Saturday, July 24, 2010

Father's Day Cream Ale



Father's Day Cream Ale
Features: Bold hops, clean and golden draft (3.7% abv)
Price Range: $17.00

Overall Rating: Very Good










The perfect beer for Dad on a warm summer day. This refreshing pale golden cream ale gets its clean bite from the Glacier hops.









Father's Day Cream Ale
REFILL INCLUDES:
1 Can High Country Canadian Draft
1 Pouch Booster™
1 Packet Glacier Pellet Hops
1 Muslin Hop Sack
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of HME)
1 Packet One-Step™ sanitizing cleanser

INGREDIENTS: MALTED TWO ROW BARLEY, HOPS, HOP EXTRACT, WATER, AND YEAST (Packed Under Lid).

Fermentation, Carbonation And Conditioning Times:
21 days for fermentation
21 days for carbonation
28 days minimum conditioning at 50-70F
02 days minimum in fridge

Fermentation: 24-Jul-2010 to 14-Aug-2010 - (68-72F)
Carbonation : 14-Aug-2010 to 04-Sep-2010 - (68-72F)
Conditioning: 04-Sep-2010 to 25-Sep-2010 - (55-70F)

Brewer's Comments:
"This is my first time brewing this beer. I selected this 'Standard' recipe because it doesn't sound too 'heavy' so it should make a nice thirst quencher on those really hot summer days".



Fermentation:
The ingredients used in this recipe included 1 can hopped malt extract (HME), 1 pouch of Booster™ and 1 packet of dry yeast. Recipes having more ingredients require increased fermentation time, to allow the yeast to work.

Carbonation:
Just as in the fermentation process carbonation times will depend on the complexities of each recipe. As a rule of thumb recipes containing many ingredients take longer to carbonate than recipes with few ingredients.

Conditioning:
I usually condition my beers in a cool basement for 21 days before drinking it, allowing all the flavors to fully merge and mature in the bottle before drinking. In a dark basement, with a consistent year round temperature range of 50-70F, naturally brewed beer can be stored for up to 12 months. Prior to drinking the beer should be refrigerated for 24-48 hours and served cold in a clean glass.

4 comments:

  1. I'm curious: did you use booster (as stated in the recipe) or UME, as stated in the Fermentation section? I am interested in trying this recipe, and I assume the inclusion of corn sugar in the Booster actually makes the less malty version more true to style.

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  2. Thanks for pointing out the typo, it was a clerical error, really... As for bottle priming with corn sugar, I always bottle prime with pure cane sugar it's been my preference.

    Where did you read that corn sugar was in the Booster, I've not read that before. As for offsetting 'malty'...if a recipe is too malty I would use hops to add enough bitterness to balance it out.

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  3. Okay, I goofed. I could have sworn that I saw a percentage of dextrose in Booster, but it's not there. According to Mr. Beer's website, it comes from corn syrup solids but does not have dextrose. In fact, the sugar profile really does mimic a typical wort according to the percentages laid out at http://www.brewmorebeer.com/brewing-sugars/

    The complaints I have read about Booster is that it produces a thin and watery beer. I assume that's because it doesn't have the color, caramelization, and roasted flavors of malt grains.

    Cream ales generally use some corn (flaked grain and dextrose) and sometimes rice as fermentables. It sounds like Booster is entirely appropriate for the style. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe!

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  4. I actually like the hoppy aroma of this beer and it is anything but watery. Maybe the secret is in adding the hops to the fermenter (dry hopping) and fermenting at 70F for a full 21 days.

    I brewed 6 different pale ales including this one on my last brew day to have on hand for hot weather drinking. We sampled a bottle or 2 this week and I'm sure the remaining ones will taste even better after conditioning is done in late September.

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