Brewing some cream ale ...any advice. .

[GB951]

Ill be be brewing some cream ale for the wifey .Any advice as far as making it a little different?....was thinking maybe a vanilla cream ale but without second fermenting....what do you think?

 

[urbanmyth]

No. It is not supposed to be a desserty beer, nor does it have any connection to cream soda. Save the vanilla for porters and stout, IMO. I made my cream ale a little different by goosing it a little with a late addition of Ahtanum. It's still in primary, but the gravity sample tasted awesome. A half ounce at 5 minutes added nice character that isn't overwhelming.

That being said, it is your beer, so if you are dead set on vanilla, you should probably use vanilla. I would split a bean and soak it in vodka for a day or so, dumping the whole cup or so of vanilla liquor into the bottling bucket. Another way would be to pull a bottle sized sample and use a dropper to add a measured amount of this liquor, find a nice balance, and scale up to 5 gallons. Add 3/4 of that amount to the bottling bucket, and adjust from there. Bottle and enjoy

 

[calpyro]

Ill be be brewing some cream ale for the wifey .Any advice as far as making it a little different?....was thinking maybe a vanilla cream ale but without second fermenting....what do you think?

I am a huge fan of my Cream Ale. Straight up they are great.
I recommend that you make it from RO water and build it up with a small amount of Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Chloride. This way you can really control the softness of the final beer.
A moderate to low bittering is essential. If you like hops, give a a small charge of late hops for a nice hoppy finish.
This is a difficult beer to make great and when you do it's a huge hit for the hot summer days.

 

[GB951]

Ill just stick to the recipe the only thing ill be adding is ome liberty hops...see how it come's out..

 

[JoppaFarms]

Today I racked my Cream Ale to secondaries. I split it 3 gallons without any addition, just straight regular secondary fermentation; 1 gallon I added about 1/5 lb of honey; 1 gallon I added about 1/3 of a roasted serrano pepper. I have NO idea how any of these are going to turn out but I have a control and two experiments.

 

[bduane]

Keep the wort all the way on the cool end of the yeast temp range during fermentation. Even with a swamp cooler keeping the wort at around 65F, i ended up with a hint of spicy clove like flavors I believe was from the yeast. The style isn't very forgiving when it comes to off-flavors!

 

[pcooper1989]

I do it all the time. It has become my house standard beer. Swmbo loves it. I love it too.

Sweet Cream Vanilla Bean

Style: Cream Ale OG: 1.045
Type: Extract FG: 1.011
Rating: 0.0 ABV: 4.45 %
Calories: 147 IBU's: 19.19
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 5.57 Gal
Color: 7.2 SRM Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.043 Boil Time: 60 minutes

Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 7 days @ 70.0°F
Secondary 14 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 4 days @ 44.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
5.00 lbs 71.43 % Pilsner Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
1.00 lbs 14.29 % Rice Extract Syrup 60 mins 1.032
1.00 lbs 14.29 % Honey Malt 60 mins 1.037

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs 15.86 Liberty 60 mins 4.30
0.50 ozs 3.33 Liberty 12 mins 4.30

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.00 pkg Cream Ale Blend White Labs 0080

Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 tsp Whirlfloc Tablet 15 mins Boil
1.00 oz Gelatin 15 mins Secondary

Mash Profile
(none)

Carbonation
Amount Type Beer Temp CO2 Vols
11.7 psi Force Carbonation 35.0°F 2.70

Notes
Soak 2 minced vanilla beans in 1 airplane bottle of premium vodka for 2 weeks. Add in second week of secondary.

 

[GB951]

I do it all the time. It has become my house standard beer. Swmbo loves it. I love it too.

Sweet Cream Vanilla Bean

Style: Cream Ale OG: 1.045
Type: Extract FG: 1.011
Rating: 0.0 ABV: 4.45 %
Calories: 147 IBU's: 19.19
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 5.57 Gal
Color: 7.2 SRM Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.043 Boil Time: 60 minutes

Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 7 days @ 70.0°F
Secondary 14 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 4 days @ 44.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
5.00 lbs 71.43 % Pilsner Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
1.00 lbs 14.29 % Rice Extract Syrup 60 mins 1.032
1.00 lbs 14.29 % Honey Malt 60 mins 1.037

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs 15.86 Liberty 60 mins 4.30
0.50 ozs 3.33 Liberty 12 mins 4.30

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.00 pkg Cream Ale Blend White Labs 0080

Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 tsp Whirlfloc Tablet 15 mins Boil
1.00 oz Gelatin 15 mins Secondary

Mash Profile
(none)

Carbonation
Amount Type Beer Temp CO2 Vols
11.7 psi Force Carbonation 35.0°F 2.70

Notes
Soak 2 minced vanilla beans in 1 airplane bottle of premium vodka for 2 weeks. Add in second week of secondary.

Thanks for the recipe ....looks like ill try that next....

 

[dethmutt]

Cut the bean lengthwise and scrape out the insides. Then let it soak in alcohol, ( I use Jameson) for a week or two. Add directly to bottling bucket. Comes out great. I used 3 beans for 5 gallons and just enough Jameson to cover the dissected beans.

The scraping seems to bring more flavor out of the bean. Just don't throw the scraping away, soak it all in the alcohol.