Cream Ale Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale)

[bikedave99]

I'm going to brew this in a few weeks. I've got some california common yeast slurry, so I'm going to try that. I'm also going to use nugget as the bittering hop. I can't imagine the bittering hop matters a whole lot in this beer as long as you get the IBU roughly right.

What water profile would work best for this? Really light, like for a pilsner or a helles? With Philly tap water, when I punch in the numbers, it says I need to use ~75% distilled water to get close to those numbers. (I know about mash & sparge pH & all that.)

I used the light lager profile in Brun' water which for me just meant a ton (relatively) of acid since there is no roast grain to boost pH. Also, i used the lowest AA hop I had, which I believe was a Styrian Bobek at like 6%.

Also, why not mash this at 148 instead of 152? Is there any reason you wouldn't want a maximally fermentable wort with this baby?

Do it! Per some of the brulosophy experiments, mash temp does make a difference in fermentability, but possibly not a huge difference in flavor/sweetness/mouthfeel!

 

[Kyle]

I just kegged this based on bonecitybrewco's recipe a few pages back after 2.5 weeks in the fermenter and it's good but the corn flavor stands out a little more than I like. Will this condition out and mellow a little bit? I got 2 kegs so I threw one in the keezer and left one out to warm condition.

 

[bonecitybrewco]

I just kegged this based on bonecitybrewco's recipe a few pages back after 2.5 weeks in the fermenter and it's good but the corn flavor stands out a little more than I like. Will this condition out and mellow a little bit? I got 2 kegs so I threw one in the keezer and left one out to warm condition.

It definitely will mellow. Some people are much more sensitive to the corn flavour than others so be aware of that as well. But give it some time and it will smooth right out.

 

[ten80]

It definitely will mellow. Some people are much more sensitive to the corn flavour than others so be aware of that as well. But give it some time and it will smooth right out.

Agreed! Cold storage for a month or so will really mellow and smooth all of the flavors, but I really like this one fresh with the corn aroma. This is one beer that I really think the corn aroma works well with and doesn't end up tasting like diacetyl.

 

[Kyle]

You guys were right even after a few days in the keezer and carbonated things are starting to blend and the corn taste is there but much more balanced and tasting really good. Awesome beer to start the summer thanks for the recipe!

 

[dttk0009]

Gonna be out of country next week, but when I'm back I'm gonna give this a brew for a nice, crisp summer beer.

Anyone brew this with other hops? I have some Columbus lying around and I figure I'll just use those for bittering (since the recipe doesn't call for any aroma hops).

 

[catdaddy66]

Gonna be out of country next week, but when I'm back I'm gonna give this a brew for a nice, crisp summer beer.

Anyone brew this with other hops? I have some Columbus lying around and I figure I'll just use those for bittering (since the recipe doesn't call for any aroma hops).

I am going to be using some experimental hops that were gifted me by my lhbs owner. He said they were described as 'amarillo on steroids'!

High alpha acids (14-16%) will require some late addition times but it should be awesome.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

So I finally got around to being able to brew this tomorrow.

I dropped the corn and bumped up the rice a little, and I'm doing half and half 2-row and Pilsner. (This is a 5.5 gallon batch.)

2 lbs., 12 oz. 2-row
2 lbs., 11 oz. Pilsen
1 lb., 4 oz. flaked maize
1 lb., 0 oz. flaked rice

12g Willamette (4.8%) as a first wort hop
12g Crystal (4.8%) as a first wort hop
(12g is just a hair higher than 0.4 oz.)

Mash at 148 for 90 minutes; sparge in the mid-160s for 20 minutes. This is the first time I've paid any attention to the pH of my sparge water, so I'm hopeful about that.

My target water profile (all ppm):
Ca: 13
Mg: 6
Na: 7
SO4:37
Cl: 14
Target mash pH: 5.3

To get to these numbers, I'm using 85% distilled water and 15% Philly tap water. I'm adding .1 g/gallon gypsum and .15 g/gallon Epsom salt.

