Lawnmower Cream Ale

[Silver_Is_Money]

A simple every day beer for the heat of the summer. Any more simple and it might be a SMaSH. Critique is welcome.

RO water with 3 grams of CaCl2-2H2O added to mash, and ditto to sparge.
0.6 ml of 88% lactic acid added to sparge water

7 gallon boil
5.6 gallons to the fermenter

10 Lbs. Avangard Pilsner Malt
4 Oz. Acidulated Malt

1/3 Oz. Magnum, 12.4 AA, 60 min. boil
1/3 Oz. Sterling, 8.4 AA, 15 min. boil

Nottingham dry yeast, ferment at 62-64 degrees F.

Should Cream Ale be lagered?

 

[cubalz]

Subscribed. I am always looking for a new CA recipe. I can tell you that Cream Ales should not be lagered but I have really good results leaving my cream ales on the cake longer after fermentation is complete to clean up the flavor.

 

[Weezy]

It's not really a cream ale recipe but I'm sure it'll be very tasty!

Cream ale should have corn, at least. Pilsner malt might be a bit nutty for the style as well. Just plain old 2-row pale would be better. Otherwise, hops look good and the concept is dry not sweet which is good. Most of the way there!

There's a well received Cream of Three Crops recipe on this site.

 

[brewcat]

I would add some flaked corn.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

If I add flaked corn, do I need to remove some Pilsner malt? Would flaked corn require rice hulls added to the mash, and if so, at what quantity. Would pale or 2-row make a better base malt than Pilsner?

 

[brewcat]

Yeah if you add #1 of flaked corn, remove 1# of the pilsner malt to get close to the same ABV. Rice hulls probably aren't necessary. I think pilsner malt would be fine. If you're unsure do a 50/50 mix with 2-row.

 

[Weezy]

If you haven't bought the malt yet, get 2-row pale. If you have, the pilsner will make a fine beer.

 

[BrewSomeMore]

I did a cream ale 2 years back. I used 6-row, flaked corn and kolsch yeast. Results where quite tasty.

 

[Sparge]

Here's another curve, why not 6-row? It goes well with the corn. I use it in my Three Crop Cream Ale instead of 2-row.

 

[BrewSomeMore]

Here's another curve, why not 6-row? It goes well with the corn. I use it in my Three Crop Cream Ale instead of 2-row.

Yes, 6-row definitely meshes well with corn. It has more of a grainy taste compared to 2-row.

 

[Yooper]

It's more of a blonde ale than a cream ale, with no adjuncts in it. It looks fine, as a light refreshing blonde ale, but you can use some corn (oh, 20% or so) or flaked rice (Minute rice works great, also) or even both to make it a cream ale.

I would comment on the water, but every so slightly. You don't need lactic acid in the sparge, if you're using RO water and that may be a little more acid malt than you need to hit 5.3-5.4 for a mash pH. If you add all of the calcium chloride to the mash, you may not need any acid malt. No need to split it up into sparge additions, if you hit your mash pH with the CaCl2 in the mash.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Thanks Yooper! My RO water starts out as well water that has a whopping 436 ppm of alkalinity. After it passes through the homes under the sink RO unit it still contains about 26 ppm of alkalinity.

 

[z-bob]

A simple every day beer for the heat of the summer. Any more simple and it might be a SMaSH. Critique is welcome.

RO water with 3 grams of CaCl2-2H2O added to mash, and ditto to sparge.
0.6 ml of 88% lactic acid added to sparge water

7 gallon boil
5.6 gallons to the fermenter

10 Lbs. Avangard Pilsner Malt
4 Oz. Acidulated Malt

1/3 Oz. Magnum, 12.4 AA, 60 min. boil
1/3 Oz. Sterling, 8.4 AA, 15 min. boil
Nottingham dry yeast, ferment at 62-64 degrees F.

Should Cream Ale be lagered?

I don't know if it's a proper cream ale or not, but it looks wonderful. I wouldn't change anything until you've brewed it once.

You're acidifying the sparge water? I usually put all my salts and acid in the mash, and I sparge with straight RO water.

I'm gonna brew something similar soon (hopefully tomorrow) using K-97 yeast.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I don't know if it's a proper cream ale or not, but it looks wonderful. I wouldn't change anything until you've brewed it once.

You're acidifying the sparge water? I usually put all my salts and acid in the mash, and I sparge with straight RO water.

I'm gonna brew something similar soon (hopefully tomorrow) using K-97 yeast.

When I refer to RO, it means my own RO water via an under the sink unit. My source water (well water) is so astronomically high in alkalinity that my homes RO water still has quite a bit of it present. That's why I mildly acidify my sparge water. It is also why I included 4 ounces of acid malt in my recipe for what I know know to be a blonde ale and not a cream ale.