What makes a cream ale...a cream ale?

[TasunkaWitko]

I could read the "official" descriptions etc...and I will; but for now, I'd like to ask the members what defines a cream ale, in their view?

Appearance?
Aroma?
Ingredients?
Taste?

Thanks -

Ron

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

The creamy part. Without that. It's just ale.

Adjunct lager recipe. Ale yeast.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I guess that's the meat of my question, Gila - I've had a few cream ales now, and haven't really noticed where they are any "creamier" than any other style of beer - in taste, mouthfeel, or in the head - so I started wondering if there wasn't something I am missing in the experience.

The one's I've tried have been a broad range of "craft" and regional beers, including a homebrew. I've noticed some similarities in all of them, but no characteristic that I would call "creamy."

But, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, so I figured I would ask.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I guess that's the meat of my question, Gila - I've had a few cream ales now, and haven't really noticed where they are any "creamier" than any other style of beer - in taste, mouthfeel, or in the head - so I started wondering if there wasn't something I am missing in the experience.

The one's I've tried have been a broad range of "craft" and regional beers, including a homebrew. I've noticed some similarities in all of them, but no characteristic that I would call "creamy."

But, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, so I figured I would ask.

The answer you sought was hidden in quotation.

Adjunct lager recipe. Ale yeast. = Cream Ale.

 

[italarican]

Official descriptions aside, when I think cream ale I think:

Pale to mildly bright yellow color
Usually clear
Light, crisp body
Sweetness from flaked corn
No toasty notes
Base of 2-row or pilsner
Mild sweet flavor overall
Very mild use of noble hops
Could easily drink several but not light enough to count as "sessionable"

 

[FVillatoro]

Basically think of the characteristics of modelo/corona/coors-style beers, but brewed with ale yeast = Cream Ale.

 

[jwalk4]

Apparently one of the NHC gold medal winning cream ale recipes a few years back was a 2-row and Willamette SMASH.

So brew a light coloured ale and call it a cream ale if you want.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

And, use cream ale yeast.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

When I worked at a craft brewery I asked this same question. "What makes a cream ale a cream ale?"

The brew master's answer was simple.
"Flaked corn provides the creamy mouth feel. And that's what make it officially a cream ale."

On a lighter note. When they were trying to get the Label approved for their Vanilla Cream ale, the Powers that be said that there was a problem with having milk in the beer.

So they had to do an in depth explanation about what a cream ale is. And that there is no dairy in it.

 

[Qhrumphf]

And Pale Ales need not be particularly pale. Nor IPAs ever set foot anywhere near India. Nor Saison be seasonal. Nor Maibock be brewed OR consumed in May.

Read the BJCP style guidelines for description of the style. As to why it's called what it's called, just accept that it's called what it's called. History is a strange beast. This isn't a newfangled trend where there's a dispute over the name, so just roll with it.

 

[ericbw]

I could read the "official" descriptions etc...and I will; but for now, I'd like to ask the members what defines a cream ale, in their view?



Appearance?

Aroma?

Ingredients?

Taste?



Thanks -



Ron

Light color.

Malty and sweet.

Base malt + rice and/or corn.

Hops at 60 and MAYBE 30, but no later.

Should be crisp and dry. taste like the malt. Sort of lager like.

Ferment at a low temp and cold condition.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

If you can't call it an American lager due to some mysterious magic that proclaims that if it is fermented with a minor technicality glitch known as an ale yeast, albeit that all other parameters remain consistent with American lager, then you have to call it something else, and that something else came to be called Cream Ale.

 

[Weezy]

A lot of traditional american lagers had/have corn as well; therefore, the yeast is the big difference. You don't want the drying, sharpness of a lager yeast, which will fight the corn sweetness. And you don't want a low attenuating, sweet, estery ale yeast either. You want a low ester, high attenuation ale yeast to let the corn shine...and 15%-25% corn.

 

[ericbw]

Ron, you might be interested in the historical aspect. It might help to make sense. America's brewing started with a British Isles pedigree (ales in the Northeast). When a wave of German immigrants came in the 1850s, they brought their lager tradition with them. Many of them settled in the midwest - St. Louis in particular (Adolphus Busch). Busch also figured out how to refrigerate rail cars, so they could transport beer farther, outside their regional market. Everyone loved lagers.

Cream ale was made by breweries that didn't make lagers, so they could compete. To mimic lager's crisp and dry taste, they added corn or rice to help bring the final gravity down.

All of that gives a clue to what cream ale is like - light, crisp, malty, not hoppy. Some people add Vienna malt to give it a little more malt flavor. It's like a blond ale, but dry. I think the FG should be like 1.008ish. Like a lager, but done at ale temperatures.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Good morning, everyone, and thanks much for the replies. Eric, thank you especially for the historical perspective.

I think I got it now - I'm definitely familiar with the profile; I guess the "cream" part just threw me off.

Thanks again, everyone!