop character, which is why I wanted a more balanced hop schedule to begin with (1/3 for bittering/flavoring/aroma). To me a part of making something for the BMC crowd is giving them just a bit more than what they are used to, but not so much that it's overload for their delicate palates!

 

[rodwha]

Should I use carapils/carafoam in place of flaked barley?

 

[stpug]

Mind sharing what you make?

Took a while to get it all input in the recipe section but here it is:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/crystal-cream-ale-514615/

(BTW, my uncle is a dedicated MGD drinker and he loves this beer. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not )

 

[rodwha]

I upped it to 2.5 gals so that I could work with the hop schedule more (1/4 oz at 70/21/7 mins) and swapped the flaked barley for carapils. Still at 1 SRM though...

Another part of the small batch was that I'd be robbing 2 batches of their excess dry yeast (each had an extra 1.5g) but those being only 1/2g short won't be a big deal.

I'm still at a loss for how to bring up the color properly for the style. The only way I know of would be a long boil.

Is pilsner malt proper? I had used it in my first "cream ale" in which it was the backbone for my jalapeño ale. Using all 2-row seemed as though it would add a slight bit of character over what a pilsner malt might (from what little I understand).

 

[rodwha]

After I try a to style cream ale I think I'd like to try something such as what you did. I'm at a loss for the various types of Munich malts I see. It seems some are a base malt and some are similar to a crystal malt. What is it you used?

 

[rodwha]

Using flaked corn will require rice hulls?

 

[stpug]

This would be one in which very clear (or as clear as my typical "clear" beers are) beer would be good as presentation adds to the experience when dealing with BMC people. Would Whirlflock not get me as clear as clear ought to be? I'd like fairly clear after my typical 7 days in the fridge, though I understand a month of layering is typical for the style which will help clear all by itself. But to start pretty clear means crystal clear in a month...

I wanted more hop character, which is why I wanted a more balanced hop schedule to begin with (1/3 for bittering/flavoring/aroma). To me a part of making something for the BMC crowd is giving them just a bit more than what they are used to, but not so much that it's overload for their delicate palates!

For me and my system, whirlfloc gets me about 90% of the way there. Probably very similar to your experience where the beer is nicely clear with a very subtle haze, and I'm totally content with this clarity for most of my beers. But, when a beer drops perfectly bright, it's a sight to see and take a picture of . Cream ales, light pilsners, and the like are beers I like to be perfectly bright, but I'll take what I can get

I agree with the more hop character and is how I formulate my cream ale. You can get a little heavier on the late end too if you'd like, just make sure to keep your GU:BU ratio at around the same level so the bitterness doesn't overwhelm the malt/corn sweetness. You can pretty much swap up the Crystal hop character for any other noble (noble-esque) hop character you'd like and it'll be tasty. I've just found Crystal hops to my preferred choice. I've done santiam, strisselspalt, saaz, sterling, and probably a couple I'm not thinking of, but Crystal seems to be the one I keep coming back to. I played with dryhopping with a little Belma once too and it was pretty good, but that's the only time I've dry hopped this cream ale. If I was to do it again I would probably opt for a noble(-esque) dry hop variety, in a small amount.

 

[stpug]

Is pilsner malt proper? I had used it in my first "cream ale" in which it was the backbone for my jalapeño ale. Using all 2-row seemed as though it would add a slight bit of character over what a pilsner malt might (from what little I understand).

According to BJCP, 6row would be proper. Six-row is typically described as being slightly grainy, and pilsner is also described as being "grainy". The time I used 6row I found it's "grain" character to be barely present (closer to US2row than pilsner), whereas pilsner has a more grainy malt character. US 2row on the otherhand is probably the least characterful of all base grains, which is not to say it's bad, just not much malt character going on. I've done my cream ale with 2row a few times and have just found it to be "too light" on the grainy malt character. I've settled with pilsner because, in the quantities used, I find it provides enough grainy malt character without being so prominent that it makes you think of Pilsner beers.

To sum up my experience with US2row, US6row, and Pilsner malts: US 2row is the least malty and least characterful, US 6row is very nearly the same as US 2row but with a very subtle more "grain" character, and pilsner malt being the most "grainy" tasting with most maltiness. The 6row has the advantage of balancing out the protein levels of the corn, and providing more husk per pound of grain to aid in the lauter tun grainbed filter.

After I try a to style cream ale I think I'd like to try something such as what you did. I'm at a loss for the various types of Munich malts I see. It seems some are a base malt and some are similar to a crystal malt. What is it you used?

The only munich malt that I'm aware of that I would NOT consider a "true" base malt is Briess Munich 20L. All other munich malts, whether german, american, belgian, etc, are base malts with differing levels of kilning and by different maltsters. The Briess Munich 20L comes across more like a heavy munich character with some crystal malt notes (75% munich, 25% crystal 20-40?)

Using flaked corn will require rice hulls?

Like the note I added to my recipe, I've never found corn (flaked or grits) to be sticky like wheat and rye are, and so it's never required rice hulls for me. However, flaked corn doesn't have husks so it does not contribute to a great grainbed filter.

 

[Ash1616]

Ive used US-05 and Whirfloc with all my Cream Ales and they have all turned out crystal clear, I've never used flaked barley in mine though so I cant offer an opinion on that.

My 2cents is to brew as planned.

 

[rodwha]

The only non citrusy/piney hops I've used is Liberty, Willamette, and Mt Hood that I've used plenty of times and as a flavor/aroma hop. I've used a few others, but not so much to know what I think.

I've tried several others like Santiam, EKG, Cluster, Palisade, and Perle. Maybe I should try something else...