Cream ale has always been one of those those beers that seems to get misunderstood. People like it because its a good, lighter, middle ground of a beer. And then again.. people hate it just because its a light, middle ground beer.
I have always been one who loves this style. Its nothing fancy, nothing extreme. Just beer. 4-5%. Light colored, and just enough hops to know they’re in there. Its was a hidden step up from the bud and miller lights of the time.
I say hidden, because you told people you were drinking Cream Ale and that sounds great! They think you are all fancy by getting away from the old adjunct, corn and rice lager swill that old men drink. But, you either didn’t tell them, or didn’t know that this fantastic tasting Cream Ale was in fact an old adjunct corn and rice… ale.
And yes. The new wave of beer drinkers loved cream ales. People discovered the liked flavorful beers. Hops. Malt. Its all good!
Then the snobs came. And I’m not exactly sure when in this game it happened. But suddenly craft beer became afraid of using corn or rice. Like it made them seem less legit or something. The Cream Ale didn’t just fall off the craft beer map, it was generally shunned and avoided
But The homebrewers (who at this stage were generally less snobby then they seem to be now), kept cranking them out for a couple of reasons.
- Its a straightforward easy going style that homebrewers can understand and it doesn’t over power even newcomers to craft beer.
- Its on the lower end of cost. Small grain bill and low hopping keeps it affordable
- Because it is a neutral flavored beer, Its often a good pick to add things to and experiment with..
As with all things beer, the circle is coming back around again and these Cream Ales are finding popularity again. Todays version is still very simple and cost effective to keep one on tap at all times.
Try this one. I’ve made many variants of this basic formula and they all have been great.
- 8 lbs of a 2 row.. American, British, Pilsner… All of one kind or a mix of them
- 1 to 1.5 lbs of an adjunct. flaked corn or flaked rice, wheat or a mix of them. A bit more or less or how ever you want.
- Hops. An Ounce of cascade, cluster, or Liberty, or Goldings or Saaz… at 60 min, then maybe another ¼ ounce at 15. Almost any hop works. Stay around 20 IBU with a smidge at 15min and your good.
- Any yeast works here. A clean American yeast like California Ale yeast and its a Cream Ale, Use a British yeast like US-04 and its a Golden ale. Lager yeast,, then its an American Lager, German yeast you start getting into Kolsch territory…
- Mash around 152 to keep some body
Simple but great beer with lots of playroom. Go brew one again.
