January Brew and Swap - American Cream Ale

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Alastair70

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In case you missed the chat earlier in the year the idea is simple. A few times a year a crowd of us research a recipe for a style of beer that caught our attention and brew it. A couple of months later, the brews are swapped in groups of 4 or 5. Then you get to see how your ideas and execution measure up to some of the other brewers efforts.

First up is Cream Ale, a lighter American Ale; crisp, thirst quenching and refreshing, it’s described by BJCP as a ‘lawnmower’ beer.
Swaps are aiming for last two weeks of February when we can share our thoughts on both the style and what factors made the good beers stand out.

If you want to get involved, there’s plenty of time to think about recipe design, plan a brew day late December or early in the new year and have 6-8 weeks for fermentation and conditioning. Once brewed, post your recipe and we’ll work out swaps once all the brews are in.

Next up will be Belgian Blonde in the springtime.

You can brew however you want as long as the end result is according to style, BJCP style guide here.
 
Just putting the last hop charge into my cream ale, remind me how much lactose do I need to add...🤔
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I'll be bottling my Bells Two Hearted clone tomorrow. I'll be brewing my Cream Ale sometime in the next week or two.
Coincidently, a Two Hearted clone is going to be brew no.3 for the WLP-090 on the stirplate (I'm going with an ale yeast at the cold end with the cream ale brew, hope thats not crossing a style boundry).

(EDIT- quick check on google, my memory was not failing me, ale yeast cool or lager yeast warm are equally fine.)
 
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I might sit this one out. I will follow with interest, I will definitely take part in the next one. I have 3 fermentor's full at the min and a cream isn't something I would drink a lot of.
Good luck 🤞
 
I might sit this one out. I will follow with interest, I will definitely take part in the next one. I have 3 fermentor's full at the min and a cream isn't something I would drink a lot of.
Good luck 🤞
I’ll throw one your way when it’s ready. My worry is it’s something I could easily drink a gallon in the right circumstances.
 
I’ll throw one your way when it’s ready. My worry is it’s something I could easily drink a gallon in the right circumstances.
I don't think I have ever tasted a cream Ale. When I started brewing I was brewing stuff I thought sounded nice to find out I didn't really enjoy it.
I have just lifted nearly 30 bottles out of the garage that fall into that category. My mate in work will gladly polish them off
 
That’s interesting.
I don't think I have ever tasted a cream Ale. When I started brewing I was brewing stuff I thought sounded nice to find out I didn't really enjoy it.
I have just lifted nearly 30 bottles out of the garage that fall into that category. My mate in work will gladly polish them off
That’s really interesting. After I switched AG I focused on getting to grips with brewing the styles I liked drinking. I still consider myself a novice, but I’m happy that I’m getting my process sorted. So now I’m looking at other styles that have caught my interest and I’m more confident about giving them a go.
 
That’s interesting.

That’s really interesting. After I switched AG I focused on getting to grips with brewing the styles I liked drinking. I still consider myself a novice, but I’m happy that I’m getting my process sorted. So now I’m looking at other styles that have caught my interest and I’m more confident about giving them a go.
To be honest I think the majority of us are novices that occasionally brew some fantastic beer. That's what I like about it 👏
 
By chance I brewed an Oslo kveik cream ale with Hal Mit and a small amount of flaked rice earlier in December, so I might just participate in this! The last time I made it was during the July heatwave and primary was done in a week (probably a couple of days). This time it's limping towards the finish line two weeks on - still a couple of days to go I think. If it's anything like the other one it will be nicely crisp and quaffable, so if it's any good I will get involved. Cheers!
 

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