Cream Ale Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale)

[LuckyBeagleBrewing]

Has anyone tried brewing this recipe using White Labs San Fransico Lager yeast and fermenting in the 55-60 F range? My father in law is wanting me to try to make a more flavorful BMC style beer and has liked this recipe in the past but recently asked if there is any way to make it crisper.

I have always used the WLP080 and it seems nice and crisp with that if you keep it on the low side during fermentation. Try to hold it at 65°. That along with 2.7 vols of carbonation should make it nice and crisp. If you are bottle conditioning, once you get the beer carbonated, cold condition this for a good long while. Let everything settle out before you serve.

 

[msa8967]

I have always used the WLP080 and it seems nice and crisp with that if you keep it on the low side during fermentation. Try to hold it at 65°. That along with 2.7 vols of carbonation should make it nice and crisp. If you are bottle conditioning, once you get the beer carbonated, cold condition this for a good long while. Let everything settle out before you serve.

I am planning on kegging this beer and cold conditioning it until opening day of the baseball season. I am going to brew 15 gallons and split into 3 batches using WL California I (WL001), WL American Ale (WLP060) and this WL San Francisco lager (WL2112) yeast.

 

[drksky]

Could try more carbonation. Sometimes that can be what BMC people are looking for. I drank american light lager once and it tastes a lot like club soda mixed with beer

This!

I was given a few Miller Lites in exchange for clearing a neighbor's driveway. I'd never had it before, so I figured I'd give it a fair shake.

Yellow carbonated water was my overall impression. Sure you can drink a ton of it, but what's the point?

 

[snowtires]

I don't get why there's a difference between american and Canadian lagers/light lagers but there is. Canadian lagers if the exact same brand has a bit higher alcohol and a bit more flavor. And to stay on topic I am going to try this soon.

 

[Darwin18]

Brewed a variation of this recipe on 11/27. 7 lbs 2-Row, 2 lbs of Flaked Maize, and 1 lb of Flaked Rice. 1 oz of Cascade for bittering and WLP0800 (Cream Ale Blend). Been in the keg for two weeks now and I'm just now getting into it. Delicious and a crowd pleaser. This keg won't last long at our New Year's Eve Party. This is a style that everyone should try.

 

[soccerdad]

I brewed CO3C a few weeks ago in a 3 gallon BIAB batch. I brew a fair amount of cream ale with so many friends and fam who like 'club soda mixed with beer'. The recipe called for williamette and crystal, but I had some perle and northern brewer to use up in slightly higher quantity than recipe. My son and I bottled yesterday and agreed that the beer wimps would love it. We will know in 2 weeks.

 

[msa8967]

Brewed a variation of this recipe on 11/27. 7 lbs 2-Row, 2 lbs of Flaked Maize, and 1 lb of Flaked Rice. 1 oz of Cascade for bittering and WLP0800 (Cream Ale Blend). Been in the keg for two weeks now and I'm just now getting into it. Delicious and a crowd pleaser. This keg won't last long at our New Year's Eve Party. This is a style that everyone should try.

Do you recall what temperature you fermented this at and for how long?

 

[Darwin18]

I pitched a 1.5 L starter and fermented at 67F for a week. It was a fast fermenter!

 

[Brewskii]

1.5L starter. -whoa that's a ton for a 1.040 OG brew. Don't see a problem with it but it's easily 3x what I would have pitched assuming fresh yeast vial or dry packet used.

Edit; 5-6 gal batch?... I should have asked. (Sorry)

 

[Darwin18]

1.5L starter. -whoa that's a ton for a 1.040 OG brew. Don't see a problem with it but it's easily 3x what I would have pitched assuming fresh yeast vial or dry packet used.

Edit; 5-6 gal batch?... I should have asked. (Sorry)

Yep 5-gallon batch. 1.5 L might seem like a lot but my experience is that it's best to pitch a good volume of healthy active yeast rather than just pitching a vial. I don't like to mess around when it comes to fermentation.

