Cream Ale..brownish?..Specialty grains?

[ratinator]

So I have had a few beers now that I have really enjoyed, bit can't seem to build a recipe for. The beers claim themselves as cream ales but are a copper/brown color.

The first is Granville Islands Maple Shack Cream Ale:
"This malty, smooth maple cream ale has a hint of maple syrup, with a mild hop bitterness."
"Brewed using a hint of pure Canadian maple syrup, enjoy the bold taste of this bronze-coloured ale and toast all that Vancouver has to offer."

The second is True North Cream Ale:
"An ultra-premium, all-malt Cream Ale at 5% alc./vol. Mid-gold colour with a fresh, bread-like malt nose enhanced by fruity hop aromatics. Flavours of fresh malt, subtle sweetness, floral hops and pleasant ale fruitiness all combine to produce a Canadian classic Cream Ale. A moderate hop bitterness and creamy mouthfeel round off the flavour experience"
"A smooth and slightly fruity ale, brewed with a blend of five malts, two hop varieties, and a special ale yeast strain. Deep golden colour. A fresh, bready malt nose is enhanced by fruity hop aromatics."

Anyone know what they are doing to achieve this? They are crisp and malty with not a lot of hop presence. Obviously cream ale can be a pretty wide style but to get that color without adding a ton of speciality grains? I have attached pictures so you can see the color.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sinamar perhaps?

https://www.weyermann.de/eng/gelbe_Seiten_en.asp?snr=1&idkat=1023&umenue=yes&idmenue=37&sprache=2
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/4-O...eer coloring,with very little roast character.

 

[ratinator]

Sinamar perhaps?

https://www.weyermann.de/eng/gelbe_Seiten_en.asp?snr=1&idkat=1023&umenue=yes&idmenue=37&sprache=2
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/4-O...eer coloring,with very little roast character.

The 2nd beer says 5 malts. I am not thinking sinamar. Was thinking something along the lines of 2row, vienna, munich, biscuit, c40/60/carared

 

[BigEd]

So I have had a few beers now that I have really enjoyed, bit can't seem to build a recipe for. The beers claim themselves as cream ales but are a copper/brown color.

Anyone know what they are doing to achieve this? They are crisp and malty with not a lot of hop presence. Obviously cream ale can be a pretty wide style but to get that color without adding a ton of speciality grains? I have attached pictures so you can see the color.

I'm used to being the the old SOB so I'll just say it. Cream ales aren't brown or copper. They can call them anything they want but a cream ale is yellow/gold. The color in those beers would not require much in the way of specialty malt. A small amount of darker crystal or a little bit of chocolate would do the trick. The beers could still be crisp as a tiny amount of specialty malt would not add much in the way of sweetness or texture.

Historically cream ales were adjunct beers, essentially North American lager recipes fermented with a clean ale yeast. A judicious adjunct addition of corn or rice would help with the crispness aspect and was pretty much universal in the cream ales made by regional and national breweries of North America. The beers made by modern specialty brewers may or may not use non-malted adjuncts but a light base malt and the right mash schedule can still produce a crisp beer.

 

[ratinator]

I'm used to being the the old SOB so I'll just say it. Cream ales aren't brown or copper. They can call them anything they want but a cream ale is yellow/gold. The color in those beers would not require much in the way of specialty malt. A small amount of darker crystal or a little bit of chocolate would do the trick. The beers could still be crisp as a tiny amount of specialty malt would not add much in the way of sweetness or texture.

Historically cream ales were adjunct beers, essentially North American lager recipes fermented with a clean ale yeast. A judicious adjunct addition of corn or rice would help with the crispness aspect and was pretty much universal in the cream ales made by regional and national breweries of North America. The beers made by modern specialty brewers may or may not use non-malted adjuncts but a light base malt and the right mash schedule can still produce a crisp beer.

I am completely aware of what a classic cream ale is. That doesn't change thr fact that I keep seeing beers like this pop up and I really enjoy them as I drink a lot of reds/browns. As stated above 5 malts isn't just adding a small bit of chocolate.

 

[Kickass]

Is the goal to make a cream ale or clone one of those? I agree with BigEd that these don’t appear to be cream ales but would never try to discourage anyone from drinking or making one.

 

[kevin58]

Just craft brewers desperate to stand out from the crowd.

 

[cubalz]

I agree with perhaps using Sinamar to get that color but honestly do not understand the point of bringing any dark and/or red color to a cream ale. The same would hold true with a Pils or a Kolsch. Gimmicky at best.

 

[firerat]

Just craft brewers desperate to stand out from the crowd.

Yep.

Everyone has a cream ale man, but ours is brown!!

 

[ratinator]

Reason for this post is I would like to make a clone or something similar. This is what I have so far:

4lb 2 row
4lb pils
1lb munich i
.5 biscuit
.5 c60

Bitter with centennial, finish with sterling, s05

 

[z-bob]

Perhaps what you want is a Kentucky Common. It's very similar to a cream ale, but has a tiny bit of black patent malt and a tiny bit of dark crystal malt.