Just bought the NB Cream Ale Kit, any suggestions to make it extra special?

[ENS]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/cream-ale-extract-kit-2.html
I was thinking of adding a lb of honey to up the alcohol contact and some additional flaked corn for more creaminess. I was also thinking of pitching ale and lager yeast. The kit does not come with much hops. I know cream ales have a lower hops flavor, but I wonder if I should add some hops to balance he honey and extra corn. If I do add more hops, what is a good mild hops to add? Also, which lager yeast should I use? This is the ale yeast I ordered: Wyeast 1056 American Ale. thanks for the help!

 

[PT Ray]

Flaked corn needs to be mashed so leave it out. The original recipe actually looks pretty solid. I might go so far as to add a half pound of honey but I just really like its simplicity.

 

[bigc3031]

This is a great beer in and of itself, I would leave it be and enjoy it. Not much hop flavor and you get a little hop aroma in the head which is nice. This is a GREAT session beer.

 

[MetallHed]

I would do one change from the original at a time.

The kit is obviously good orginally based on reviews and the fact that it IS a kit they offer.

Add honey the first time, write everything down. See if you like it, then move on to something else you'd like to change.

Basically if you add a bunch of stuff and it tastes like ass... how do you know what caused it? Basically you will have ruined a proven recipe and you won't know why. Maybe that's cool to you or you don't care or whatever but I like to control the variables as much as I can. Try something, see if it improves or declines, note it, and try to improve it as much as I can until it fails.

 

[Skaggz]

+1 for not adding a bunch of random stuff to a recipe you've never made before. Especially if you have to ask questions about it.

as for your yeast idea, White Labs WLP080 Cream Ale, is a blend of ale and lager yeast. Probably a fairly safe bet to give that a shot and set the 1056 to the side.

 

[ENS]

thanks! I will try just the honey this time. I asked them to take the ale yeast off the order and I will go to the local homebrew store where they sell white lab yeasts and look for the cream ale yeast.

 

[Darwin18]

I just finished a keg of this NB kit. It turned out very nice and was popular with the non-micro brew crowd.

 

[Sean]

The thing about adding honey to a beer is that it takes a long time to mellow and become tasty. It takes a while to make mead. This recipe is probably tasty as is, and will be ready in 6 weeks or so. I think you should try it first and adjust on your second batch.