 

[Brewskii]

I agree with you there. Never not use a starter. Just not worth the risk. I usually rely on BS to calc starters for me but I'm almost always doing beers in the mid to upper 1.060's and I'm always right around 1 liter. (Lagers not withstanding)

 

[thisisbeer]

Something I was looking at. It looks like beersmith default is 750,000 cells x ml x degree plato. Have you changed that to 1,000,000 cells? That's what I understand it's supposed to be.

 

[Brewskii]

Had not heard that. I hAve never changed the stock value but I also have the latest version. I'll have to look into that. Where did the 750k vs. 1MM come from?

 

[thisisbeer]

Wyeast and White Labs recommend 1,000,000 yeast cells per ML per degree Plato. Also a lot of breweries follow the same theory from what I have heard to. I have only seen a couple recipes from regional breweries and they had 1,000,000 yeast cells on there to. I had to change it in the newest Beersmith from 750,000 yeasy cells to 1,000,000 yeast cells. So in a 14 Plato beer (1.057 SG) that difference would be about 60 billion yeast cells. Which is roughly a liter more in a starter on a 1 month old yeast package. You can find it on "Options" to see what your value is.

 

[Brewskii]

Wyeast and White Labs recommend 1,000,000 yeast cells per ML per degree Plato. Also a lot of breweries follow the same theory from what I have heard to. I have only seen a couple recipes from regional breweries and they had 1,000,000 yeast cells on there to. I had to change it in the newest Beersmith from 750,000 yeasy cells to 1,000,000 yeast cells. So in a 14 Plato beer (1.057 SG) that difference would be about 60 billion yeast cells. Which is roughly a liter more in a starter on a 1 month old yeast package. You can find it on "Options" to see what your value is.

Cool. Thanks for this info.

 

[Brewskii]

I'm really not trying to argue because I just now heard about this... But; Mr. Malty's web site says this;

"The general consensus on pitching rates is that you want to pitch around 1 million cells of viable yeast, for every milliliter of wort, for every degree plato... "

...just like you said. Then, he goes on to say this...

"...A little less for an ale, a little more for a lager. George Fix states about 1.5 million for a lager and 0.75 million for an ale in his book, An Analysis of Brewing Techniques. Other literature cites a slightly higher amount. I'm going with Fix's numbers and that is what the pitching calculator uses."

http://www.mrmalty.com/pitching.php

This would indicate that BS is using the same 750K cell/ml/deg Plato that Mr. Malty uses for ales. It appears to say 1MM cells in general at first but if you read further it indicated a difference when broken out to lagers and ales.

 

[thisisbeer]

You are right. It also states the same thing in the book Yeast. But I have found that million yeast cells that the wyeast and white Labs recommend to work out better. I always hit the final gravity I want and have quick strong fermentations. I used the 750,000 up until a couple months ago. I like the improvement that is made. It hasn't been dramatic by any means though. I use to have a problem occasionally of beer finishing 2 or 3 points high. That hasn't happened again. I wouldn't worry to much on a beer like this one. But a 1.060+ beer I would highly recommend going with 1,000,000 yeast cells. Im not an expert on the subject so dontake that with a grain of salt.

 

[MarcusKillion]

Seems to me that one packet of dry yeast 11.5 grams is going to make about 2.5 to 5 million cells per liter if you believe the cell count by the manufacturer.
I consistently get a FG of 1.011 with SG of around 1.053 to 1.060 using 1 packet yeast in usually 6 gallons . Notty or US-05 . My hydrometer does read off by about .001 so my FG might actually be 1.010 . But still too high . So I am inclined to think they are really over stating their cell counts .
I think I am going to go with 2 packs next time around . A bit pricey . Anyone see any problem in using 22 grams in a 6 g batch ? Would it change the flavor much ?

i might add in that no I do not get 1.060 in my cream of three crops

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I made a 5.5 gallon batch of this tonight, using 6 lbs 2 row, 2 lbs corn, 1/2 lb rice and 1/2 lb Carapils. Brew went well and I put it on Instagram. If you want to see it, follow me at Johnpcook1. Somehow, my boil off rate was really high, I think due to the Very Cold and dry air outside. I had to add 3/4 gallon of boiled water back in to get the gravity down. This beer is for my nieces 21st bday in February. Shes pretty excited about it!! The sample tastes impressive!!