I'm trying to make this a pseudo-lager, so I'm using a lager-sized pitch rate of California Common yeast, grown from a slurry in a starter. The target pitch rate is 1.5 million cells per ml per degree Plato, or about 312 billion cells.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

I had really high efficiency for some reason. I ended up with 5.8 gallons of 1.044 gravity wort. In any case, I had a great hot and cold break, so I'm optimistic.

 

[BrunDog]

So I finally got around to being able to brew this tomorrow.

I dropped the corn and bumped up the rice a little, and I'm doing half and half 2-row and Pilsner. (This is a 5.5 gallon batch.)

2 lbs., 12 oz. 2-row
2 lbs., 11 oz. Pilsen
1 lb., 4 oz. flaked maize
1 lb., 0 oz. flaked rice

12g Willamette (4.8%) as a first wort hop
12g Crystal (4.8%) as a first wort hop
(12g is just a hair higher than 0.4 oz.)

Mash at 148 for 90 minutes; sparge in the mid-160s for 20 minutes. This is the first time I've paid any attention to the pH of my sparge water, so I'm hopeful about that.

My target water profile (all ppm):
Ca: 13
Mg: 6
Na: 7
SO4:37
Cl: 14
Target mash pH: 5.3

To get to these numbers, I'm using 85% distilled water and 15% Philly tap water. I'm adding .1 g/gallon gypsum and .15 g/gallon Epsom salt.

I'm trying to make this a pseudo-lager, so I'm using a lager-sized pitch rate of California Common yeast, grown from a slurry in a starter. The target pitch rate is 1.5 million cells per ml per degree Plato, or about 312 billion cells.

Curious to hear your results. My only concern is Ca ppm is a bit low for yeast health.

 

[dirkjk]

I am planning on trying my first no boil (aka raw ale) with this recipe. Anyone have experience doing a no boil and want to share their results?

 

[ten80]

I am planning on trying my first no boil (aka raw ale) with this recipe. Anyone have experience doing a no boil and want to share their results?

With or without a pasteurization step after the mash?

I often do no-boil (both with and without pasteurization of the wort) for my berlinerweiss beers with a similar grain bill and have produced very clean and pleasantly "grainy" beers with the method.

 

[dirkjk]

With or without a pasteurization step after the mash?

I often do no-boil (both with and without pasteurization of the wort) for my berlinerweiss beers with a similar grain bill and have produced very clean and pleasantly "grainy" beers with the method.

I brew in a bag. My plan is to mash at around 150 for 30 min with hops then pull a decoction, enough to raise the overall temp to around 170 which should help with the hops iso and pasteurization.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Curious to hear your results. My only concern is Ca ppm is a bit low for yeast health.

Huh. News to me. At this point, I'm just plugging and chugging water profiles in Bru'n water. I figured I'd learn what they all do eventually.

What's the potential problem? Under-attenuation? Low flocculation? Early cell death/autolysis? (I plan to harvest some yeast from this batch.)

Krausen is almost up. I guess I'll know about attenuation when I take a gravity sample.

 

[BrunDog]

Ca > 50 ppm is good for yeast health/propagation.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Ca > 50 ppm is good for yeast health/propagation.

Yeah, but what am I supposed to look for to see if the low calcium went poorly?

I took a gravity sample at day 6, since fermentation seemed to have died down. It's at 1.006, so 86% apparent attenuation. So if the yeast health problem was that they might not reproduce or attenuate well, that didn't happen.

I actually think it's still fermenting some. I raised it to d-rest temperatures, but it's only been there for a day or so. It's very corny smelling and tasting right now. (Think: tortilla chips.) Other than that, no detectable off-flavors. But it's very cloudy, and you can tell that that's because of some particulate matter floating around. I'm guessing it's either the yeast or trub being kicked up by the yeast.

 

[dttk0009]

Just brewed this today.

Doubled the amount of rice and used flaked. Also used Colombus to bitter and did a 60 minute boil instead of 90.

Ended up with 1.044, so overshot by just a bit.

Looking forward to it! Should be ready to drink in July, just in time for those hot days.

