Time for a new brew style? Sure. Cream Ale. Why not 🙂 I looked at some NHC recipes and Brewing Classic Styles and settled on:
BrewDesign
Recipe Info
Beer Name: cream ale ebiab v1
Style: Cream Ale
Date: 5-3-2015
Style
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.010
Color: 3.2
Alcohol: 5.2 %
Bitterness: 19.1 IBUs
Brewery
Efficiency: 70
Attenuation: 80
Mash
Mash Fermentable Weight: 11.25 Pounds
Mash Thickness: 2.0 Quarts per Pound
Grain Temp: 72 F
Strike Water Qty: 7.63 Gallons
Mash Volume: 8.53 Gallons
Strike Water Temp: 158.5 F
Mash Temp: 150 F
Boil
Kettle Gravity (start of boil): 1.039
Starting Boil Volume: 7.5625
Boil Duration: 75 Minutes
Evaporation Rate: 1.25 Gallons per Hour
Final Boil Volume: 6
Fermentables
| Weight (Lbs) | % by Weight | Name | Yield | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 44.4 | Weyermann Pilsner; German | 80.0 | 1.8 |
| 4.75 | 42.2 | Rahr Pale Malt; American (Rahr) | 81.3 | 1.8 |
| .5 | 4.4 | Briess Flaked Maize | 75.0 | 0.8 |
| .75 | 6.7 | Sugar, Corn (Dextrose) | 99.0 | 0.0 |
| .25 | 2.2 | Weyermann Acidulated Malt | 78.7 | 2.3 |
Hops
| Weight (ozs) | Name | AAU | Time (mins) | Use | IBUs / Addition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .75 | Liberty Pellets | 5.2 | 60 | Boil | 13.6 |
| .5 | Liberty Pellets | 5.2 | 20 | Boil | 5.5 |
Yeast and Friends
| Amount (Milliters) | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wyeast Labs 1056 American Ale |
Misc
| Amount | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whirlfloc Tablet | 15 |
| 1 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Wyeast) | 10 |
Notes
Liquid Yeast Pitch – Stirplate Starter
First Starter
Quantity of Yeast: 1 vials / pouches (100B cells per)
Quantity of DME: 78 grams
Starter Size: 0.8 liters
salts:
mash:
4g gypsum
4g cc
predicted 5.4 pH brewersfriend
Pitch @ 64F and raise to 65F over 24 hours and hold through 2 weeks. Rack to keg and crash to 35F for 24 hours. Fine with gelatin and lager for 1 week. Then rack to clean keg and carbonate to 2.6 volumes.
Forced Carbonation
Keg Temperature: 41 F
Volumes of CO2: 2.6
Set Keg Pressure to: 13.9 psi
5/9/15 made .6L starter w/ 60g DME
5/11/15 brew day:
+ had to dilute wort b/c efficiency was 75% (a bit better than expected) and so had to up liberty bittering charge to 1 oz
otherwise normal brewday. run to fermenter was a bit hazy but seems that some trub got in dip tube so maybe flush a bit first next time. wort was very clear other than trub plug. ran 4G into fermenter which left about 2.5 gallons in kettle about half of which was super trubby. maybe point arm down while settling trub to keep junk out?
started at 7:30am and into fermenter at 12:30pm. pitched starter at 64F and raised to 65F over 24 hours then held.
5/12/15 @ 8am nice kreusen and bubbling strongly
5/13/15 same
5/14/15 steady bubbling but starting to slow
5/17/15 ~1 sec apart
5/18/15 ~2 sec
5/19/15 ~5 sec
5/22/15 no bubbling
6/1/15 racked to keg FG 1.009 pH 4.1 a bit yeasty but clean. boring 🙂 will be better fined and carbed hopefully
6/2/15 added gelatin after cooling in lagering fridge overnight. 1/2 tsp gelatin in 1/4 cup of filtered water microwaved to 180F
genessee cream ale comparison 6/16/15
appearance: genee is a bit more golden then mine which is straw. genee had a bigger head. similar retention but genee was a bit better
aroma: similar. mine is a bit sweet & floral and genee is a bit more grainy and earthy but very similar
flavor: very similar. genee is a tinge sweeter w/ a bit of fruitiness
mouthfeel. very similar. mine is a bit dryer and maybe a bit more carbonic. genee is a bit sweeter and smoother.
overall impression: pretty darn close. genee is about 1 SRM darker and a little sweeter with a little less bite.
what to change? maybe a tinge darker? replace sugar with more pilsner malt. maybe some carapils for head retention? not sure i would change a whole lot.
First Starter
Quantity of Yeast: 1 vials / pouches (100B cells per)
Quantity of DME: 78 grams
Starter Size: 0.8 liters
salts:
mash:
4g gypsum
4g cc
predicted 5.4 pH brewersfriend
Pitch @ 64F and raise to 65F over 24 hours and hold through 2 weeks. Rack to keg and crash to 35F for 24 hours. Fine with gelatin and lager for 1 week. Then rack to clean keg and carbonate to 2.6 volumes.
Forced Carbonation
Keg Temperature: 41 F
Volumes of CO2: 2.6
Set Keg Pressure to: 13.9 psi
5/9/15 made .6L starter w/ 60g DME
5/11/15 brew day:
+ had to dilute wort b/c efficiency was 75% (a bit better than expected) and so had to up liberty bittering charge to 1 oz
otherwise normal brewday. run to fermenter was a bit hazy but seems that some trub got in dip tube so maybe flush a bit first next time. wort was very clear other than trub plug. ran 4G into fermenter which left about 2.5 gallons in kettle about half of which was super trubby. maybe point arm down while settling trub to keep junk out?
started at 7:30am and into fermenter at 12:30pm. pitched starter at 64F and raised to 65F over 24 hours then held.
5/12/15 @ 8am nice kreusen and bubbling strongly
5/13/15 same
5/14/15 steady bubbling but starting to slow
5/17/15 ~1 sec apart
5/18/15 ~2 sec
5/19/15 ~5 sec
5/22/15 no bubbling
6/1/15 racked to keg FG 1.009 pH 4.1 a bit yeasty but clean. boring 🙂 will be better fined and carbed hopefully
6/2/15 added gelatin after cooling in lagering fridge overnight. 1/2 tsp gelatin in 1/4 cup of filtered water microwaved to 180F
genessee cream ale comparison 6/16/15
appearance: genee is a bit more golden then mine which is straw. genee had a bigger head. similar retention but genee was a bit better
aroma: similar. mine is a bit sweet & floral and genee is a bit more grainy and earthy but very similar
flavor: very similar. genee is a tinge sweeter w/ a bit of fruitiness
mouthfeel. very similar. mine is a bit dryer and maybe a bit more carbonic. genee is a bit sweeter and smoother.
overall impression: pretty darn close. genee is about 1 SRM darker and a little sweeter with a little less bite.
what to change? maybe a tinge darker? replace sugar with more pilsner malt. maybe some carapils for head retention? not sure i would change a whole lot.