Some American Cream Ale recipes

[seymour]

You Englishmen have your own delicious Golden/Blond ale traditions, but Cream Ale is a uniquely North American one. It's usually meant to be a crisp, grainy, easy-drinking lawnmower kinda thing (read: boring adjunct-laden beer), but I've been thinking lately it's ripe for experimentation, which is why I used it as the base for my recent green hop brew.

Supposedly, this was a very common style across the United States before Prohibition, including an interesting, recently rediscovered dark-coloured regional adaptation called "Kentucky Common". Many Canadian Blond Ales are similar too. Modern craft-brewers often include various forms of vanilla, but that's easily overdone in my opinion.

I know we have our complaints about BJCP guidelines, but here's what they have to say:

BJCP Category 6 — Light Hybrid Beer, Sub-category 6A. Cream Ale

Aroma: Faint malt notes. A sweet, corn-like aroma and low levels of DMS are commonly found. Hop aroma low to none. Any variety of hops may be used, but neither hops nor malt dominate. Faint esters may be present in some examples, but are not required. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Pale straw to moderate gold color, although usually on the pale side. Low to medium head with medium to high carbonation. Head retention may be no better than fair due to adjunct use. Brilliant, sparkling clarity.

Flavor: Low to medium-low hop bitterness. Low to moderate maltiness and sweetness, varying with gravity and attenuation. Usually well attenuated. Neither malt nor hops prevail in the taste. A low to moderate corny flavor from corn adjuncts is commonly found, as is some DMS. Finish can vary from somewhat dry to faintly sweet from the corn, malt, and sugar. Faint fruity esters are optional. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Generally light and crisp, although body can reach medium. Smooth mouthfeel with medium to high attenuation; higher attenuation levels can lend a “thirst quenching” finish. High carbonation. Higher gravity examples may exhibit a slight alcohol warmth.

Overall Impression: A clean, well-attenuated, flavorful American lawnmower beer.

Comments: Classic American (i.e., pre-prohibition) Cream Ales were slightly stronger, hoppier (including some dry hopping) and more bitter (25-30+ IBUs). These versions should be entered in the specialty/experimental category. Most commercial examples are in the 1.050–1.053 OG range, and bitterness rarely rises above 20 IBUs.

History: An ale version of the American lager style. Produced by ale brewers to compete with lager brewers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. Originally known as sparkling or present use ales, lager strains were (and sometimes still are) used by some brewers, but were not historically mixed with ale strains. Many examples are kräusened to achieve carbonation. Cold conditioning isn’t traditional, although modern brewers sometimes use it.

Ingredients: American ingredients most commonly used. A grain bill of six-row malt, or a combination of six-row and North American two-row, is common. Adjuncts can include up to 20% flaked maize in the mash, and up to 20% glucose or other sugars in the boil. Soft water preferred. Any variety of hops can be used for bittering and finishing.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.042 – 1.055
FG: 1.006 – 1.012
ABV: 4.2– 5.6%
IBUs: 15 – 20
SRM: 2.5 – 5

Commercial Examples: Genesee Cream Ale, Little Kings Cream Ale (Hudepohl), Anderson Valley Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema, Sleeman Cream Ale, New Glarus Spotted Cow, Wisconsin Brewing Whitetail Cream Ale

Here are some sample recipes, for anyone who is interested:

Genesee Cream Ale (the best-known and best-selling brand, but pretty damn bland)
Genesee Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, USA
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 15
Colour: golden
Grainbill: 57% Six-Row Pale, 20% Flaked Corn, 17% Vienna Malt, 6% Pale Crystal Malt
Hops: Liberty (60 min), Liberty (5 min)
Yeast: proprietary clean ale strain, then cold conditioned

The Jamil Show – American Cream Ale
Batch Size: 6 US Gallons (=5 Imperial Gallons)
OG) 1054
IBU) 17.5
SRM) 2.9°
70% brewhouse efficiency
Boil time 65 min

