Good "lawn mower ale" recipe?

[wittmania]

I'm looking to brew something that's light and easy to drink when it's hot outside, the kind of beer you'd want to drink nearly ice cold after you get done pushing a lawn mower around in 90* weather.

Any all grain recipe suggestions? I can only brew 5 gal. batches with my existing setup.

As a secondary concern, I'd like something that will be ready fairly quickly since my supply of beer on hand has recently been significantly diminished by thirsty friends and family. I keg and force carb, so I'm mostly talking about something that wouldn't necessarily require a long primary and/or a secondary.

 

[Yooper]

Oooooh, I know I know!!!! I have three that I would recommend. Two are mine, under the "recipes" under my avatar.

First, the "corn cream ale" is a winner. I should change the name, because it doesn't taste like corn (which sounds gross) but instead a light lawnmower beer.

Second, I LOVE the "Fizzy Yellow Beer" that I also have in the recipes. It's not as light as the cream ale, but definitely a lawnmower beer.

The third one that I have brewed that fits the beer is Biermuncher's "Cream of Three Crops". That one has rice and corn, and is light and a great lawnmower beer.

All three of those recipes are pretty darn cheap, too!

 

[AdamWiz]

I have made a version of New Glarus' "spotted cow" cream ale a couple times recently, because it is a quick-turnaround beer(grain to glass in 3 weeks - even less if you keg) that is enjoyed by both beer snobs and Bud/Miller/Coors drinkers. I think it's a little more interesting than most cream ales. I use the same basic recipe as Northern Brewer's "speckled heifer" kit, with the main change being that I use White Labs' cream ale blend (WLP080). If you want the recipe, let me know.


-Adam

" In this life, you gotta believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. "

 

[wittmania]

@Yooper: I have only brewed one of your recipes (DFH 60 Min. clone) but that went so well that I'm anxious to try another one.

@AdamWiz: I do want the recipe! Can you either link to it or post it?

 

[Hammy71]

Haven't tried Yooper's (though I'm pretty confident they are winners!!), but I can attest to Biermuncher's "Cream of Three Crops". Very easy drinking, especially cold.

 

[stubbornman]

Bier Munchers Centennial Blonde

you can drink it on the mower
you can drink it camping after that
you can drink it for breakfast the next day

its a multi-purpose brew

 

[AdamWiz]

Here's the recipe:
"Dairyland Cream Ale"
- 7.5 lbs. 2-row
- 8 oz. cara-pils
- 4 oz. flaked barley
- 7 oz. flaked corn

- 1/2 oz. Cluster pellets(7.8%AA) for 45 min.
- 1/4 oz. Cluster pellets(7.8%AA) for 15 min.

-WLP080 Cream Ale Blend (or you can use a standard like WLP001)

-mash to hit 152 (60 min. sach rest)
-mashout to 170
-primary ferment at 66-69 F for about 10-14 days(no secondary needed, I have tried with and without a secondary and not much difference) then bottle or keg and carb to 2.5-3 volumes.

The OG comes out to about 1.043, FG 1.010, IBU about 23-24, SRM 3

 

[ChshreCat]

First, the "corn cream ale" is a winner. I should change the name, because it doesn't taste like corn (which sounds gross) but instead a light lawnmower beer.

Corn cream ale? I thought it was creamed corn ale! I was gonna brew it, but now what am I gonna do with all these cans of creamed corn?!?

 

[jtakacs]

there's an oyster stout thread here somewhere, i wouldn't put creamed corn in a beer past this group... lol.

 

[Yooper]

Corn cream ale? I thought it was creamed corn ale! I was gonna brew it, but now what am I gonna do with all these cans of creamed corn?!?

there's an oyster stout thread here somewhere, i wouldn't put creamed corn in a beer past this group... lol.

Aw, c'mon. I know you're just teasing. um, right?

You can mail me the cans of creamed corn- my grandson will enjoy it since he only has 6 teeth. When he gets a few taste buds, though, we'll be doing more exciting grains. Ok, like barley.

 

[Wakadaka]

been searching around for this myself today.

anybody have any recipes that are good partial mash or extract brews? I haven't been able to find a good partial mash recipe that has been tested for the Cream of Three Crops. I have a blonde fermenting now, but I want to get a cream ale as well.

 

[ChshreCat]

Aw, c'mon. I know you're just teasing. um, right?