 

[catdaddy66]

Bottling my latest batch today. Used some experimental hops (#07270) that were said to be like Amarillo on steroids. If they turn out well my lhbs has 1# bags of them!

 

[BackyardSuds]

My first attempt at this recipeView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1498362430.622182.jpg

Turned out pretty good. I will brew it again.

 

[BrunDog]

The reality is the malt generally has everything the yeast need. In beers with lots of adjuncts like this one, sometimes elements like Ca need a bit more attention. But a good yeast pitch can make up for it. Remember that yeast health is more than just attenuation. Every beer will ferment if given enough time and the right temperature. But stressed yeast produce off flavors, so its best they are happy!

 

[MrBlackrock]

After 1 week in bottle. So good.

 

[dttk0009]

Finshed at 1.012 after 2 weeks with US-05, so a fair bit higher than I thought, but beer nonetheless. Looking forward to giving it a try once it's done carbing.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

So I posted a while back. I did 50/50 pilsner/2-row, california common yeast, and I bumped up the rice and lowered the corn. I've now tried my beer and... well, I think it's a little too corny. Hopefully that'll age out a little. Otherwise, it's fine beer. I'm very happy with the color and clarity.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

I've never attempted a cream ale so this will be interesting. Although I did get to try one at my last brewing competition. It was really good and I enjoyed it which is what really matters. I brew for myself and everybody else gets to reap the benefits if they like it as well.

This is a very long thread at 300 and some odd pages long so I figured I'd just post and ask. Is everybody still using the recipe The op posted on page one or has the recipe evolved and now everybody is using a different recipe?

 

[catdaddy66]

. Is everybody still using the recipe The op posted on page one or has the recipe evolved and now everybody is using a different recipe?

I am using basically the same recipe but have modified it a tad. I use equal amounts of rice and corn instead of the 1:2 ratio. I also have played around with the hops. The last batch was done with experimental hop #07270, described as "amarillo x 10"!

I haven't made a bad batch of this recipe yet.

 

[z-bob]

I've never attempted a cream ale so this will be interesting. Although I did get to try one at my last brewing competition. It was really good and I enjoyed it which is what really matters. I brew for myself and everybody else gets to reap the benefits if they like it as well.

This is a very long thread at 300 and some odd pages long so I figured I'd just post and ask. Is everybody still using the recipe The op posted on page one or has the recipe evolved and now everybody is using a different recipe?

I brewed a cream ale about 6 weeks ago. I didn't use this recipe, but this recipe is what probably inspired me to do a cream ale. Mine was pilsner malt, rice, Sorachi Ace hops, and German ale yeast. Very good summer beer; I'll brew it again, but might use some corn next time (getting back closer to the original recipe)

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Is everybody still using the recipe The op posted on page one or has the recipe evolved and now everybody is using a different recipe?

I don't think it's evolved much, reading more recent threads. My recipe was the same as Biermuncher's, except I substituted half of the 2-row with Pilsen malt and I reduced the corn and raised the flaked rice to be about even (same overall percentage of adjuncts). I also used California Common yeast, but I don't think it mattered.

Lowering the corn and raising the rice was a suggestion early in the thread, I think by BM himself. I did this because I was chasing a lighter SRM.

 

[dttk0009]

Here she is after a week in the keezer. Pretty refreshing!

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

I've now tried my beer and... well, I think it's a little too corny. Hopefully that'll age out a little.

Update: It definitely ages out. I think the corn taste was exacerbated by the likely sweetness of the residual priming sugar that had not yet been eaten, as well as the less-than-full carbonation bite. (It might also be less prominent if the beer were more heavily hopped, but that would be to take it beyond the recipe.) It was basically like flat Budweiser. Now that I'm getting into bottles that have been carbed for more than 14 days, it tastes like a quality AAL. I'll post pictures soon.

 

[NerdBrewer22]

Great i'll go into brewing this one after my attempt at an Imperial honey porter. This recipe looks really good ! maybe i'll hop it up a little bit