41.7% = 5 lbs, 2-Row Pilsener Malt
41.7% = 5 lbs, 2-Row Pale Ale Malt
8.3% = 1 lb, Flaked Corn
8.3% = 1 lb, Cane Sugar

1 oz Liberty hops for 60 min
1 oz Liberty hops for 1 min

Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Mash @ 149°F for 60 min
Mash-out rest @ 168°F for 10 min
Sparge @ 170°F for 60 min

Bohannon Vanilla Crème Ale
Market Street Brewery & Public House in Nashville, Tennessee, USA
ABV: 4.5%
IBU: low, around 15
Grainbill: Pale, Wheat Malt, small % CaraMalt, natural vanilla flavor
Hops: Cluster or Cascade, bittering addition only
Colour: clear golden
Yeast: neutral American ale strain

Cream Ale
Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply in West Allis, Wisconsin, USA
OG: 1040
IBU: 18
Colour: golden
Grainbill: 87.5% Pale, 9.4% Honey Malt, 3.1% Belgian Biscuit Malt
Hops: Cluster (60 min only)
Yeast: Chico strain/ Sierra Nevada/Ballantine Brewery/Siebel BRY96/White Labs WLP001/Wyeast 1056/Safale US-05

Ninkasi Nuptiale Cream Ale
Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon, USA
OG: 1054
ABV: 5.7%
IBU: 26
Colour: mostly clear straw
Grainbill: Pale, Crystal Malt, Munich Malt, Flaked Barley (special-release versions include vanilla)
Hops: Simcoe, Santiam, Crystal, Liberty

Seymour Cream Ale
Grainbill:
60% American Six-Row Pale Malt
20% Yellow Popcorn Kernels
12.5% Belgian Pilsener Malt
12.5% Vienna Malt
2% Crystal Malt
1.5% Aciduated/Enymatic Malt
1.5% Steel-Cut Oats

Mash @ 148°F/64.4°C for 60 minutes, then 158°F/70°C for 30 minutes.
Sparge @ 172°F/77.8°C
Boil for 60 minutes, dropped-in Irish Moss and the immersion chiller at 15 minutes remaining.

HOPS:
20%, Cascade, First Wort Hops plus full 60 minutes
20%, Cascade, 15 minutes
60%, Cascade, 5 minutes then steep until cooled

YEAST: Safale S-33/Edme, an historic English not Belgian strain, fermented at 68°F/20°C, I strongly recommend a Ditch-style drill-powered paint-stirrer aeration before pitching.

STATS assuming an abysmal 61% mash efficiency but 77% yeast attenuation:
OG: 1044
FG: 1008
ABV: 4.7%
IBU: 30
COLOUR: 6°SRM/12°EBC, slightly hazy light golden amber

Summit Unchained Series #12: Old 152 (Kentucky Common)
Summit Brewing in St Paul, Minnesota, USA
OG: 1057
ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 55
Colour: hazy chestnut brown
Grainbill: 51% Flaked Corn, Pale, Victory Malt, Simpsons Medium Crystal Malt, Rye Malt, Distillers Malt, White Wheat
Hops: Cluster (early and late)
Yeast: English ale strain, probably Fullers/Wyeast 1968/White Labs WLP002

Cream or Present Use Ale
Wall & Henius American Handy-book of Brewing (1902) - University of Michigan, USA
OG: 1057
IBU: 30-45?
Colour: cloudy golden
Grainbill: 70% Pale, 30% Unmalted Cereals or 75% Pale, 25% Sugar (added to boil kettle)
Hops: 1-1.5 lbs/barrel, variety not specified but almost certainly Cluster
Yeast: top-fermenting ale strain

Kentucky Common Beer
Wall & Henius American Handy-book of Brewing (1902) - University of Michigan, USA
OG: 1040-1044
IBU: low, ≈15?
Colour: "muddy appearance"
Grainbill: Pale Malt, 25-30% corn + some Brown Sugar, Caramel Malt, or Roasted Malt to give dark colour
Hops: 1/2 pound per barrel, variety not specified but almost certainly Cluster
Yeast: top-fermenting ale strain

[Barley Water]

I just gotta tell you, this style in my humble opinion is BORING. For some reason (and God alone knows what I was thinking at the time), I made a batch of cream ale with about 20% grits. The stuff tasted like it was supposed to but brought new meaning to the term "incipid". Between this style and the always popular light American lager the craft brew revolution was born. However, if you can make a good example of this you are for sure a very good brewer; this style is extremely easy to screw up.

