Using 6-row and flaked corn

No idea what type of materials are used other than that the hops (at least the leaf hops, I haven't bought pellet hops yet) are packaged in vaccum sealed bags of 100 grams each (which the supplier packages themselves after importing the hops).

 

I decided to go with the Cascades for bittering and Hallertau Mittelfrüh for flavoring, along with the 6 row pilsner malt from Castle Malting and flaked corn from Briess. Yeast used will be US 05. I'm thinking about going with a three stage hop addition, maybe two fifths at 1.5 hours, another two fifths at 1 hour and another fifth at 5 minutes. The Cascade hops would be used for the first two (bittering) and the Hallertauer for the last.

 

I'm using a longer boil partly to aid in achieving the correct original gravity, and figure I might as well throw in the first hops early in the boil to simulate an older commercial 1.5-2 hour boil, whether it actually makes a difference or not flavorwise.

I've thought about dry hopping this beer but from what I have gathered so far it doesn't seem clear that dry hopping would have been used for a typical cream ale/sparkling ale so I'm going instead with what I understand to be a typical American hopping schedule from back in the day. I might go with only kettle hops for this batch and see what the results are flavorwise.

I haven't used dry-hopping yet and I'm wondering how to go about it, I've thought about simply throwing in some leaf hops into the fermentation bucket for the last week or so, but I've thought about whether I need to do anything to ensure that the hops are submerged. Getting a muslin type bag seems simple enough, but what to weigh it down with? I just envision whatever weight I put in it rusting or otherwise giving off flavors to the beer.

 

It's time to taste test my Cream Ale after 2 weeks in the bottle and I'm mostly pleased with the results. Appearance-wise it's hazy with plenty of visible particulate matter and the sediment wasn't as caked at the bottom as was the case with my previous batches at a similar age in the bottle. Aroma and flavorwise I am quite pleased however. The aroma and flavor are dominated by the Hallertauer hops, the smell and taste is in line with my previous batches using this hop, but there's definitely more of a body which might be due to the slightly higher mashing temperature (68C) than I have achieved/maintained in the past (possibly also the result of the corn as far as giving it a slight sweetness?). OG was 1.055, but I didn't measure the FG prior to bottling, something which I might have to reconsider for future batches but since it has worked so far I've gotten into the habit of not doing it. The bitterness is quite pronounced and the hops are definitely present, and the finish is dry, but it also feels more substantial than previous batches and that contributes to a greater sense of balance. So it wont get high marks for appearance, but as far as flavor goes I count this one as a success and it's a recipe I would revisit again.