 

[TTURedBrewer]

At what temp do you ferment at?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Im gonna ferment at 64 for 7 days and 68 for 7. Starting low cause its Nottinham.

 

[skitter]

I am going to be trying a 2.5g Batch, BIAB, 3g total water (I get about .5g boil-off). I am one of those brewing on a budget guys...

Wanting to limit the hops to just one type. Hallertau seems to be the basis to be used, my LHBS Cascade is 7.1% Alpha and I would have to use a ridiculously small amount just to reach target IBU of 14.

I will be using the US-05 split between this and a MO/Fuggle SMaSH

 

[BeerLoverHere]

My LHBS loves my cream ale and they say my fermentation temps of low 60s is the main factor for it's good, crisp, clean flavor. FYI

 

[skitter]

I can maintain 62 with swamp cooler. Good to know!

Side note: this only uses. 5oz of Hallertau, would the remaining Hallertau work ok with Marris Otter? Could cut costs there too

Sent from my Sony Tablet S using Home Brew mobile app

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

So Ive fermented this out and will be givig a case as a bday gift to my niece for her 21st bday. Her and her BMC drinking friends will be enjoying it. At 68 degrees, its pretty cloudy. If I were to cold crash it at about 40 deg for 2 days, would that clarify if significantly and solidify the yeast cake while still leaving enough yeast in suspension for a 2 week bottle conditioning? Thoughts??

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Sample taste:
CFG of 1.005
4.65 ABV
140 calories/12 oz
Light, refreshing, easy drinking, without any carbonation. Impressive!!

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Bottling day! This beer is so light, I cud taste the increased sweetness from the priming sugar! I cold crashed this for 2 days to solidify the yeast cake and minimize sedument in the bottles. Ended updrinking 5 pints while bottling

 

[mattlphoto]

I am fermenting my second 12 gallon batch of this beer. I was a huge fan of this recipe, as was my brew partner.
I used S-05 yeast for both carboys last go around. This time I am doing things very differently.
This current batch I am using Wyyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast.
All of my glass carboys were tied up by other beers so I was left with my two buckets. The lids were missing, so I am currently doing an "open air fermentation". The two buckets are covered with clean towels draped over the top. Once the krausen dies down, I will rack them to my two 5 gallon carboys. Has anyone else done the open fermentation?

 

[skitter]

I am fermenting my second 12 gallon batch of this beer. I was a huge fan of this recipe, as was my brew partner.
I used S-05 yeast for both carboys last go around. This time I am doing things very differently.
This current batch I am using Wyyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast.
All of my glass carboys were tied up by other beers so I was left with my two buckets. The lids were missing, so I am currently doing an "open air fermentation". The two buckets are covered with clean towels draped over the top. Once the krausen dies down, I will rack them to my two 5 gallon carboys. Has anyone else done the open fermentation?

"Open" being determined by how strict of a guidance?

I use 2x Mr Beer LBK's to do my brewing and those are open fermenters. I haven't had an issue as long as I don't disturb it while fermenting, no lifting the lid/towel, etc to degrade the CO2 barrier. Long term fermentation could be an issue, but I don't leave anything more than 3 weeks in those kegs for fear of something else taking over.

 

[mattlphoto]

"Open" being determined by how strict of a guidance?

I guess I've always, (in these past 4 years of brewing) never fermented anything without an airlock on it. I plan one letting this go to the 7-10 day mark then transfer to glass with an airlock because I'm too weary of messing up a batch, even if this beer runs ~$20/12gallons