You can mail me the cans of creamed corn- my grandson will enjoy it since he only has 6 teeth. When he gets a few taste buds, though, we'll be doing more exciting grains. Ok, like barley.

Yeah, I'm teasing. I always have use for creamed corn since I have a good corn chowder recipe.

 

[wittmania]

I thought the Fizzy Yellow Beer recipe sounded cool, but my LHBS guy said he thought it would be fairly malty with the maris otter and biscuit malts. I send him the Cream of Three Crops recipe and I'm waiting to hear what he thinks. He's been brewing for about 30 years, so I usually take his advice pretty seriously.

Yooper, would you agree with his opinion that the FYB would be a little more malty rather than crisp and clean?

 

[cootball]

This wheat recipe has been good to me
5 lbs. 2 Row
5 lbs. White Wheat
1 oz. Tettnang 60 min
1 oz. Tettnang 10 min
4 oz. Flaked Wheat
1/2 lbs. Rice Hulls
60 min. mash at 154
11.5 g WB-06
2 weeks in primary and a week of keg conditioning and it's ready to go.
VERY easy to produce and very effective at beating the heat.

 

[Yooper]

I thought the Fizzy Yellow Beer recipe sounded cool, but my LHBS guy said he thought it would be fairly malty with the maris otter and biscuit malts. I send him the Cream of Three Crops recipe and I'm waiting to hear what he thinks. He's been brewing for about 30 years, so I usually take his advice pretty seriously.

Yooper, would you agree with his opinion that the FYB would be a little more malty rather than crisp and clean?

My fizzy yellow beer doesn't have either maris otter or biscuit malts. The cream ale does, but it has corn in it to lighten the body significantly. So, no, I'd say I wouldn't agree.

The Fizzy Yellow Beer recipe is:

7 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 70.00 %
3 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) UK (1.0 SRM) Grain 30.00 %
0.50 oz Pearle [8.40 %] (60 min) Hops 14.1 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.20 %] (45 min) Hops 6.5 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.20 %] (0 min) Hops

 

[frogman]

Try the centennial blonde its a great warm weather beer, in fact its my new summer brew, I used WL 001 in mine for a cleaner flavor. You can also try a nice Wit, very tasty and refreshing on a hot day.


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

 

[wittmania]

My fizzy yellow beer doesn't have either maris otter or biscuit malts. The cream ale does, but it has corn in it to lighten the body significantly. So, no, I'd say I wouldn't agree.

D'oh. Yeah, I meant the corn cream ale.

 

[Kokopuff829]

What about a Kölsch? I think it's a nice light beer to cool off with.

 

[wittmania]

Here's the recipe:
"Dairyland Cream Ale"
- 7.5 lbs. 2-row
- 8 oz. cara-pils
- 4 oz. flaked barley
- 7 oz. flaked corn

- 1/2 oz. Cluster pellets(7.8%AA) for 45 min.
- 1/4 oz. Cluster pellets(7.8%AA) for 15 min.

-WLP080 Cream Ale Blend (or you can use a standard like WLP001)

-mash to hit 152 (60 min. sach rest)
-mashout to 170
-primary ferment at 66-69 F for about 10-14 days(no secondary needed, I have tried with and without a secondary and not much difference) then bottle or keg and carb to 2.5-3 volumes.

The OG comes out to about 1.043, FG 1.010, IBU about 23-24, SRM 3

Decided to go with AdamWiz's Dairyland Cream Ale. It sounded interesting and my LHBS was on board. Made a starter last night from some WLP001 that I harvested from a previous batch and should be brewing this in a couple of days. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

 

[AdamWiz]

Nice! I just went down and cracked the first bottle of my latest batch of this, even though it has only been bottled for 4 days( what can I say? I'm just an impatient kind of guy. I normally have "tested" at least 4-5 bottles by the time a beer is actually ready). Not fully carbed yet, but man is this sucker smooth. Some cream ales try so hard to be crisp that they have kind of an unpleasant "sharpness" to them - not this guy. Easy drinking. Makes me wish it were warmer in Michigan right now( I know you understand, Yooper). I normally am into higher gravity beers than this, but have brewed this recipe several times lately because I am trying to get the girlfriend to quit buying macro(she always claims to like all of my beers, yet I still find Bud Light in the fridge). And I have really been enjoying it, my first truly sessionable beer. This is also the first time I have ever brewed and tweaked the same recipe several times in a row, and I have really learned a lot from doing so. It is a lot easier to see the effects of subtle changes in ingredients or process when you do the same recipe again. Anyways, keep me posted on your progress and results. I am curious as to how this works out for someone else. I have actually never used WLP001 on this, even though it's the yeast that is called for in the origional recipe I started with. Maybe yours will be even better!

