Cream ale

[CATFISHER74]

I'm ready to brew and it's time to by a extract kit.
I was going to do a cream ale because i think the wife will drink it now she will only drink miller lite.
So what are your opinions on the best one to get i was going to get brewers best, but i have no idea of quality since this is my first time.

 

[Coastarine]

I got started using brewers best kits, and I liked them while I used them. I can't remember what kind of yeast they came with though, so you might want to get a packet of US-05 or Nottingham in case the kit comes with munton's. Even if the kit comes with something good, it is nice to have some reliable dry yeast on standby if a vial of liquid yeast should turn out to be dead someday.

 

[chumprock]

Do a late extract add for whatever kit you buy or you'll get a darker beer than your wife probably wants.
My last cream ale came out more like a pale because the extract caramelized during the boil.

 

[Mogref]

My first batch was the Brewers Best "American Cream Ale" kit. It was a simple one to brew, just a bag of dry light malt extract and a can of liquid malt extract and the two kinds of hops. I've heard about saving out some of the extract and adding it later on in the boil like the above poster mentioned that it will make your beer lighter in color but I didn't do that and my Cream Ale came out a more amber color as well. Regardless I'm really happy with the results, it's a smooth refreshing beer to drink.

 

[CATFISHER74]

Thanks i will have to try that.

 

[oinyo]

Add in a nice helping of crystal hops for a nice thick head on your cream ale.. mmmm

What I do is crush up the crystal hops and boil them in water for 40 min ( not your wort boil ). Let it cool in a clean 2L bottle ( after sitting for 20 min to cool a little ) Then add this into your wort when you are ready for your primary. Your place should smell like oatmeal after this boila nd the water should be a thick brown.

The diff is instead of a reg head that goes away after 20 seconds you end up with a nice thick head that lingers around like a guiness head.

very impressive and tasty for a cream ale.

 

[Zenman]

Yes i just brewed up the Brewer's best Creme Ale as well. Very simple 1 Part LME, 1 Part DME Bittering and Finishing hops. Did 2 gal partial boil & it came out amber in color but tastes great

 

[Coastarine]

Add in a nice helping of crystal hops for a nice thick head on your cream ale.. mmmm

What I do is crush up the crystal hops and boil them in water for 40 min ( not your wort boil ). Let it cool in a clean 2L bottle ( after sitting for 20 min to cool a little ) Then add this into your wort when you are ready for your primary. Your place should smell like oatmeal after this boila nd the water should be a thick brown.

The diff is instead of a reg head that goes away after 20 seconds you end up with a nice thick head that lingers around like a guiness head.

very impressive and tasty for a cream ale.

One of us is a little confused here...it sounds like you are talking about crystal MALT, and boiling it is definintely...nonstandard procedure.

 

[oinyo]

Sorry and yes I meant malt :/

I tried dry hopping it but I found it was not giving me the results I wanted..
So I instead mashed the crap out of the little seeds and boiled em in a dryhop sock until I got a nice thick fluid.

Oh man the results are great... But then again i am kind of a mad scientist when it comes to brewing You can look into my post past for all the nutty crap I do.

Most turn out great. some fail I would never post something that failed though as advice.

 

[Yooper]

Sorry and yes I meant malt :/

I tried dry hopping it but I found it was not giving me the results I wanted..
So I instead mashed the crap out of the little seeds and boiled em in a dryhop sock until I got a nice thick fluid.

Oh man the results are great... But then again i am kind of a mad scientist when it comes to brewing You can look into my post past for all the nutty crap I do.

Most turn out great. some fail I would never post something that failed though as advice.

Dry hopping with it is not a good idea, as you found! First, it's loaded with lactobacillus, that's why you keep grain out of your wort after the boil. Secondly, it should be steeped (or mashed) to get out the color and flavor.

Boiling is not the best use of malt, though. Next time, try steeping it at no higher than 160 degrees. The results will be great.

 

[CATFISHER74]

Wow my virgin kit just became real complicated.
And i guess i will stick with brewers best since this seems to be the only one anyone has done.
And thank you all for the info.

 

[Yooper]

Wow my virgin kit just became real complicated.
And i guess i will stick with brewers best since this seems to be the only one anyone has done.
And thank you all for the info.

sorry to complicate things for you! It's not complicated at all, and there is no reason to stick with Brewer's Best (although they are good kits) if you don't want to!

I highly recommend austinhomebrew.com 's kits- they are complete with very good instructions (and similiar in instructions and ingredients to the Brewer Best kits) but very fresh and made up when you order. Take a look at their website- they have literally hundreds of choices for you.

Also, I've ordered kits from northernbrewer.com and been just as pleased. I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I've personally tried.

If you know the style you want to try, or do a "clone" kit, those are great places to start.

We also have a good recipe database here. If you find something you want to try, we can help you with step by step directions if you need some assistance. I can vouch for many of them, since I've done a number of recipes myself.

 

[sparkyaber]

I just brewed a midwest liberty cream ale a few weeks back. Bottled last Saturday, maybe I should go try one..... It was a very easy kit, same stuff as listed above.

6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract, 8 oz. Carapils specialty grains, 2 oz. of hops, yeast, priming sugar, and a grain bag. I used the wyeast subtitute, american ale 1056.
I suggest you use some irish moss to help clear it. After a week in the bottle it looks just like an american lager.

 

[ruprplxd]

I have a cream ale in my primary. It was weird when I was making it because the malt stuff you add seemed almost like the malted milk stuff you put in malts.