cream ale

Northern Brewer General
1

my buddy bought me a cream ale kit for my birthday. i was a wine maker back in the day with no beer experience at all. i read the kit directions front to back. my ? is , is there anything i should specifically watch for with the exception of boil over any tips would be appreciated…thanks …rob

2

Is it extract or all grain? If its extract it is as easy as making mac & cheese. Just follow the recipe and you’ll be fine.

Tips:
For boilovers just watch the pot. As the foam starts turn the heat down. It also helps to spary the foam with water.

If you can do a full boil (starting with about 6.25 gals of water) do so as it will make a better beer. This will require a way to chill it down faster such as an Immersion Chiller. But there are other ways it just may take longer.

If you can’t do a full boil, try adding 25% of malt extract in the beginning as this will help with the lighter color this beer requires.

Add the extract off the heat to prevent scorching.

Extract is very straight forward and in the end you’ll have beer.

Good luck!

3

Ferment it cool.

4

about to brew this one as well this weekend. Using US05. Will it ferment as low as 58? or should be right around 60?

5

For the US05 yeast
From the Fermentis website:

Fermentation temperature: Recommended fermentation temperature: 15C – 24C (59-75F)

Sanitization is the other extremely important area. One of the most popular sanitizers is Starsan. If you don’t have any I would suggest getting some.

6

I’ve used 05 at 55 degrees and lagered at 50 before. Worked great and the beer retained many lager-like characteristics.

As for the OP, don’t expect a day without flaws. I still remember my first brewday - Murphy’s Law and all that. But in the end you will end up with good beer. Enjoy the cream ale. DWRHAHB!!

7

Tips I have learned in my first 6-8 months of brewing:

  1. As others have said, sanitation is critical
  2. Follow the directions on the kit to the letter. No need to be creative on the first one
  3. Get everything out, ready and organized
  4. Make a small starter, or if using a smack pack, smack early and make sure it inflates (I would still make a small starter unless using dry yeast)
  5. Fermentation temperature control is really important - Keep temps in low to mid 60’s for the primary
  6. Let the beer gravity readings tell you when it is done, not the schedule printed.
8

[quote=“IAHysell”]I’ve used 05 at 55 degrees and lagered at 50 before. Worked great and the beer retained many lager-like characteristics.

As for the OP, don’t expect a day without flaws. I still remember my first brewday - Murphy’s Law and all that. But in the end you will end up with good beer. Enjoy the cream ale. DWRHAHB!![/quote]

nice. I actually plan to lager in my kegerator. so low 40’s. But primary is still not finished. So I think I will finish up the oktoberfest at 58/59 and start and ferm the beer at the same.

9

thanks for the tips guys, i have star san since i use it to sanitize all my wine making equipment. will follow the direction to the “t” so i dont screw it up. last question would you ferment in a glass carboy or a food grade plastic pale? thanks for the input fellas its most appreciated…rob

10

Either will work fine, I use 6.5 gallon plastic buckets because I have to move them up and down stairs and they’re easy to clean.

11

thanks gm, i will use my bucket with a sealed lid and airlock. would u consider going to a secondary later or is it not needed with a cream ale

12

A lot of people dont go to secondary for any of their beers. I only go to secondary if Im making a big beer and it needs aging time. You could leave it in the primary till bottling time if you wanted.

13

+1.

I would begin the ferment as close to 60° as you can get for a week then I would move it to ~70° for 2 week then bottle.

14

thanks gm, looks like tomorrow is brew day, so i will give a report when finished… thanks for all the input and suggestions…rob