The thought of adding vanilla to this style sounds like a really, really bad idea to me. Given the fact that cream ale is essentially tasteless, adding vanilla (which is extremely potent stuff by the way) could easily lead to a "vanilla bomb"; hell you might as well just suck on a bottle of vanilla extract. If you want to add vanilla to a beer however rejoice, all hope is not lost. Last fall I helped make a really big Vanilla Robust Porter and it was damn good. The roast/chocolate/vanilla combination works really well, it was one of those "sipping by the fire out of a brandy snifter" kind of beers, perfect for the holidays.

[seymour]

I just gotta tell you, this style in my humble opinion is BORING...

That's certainly true of mass-produced examples such as Genesee (which is barely distinguishable from a crappy lager), but I don't think Cream Ale must be boring. Mine isn't; it has pleasant fruity esters, fresh hoppy aromas, and a tangy finish. Even the BJCP guidelines state, "Classic American (i.e., pre-prohibition) Cream Ales were slightly stronger, hoppier (including some dry hopping) and more bitter (25-30+ IBUs)" which could describe very tasty beer, if done well. That's what I mean about a style ripe for experimentation. Forget about the low-grav, low-IBU, low-colour, neutral yeast rules and have fun with it. Or don't, no matter.

Have you tasted any of the recent craft brewery versions? What about Kentucky Common? Some are quite good, even those with a hint of vanilla.

[Barley Water]

Yeah, I bet your's isn't boring however; if you entered your beer into the Cream Ale category 6A you would get killed because your beer wouldn't be to style (good tasting and better than the winning beer in the class but not to style). Notice that Preprohibition "cream ales" should be entered as specialty or experimental beers as per the guidelines. Actually, your formulation reminds me somewhat of Ballentines XXX ale which I've made and is very good. Since I generally brew for contests (or maybe I should say brew for myself while at the same time brewing for contests) I get fairly anal when it comes to making sure my stuff fits correctly into a competition category. I would call your formulation more of a throwback American Pale ale (like the aforementioned Ballentines XXX refered to above). Maybe one of these days I'll whip up another batch of that stuff and enter it in the speciality category just to see how it does. At least in terms of competitions, adding a bunch of corn to the grist can be an issue because some judges (who don't know what the hell they are doing) mistakenly think that distinct corn flavor is DMS. Sometimes I wish I would just quit entering my beers in contests because it sometimes restrains my creativity and I believe stifles inovation. Problem is, like a typical Texas yankee there is just something about competing that is motivating.

[Rookie]

In the 2011 national home brew compitition the catagory 6 gold medal winner was a cream ale recipe with only three ingredients (four counting the water) 2-row malt, willlamette hops, and WLP051.

[YeastWhisperer]

In the 2011 national home brew compitition the catagory 6 gold medal winner was a cream ale recipe with only three ingredients (four counting the water) 2-row malt, willlamette hops, and WLP051.

A beer made with that recipe is technically 6B Blond Ale.

[6470zzy]

Not sure if you have already given this one a read but it has some interesting information regarding Cream Ales. I may have to be on the lookout for some Little Kings

http://morebeer.com/articles/brewing_cream_ale

Cheers

[Rookie]

In the 2011 national home brew compitition the catagory 6 gold medal winner was a cream ale recipe with only three ingredients (four counting the water) 2-row malt, willlamette hops, and WLP051.

A beer made with that recipe is technically 6B Blond Ale.

Probably so, but the brewer and the judges called it a cream ale. There was only one gold medal for each catagory so it being 6a, 6b, or 6c is a moot point. It was the best catagory 6 beer.