BA, Looking to brew a modern California Cream Ale. Something close to the bruery's tout mais le coller and Mother Earth's Cali Creamin. Looking for an all grain, 5 gallon batch for the summer. Anyone have a decent base idea or thoughts on how to bring out this great smooth fruity cream flavor for a sessionable beer? Thanks !
Don't know what a "California" cream ale is, nor have I tried those particular beers. However, my "classic American creme ale" made my top six list, and I was rather proud of it. I plan to re-brew it soon using cascade in place of centennial (because I'm out of centennial but have some cascade), and still use the citra. My goal was to reproduce (my impression of) the classic creme ales from yesteryear, with a slightly hoppier version of today's typical creme ales (genese comes to mind, but I wanted a little more hoppiness). I used six-row and flaked corn for the grist, and nothing else. 26.5 theoretical IBUs, but still with a light but pretty decent late hop bill that turned out to be damn fine indeed. Even my most die-hard BMC buddy couldn't get enough of this beer. Whether the olden-daze creme ales were really like mine is debatable and perhaps even unlikely, but I don't care, because I made tasty beer. What was really notable about my creme ale was that it didn't have a lot of aroma or flavor. It had enough to be tasty, but I didn't intend it to be a modern day American over-hopped abomination of an IPA, nor was I striving for a Russian Imperial Stout. Therefore obviously it would have fared quite poorly on BA's ratings. Also this was my clearest and lightest beer ever. Crystal clear, even with the six-row, and very lightly tan/yellow in color. I've got an "imperial" version getting close to bottling, tho I'm really not expecting that one to come out as good as the first. Basically the imperial version has 20% more of the same grist in the same ratios, but a different and more hop-forward hop bill.
10# pils 1# 60L Crystal 1oz Cluster @ 60 min 1oz Halertau,Spalt,or Mt Hood @ 15 min 1oz Halertau,Spalt,or Mt Hood @ 5 min WLP810 or 34/70 I brew this recipe every year and everyone likes it. Good luck.
Sounds like we're in very similar ballparks on this. I ran out of maize last year for my annual Cream Ale, so I made it with 95% Pilsner (I love pilsner in a Cream Ale!) and 5% table sugar. As a result of that batch, I deleted maize altogether from my still evolving house Cream Ale recipe . I've been planning to add a bit of Crystal to tweak the sweetness, just a bit. I really haven't focused on hops in the past, but I'm getting bored. We'll see what hits me on Brew Day. Maybe citrus would be a nice twist. FWIW, I'm planning to up the IBUs a bit to make it more suggestive of a Czech Pils. I've pretty much settled on US-05 for this. It's clean enough for a Cream Ale, IMO, and I've always got some on hand. I also tend to do an overnight mash to get it as dry as possible. That sounds kind of like it contradicts my 'Crystal' comment above, but this is a different kind of sweetness. I suppose, at some point, I'll have to stop calling it a Cream Ale.
My favorite Cream Ale is Pelicans Cape Kiwanda. They use all Mt. Hood hops I believe, and get all the IBU's from late addition hopping. No 60 min addition. Such a refreshing, bright beer.
All whirlpool hoops, Mt. hood is correct. 2 row, flaked barley, and something I am forgetting for a grain bill. Kiwanda was the inspiration for my house cream ale, turns out pretty close, and has done well in competitions.
Thanks for all of the great feedback! Unfortunately, I am still not finding what I am looking for. Checkout the description for Tout Mais Le Coller.... I guess it is more of a fruit ale than a cream ale Cream Ale | 7.70% ABV Availability: Limited (brewed once) Notes/Commercial Description: "Tout Mais Le Coller" loosely translates to "everything but the stick," and that is what we went for in this beer that is meant to clone the flavors of an orange cream popcicle. We brewed this cream ale with our friends from Noble Ale Works, adding a confident dosing of both lactose and natural orange flavor, creating a beverage that will remind you of your youth. A sweet and creamy mouthfeel with that unforgetable bittersweet bite of an orange, peel and all. This beer is far from subtle in flavor and is a very fun one to share with friends.
You'd be surprised at how many homebrewers don't understand the brew that is commonly called 'Cream Ale'. Many think Cream Soda, and thus assume Vanilla is a key ingredient. Others think Creamsicle, complete with lactose and a heavy dose of orange flavor. Oversimplified, it's an Ale version of a fizzy American lager. Think Bud fermented with an Ale yeast. It's a big hit among my Bud Light drinking friends. I love it on a hot, sweaty, summer afternoon. Relatively low ABV. Clean, crisp, ice cold. A great thirst quencher.