 

[cjb]

Right now I'm drinking a Citra Wheat that's pretty tasty - it definitely goes down smooth along with some yard work. And since it's a wheat beer, it can be ready quickly! Next time I'd probably just use something neutral like Magnum for bittering, and maybe try WY1010 instead of 1056.


Citra Wheat - American Wheat or Rye Beer
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.500 gal
Boil Size: 6.500 gal
Boil Time: 0.000 s
Efficiency: 70%%
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.4%%
Bitterness: 45.6 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 6 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Crystal 20L Grain 1.000 lb Yes No 75%% 20 L
Pale Malt(2-row) Grain 4.500 lb Yes No 78%% 2 L
Wheat Malt Grain 6.000 lb Yes No 86%% 2 L
Total grain: 11.500 lb

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Simcoe 11.0%% 0.501 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 18.0
Citra 14.0%% 0.751 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 20.8
Citra 14.0%% 0.751 oz Boil 5.000 min Pellet 6.8
Citra 14.0%% 0.501 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0

Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Amercan Ale/Chico Ale Dry 1.057 qt Primary

Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Temp Target Time
Saccharification Rest Infusion 4.025 gal 165.281 F 152.600 F 1.000 hr
Final Batch Sparge Infusion 3.970 gal 180.972 F 165.200 F 15.000 min

 

[Malticulous]

Beers like my Popcorn Cream are what I call lawn mower beers. I make lagers too but they tend to be a little higher in alcohol. My last cream ale is Pilsner and 33% white rice from a cereal mash with a FWH of Crystal for 16 IBUs. It came out great, but still a little too high in alcohol 1.050 OG to 1.008 FG. Very smooth with no offensive flavors I find in most high adjunct lagers. No sulfur at all. There is something special about a well crafted ale. Best of all if I follow the fermentation close I can have them bottled and ready to serve in about two weeks from brew day.

 

[AdamWiz]

Beers like my Popcorn Cream are what I call lawn mower beers.

I have heard of using popcorn instead of flaked, how does that come out? Do you just mix it in with your grains before you mash, or is there a different method to adding the popcorn? I have been curious to try this.

 

[Malticulous]

I just hot air pop it and mash it. There is a link in the recipes pull down under my avatar.

 

[wittmania]

@AdamWiz, I had a question for you about the boil time. I just realized that the bittering hops boil for just 45 minutes, not 60. Do you still boil the wort for a full hour, with the first hop addition at 45 minutes or do you shorten the boil so it's only boiling for 45 total?

Getting ready to start my brew day in about an hour so hopefully you'll see this soon! Thanks!

 

[AdamWiz]

hope I got to you in time - I do boil for a full hour. The only reason I had to cut the bittering hops down to 45 minuites was because I was using higher alpha hops than the origional recipe called for and I decided to just cut down their boil time rather than using less. Happy Brewing, keep me posted.

-Adam

 

[wittmania]

Just heating my strike water now. Thanks for your quick reply! I'll definitely let you know how this one turns out.

 

[AdamWiz]

SUCCESS!!! I got home from work last night to find my girlfriend drinking one of these instead of her usual Bud light! And it wasn't just the one - I also found 3 other empty bottles in the kitchen. I now have a standing order from her to keep some of this on hand at all times. Now I know this recipe is a success - she'll normally try one of my beers when I ask her to, but this is the first time I have ever had her drink mine on her own:rockin: I just got done registering online to enter this in an upcoming competition put on by Arbor Brewing Co. I am curious to see how I do since this will be my first time entering a competition. I have high hopes for finishing well in the light hybrid category, but I doubt many cream ales take best of show awards since it is such a basic style.

 

[janivar123]

i had a sudden change from 65 to 79% effishensy(4,5-4,75 is store strength here)
Is munic malt a god idea for making a low ABV beer?

 

[wittmania]

@AdamWiz: I know you said you didn't notice a difference on the cream ale when you used a secondary. Have you ever tried cool crashing it? I seem to remember from the Spotted Cow web page that they say the yeast in it adds to the flavor.

This is my first cream ale so I don't know much about the style. Thanks again for all of your help. Looking to either cool crash this or rack to a keg later today.