Next Brew a Cream Ale...suggestions?

I am looking to brew a Cream Ale for my next brew, hopefully this weekend. Any suggestions for either kits or tried and true recipes?

Cream of Three Crops is one of the best. Thanks to the muncher

Yes search for Cream of Three Crops here on HBT. I've never brewed it but it is somewhat absurdly well reviewed and looks to be equally absurdly cheap to brew.

Check out the spotted cow clone thread, that's a good one.

Got to recommend my own cream ale. It'll be for sale in a couple of months, and it's one of my favorite beers to drink. It's in my recipes dropdown.

Edit: Guess I could post the link...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/two-kids-cream-ale-402306/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cool-water-cream-ale-346428/

Brewed this last summer...went fast.

Would wyeast American Ale yeast be okay each of the above recipes? I have it on hand and my LHBS is lacking in its yeast selection.

Also, they lack in hops as well, what are some possible substitutes for this style?

hillhousesawdustco said:

Yes search for Cream of Three Crops here on HBT. I've never brewed it but it is somewhat absurdly well reviewed and looks to be equally absurdly cheap to brew.

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It's well reviewed "Because it's easy cheap and tastes good" try it and you to can be absurd.

Funny. I was also thinking I wanted a try a cream ale next.

But I'm still in the extract phase so... any extract recipes? (Or any advice on converting these to extract?)

woozy said:

Funny. I was also thinking I wanted a try a cream ale next.

But I'm still in the extract phase so... any extract recipes? (Or any advice on converting these to extract?)

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Extract Recipe from northern brewer cream ale...brewed once and after three weeks bottle conditioning was awesome. Got the second batch bottled this past weekend and added 1 oz orange zest with 5 min left in boil

3/4# gambrinus honey malt
1/4# belgian biscuit
Steep 20 min at 170

6# pilsen malt syrup
1oz cluster (60 min)
Safale US 05 ale yeast

Easy recipe and tastes great!!

Sounds good. Um ... sorry if I'm hijacking the thread. Does this http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=122


3 pounds, dry light malt extract
1 pound, dried rice solids (is that the same as dry rice extract?)
1/2 cup, roasted barley
1 ounce, Hallertauer hops (boiling)
1/2 ounce, Hallertauer hops (aromatic, 10 minute boil)
1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish)
Wyeast American ale yeast



sound any good. (Or does it sound boring?) It uses rice solids which is actually an ingredient I have left over from my last batch (unless rice solids is different from rice extract) and I kinda want to use and I figure I can substitute liberty hops (which I also have extra of). The carelessness to detail kind of scares me though. (He says using malt to prime gives different bubbles but than never gives *any* instructions.)

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

histo320 said:

Would wyeast American Ale yeast be okay each of the above recipes? I have it on hand and my LHBS is lacking in its yeast selection.

Also, they lack in hops as well, what are some possible substitutes for this style?

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WY1056 would totally be fine for any of these recipes. I've done our cream ale with US-05 and WLP090 and it was very tasty. Different, but still good.

As for extract- cream ale usually implies a significant portion of corn or rice (usually corn). You might be able to get away with 90% extra light DME and 10% rice syrup solids (basically rice DME), and maybe a little crystal to steep, but I like the flavor corn brings to the party and think it's important to the style.

This would be a great moment to move up to partial mash! Very easy with a paint strainer bag!

woozy said:

Sounds good. Um ... sorry if I'm hijacking the thread. Does this http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=122

**RECIPE**

sound any good. (Or does it sound boring?) It uses rice solids which is actually an ingredient I have left over from my last batch (unless rice solids is different from rice extract) and I kinda want to use and I figure I can substitute liberty hops (which I also have extra of). The carelessness to detail kind of scares me though. (He says using malt to prime gives different bubbles but than never gives *any* instructions.)

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

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I would just drop the roasted barley. That's going to give you a roasty, burnt flavor. Without anything else to back it up (crystal, etc), it's going to be un-tasty, IMO. You'll have a stout-like cream ale, but without the body or malt backbone or sweetness to stand behind it. Just a light, burnt tasting beer, I think.

What if I did a mix and match of three extract recipes?

From Beer Smith and Northern Brew I'd get the steeping grains of

3/4 lb. of Gambrinus Honey Malt
1/4 lb. of Belgian Biscuit Malt

and the hops of 1 oz. Cluster (60 min)

and from Northern Brewer and Beer Recipes.org I'd get the DME:

3.8 lbs. Extra Light Dry
1 lb. Rice

and ale yeast. And I forget the damned barley.

woozy said:

What if I did a mix and match of three extract recipes?

From Beer Smith and Northern Brew I'd get the steeping grains of

3/4 lb. of Gambrinus Honey Malt
1/4 lb. of Belgian Biscuit Malt

and the hops of 1 oz. Cluster (60 min)

and from Northern Brewer and Beer Recipes.org I'd get the DME:

3.8 lbs. Extra Light Dry
1 lb. Rice

and ale yeast. And I forget the damned barley.

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That sounds like a great beer! I say go for it. Be sure to use rice syrup solids though, and not rice. US-05 is a nice easy clean ale yeast to use. Also, cheap!

I wish I had found this thread earlier. I brewed a cream ale yesterday. I used the grain bill from Brewing Classic Styles with a blend of Liberty and Mt. Hood. WLP080 cream ale blend. Anybody use this yeast blend before?

>>Be sure to use rice syrup solids though, and not rice.

I'm assuming the leftover Rice Extract (Dry) from my blonde ale is the same thing as "rice syrup solids". If it isn't please let me know **now** 'cause I'm doing this in the next day or two.

And again, I apologized if I hijacked this thread.

Effingbeer said:

I wish I had found this thread earlier. I brewed a cream ale yesterday. I used the grain bill from Brewing Classic Styles with a blend of Liberty and Mt. Hood. WLP080 cream ale blend. Anybody use this yeast blend before?

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I love WLP080 and use it for the cream ale when I can. Try to keep it below about 64F for best results. Great blend.

woozy said:

>>Be sure to use rice syrup solids though, and not rice.

I'm assuming the leftover Rice Extract (Dry) from my blonde ale is the same thing as "rice syrup solids". If it isn't please let me know **now** 'cause I'm doing this in the next day or two.

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Yea, those are the same. You're good to go.

It's day 3 and the sulfur smell showed up. I am very impressed at how much activity the blend has.