feedback on cream ale please

[fimpster]

I'm looking for some feedback on a cream ale recipe I threw together...

Cream Ale 5.5 US Gal 75% efficiency

8.0 lb 2-row pale ale
1.0 lb flaked maize
0.5 lb carapils
0.5 lb honey malt
1.5 oz Saaz (3.7%aa) 60 min
0.5 oz Saaz (3.7%aa) 5 min
WLP080 Cream Ale Yeast blend.

Mash at 150° for 60 min. Batch sparge. Ferment at 65°.

I am also thinking of doing a double batch (11gal) and adding a vanilla bean to one half in secondary.

Thoughts, ideas and feedback appreciated!

 

[Blueflint]

That sounds pretty good. I tend to use more corn in my Cream Ales, up to 25% and I usually make mostly 4 - 4.5% ABV for easy drinking summer ale. WLP080 does a great job but give it time to clean up after itself, do not remove it from the yeast too early. Saaz is excellent for the spiciness and this lends itself to the clean crispness of Cream Ales and is the only hop I use in mine.

Tony

 

[fimpster]

Thanks Tony. I already bought the ingredients and will be brewing it up tomorrow with a bunch of friends who like good beer but don't brew. I'll be doing the double batch and adding vanilla to half.

After buying the ingredients I wish I had dropped about 1.5 lbs. of 2-row and added another lb. of flaked corn, so I think your suggestions are spot on. Well, I'll be brewing it up as is and will post back in several weeks with a report.

Edit to add: Also looking forward to trying WLP080. The starter was going NUTS. Overflowed and I lost a few yeasties R.I.P.

 

[fimpster]

So I brewed this up on Nov 30. I did a double batch by just doubling all of the ingredients as listed. The first half got kegged about 10 days ago. It isn't my favorite, but it is pretty good. Most of my closest friends drink good beer, but I do know plenty of BMC drinkers too. The BMC drinkers think its my best batch ever. lol The rest of us think it is a good beer, but it would be a better warm weather beer.

For the second half I split open a Madagascar vanilla bean, chopped it into quarters and soaked the whole thing in a couple ounces of cheap vodka in a White Labs vial. I dumped the whole thing, bean bits and vodka, into the primary about 9 days ago. I have just finished kegging that second batch and from the sample I think it'll be even better than the non vanilla. I'm looking forward to this, but don't have a gas manifold yet and both of my regulators are being used. That problem with be taken care of by next week. For now I just put it under some gas and it's just cold crashing.

As I said in my previous post, I think I'd drop 1.5 lbs of 2-row and add another lb of flaked maize. I would probably up the honey malt from 0.5 lb to 0.66 or 0.75 lb. The Carapils seems to be perfect. Nice creamy head, good head retention and lacing, and a nice mouthfeel.

 

[Blueflint]

Sounds good. How did the hops come thru for you? Another batch in the near future? Got to have some for the spring grass mowing season!!!

Tony