Creamy Cream Ale

[GrantLee63]

I have a dedicated stout faucet on my kegerator which I routinely dispense stouts (duh!) out of using beer gas. I LOVE a nicely made oatmeal stout with a rich, creamy head that you can only get by using the faucet / N2 set-up. With that being said, I've often wondered how a non-stout would be dispensed out of said faucet.

Well, I made this cream ale to give it a try knowing that it would no longer be true to style as it would lose it's effervesence after being dispensed through a nitro tap. Regardless, I like this one very much - nice pale straw color (after the cascading effect is over!), a sweet corn / malt aroma and a moderate sweet-corn flavor, minimal hop aroma and taste (I'm not much of a hop-head to begin with), and a nice, thick, creamy N2 generated head which makes this one smooth drinking ale. Not your typical 'seasonal' or 'holiday' beer, but I'm not much into seasonals anyway - I brew what I like year round.

Bottom line: If you have a dedicated nitro tap set up, give a non-stout beer a try through it - you may be surprised at what you get!

- GL63

Creamy Cream Ale
Cream Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 11/14/2008
Batch Size: 5.75 gal
Brewer: GrantLee63
Boil Size: 8.05 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 40.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes: TBD

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 60.00 %
3.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 30.00 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
0.50 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
1.00 oz Saaz [2.90 %] (90 min) Hops 10.3 IBU
.5 tsp Fermcap-S (Boil 90.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis) Yeast-Ale


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.80 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.35 %
Bitterness: 10.3 IBU Calories: 246 cal/pint
Est Color: 3.9 SRM Color: Color

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: 6.62 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 12.50 qt of water at 171.5 F 154.0 F

 

[wildaho]

It sounds very tasty Grant, I've always been a fan of Hales Cream Ale out of Seattle. It's always served on nitro. They also make a nitro ESB that is pretty darn tasty too.

When I had my bar, I pushed all the beers (26 of them) with alleygal. It was a simple matter to put a sparkler faucet on to get the "nitro" effect on any of them. Much playing was done. Delirium Tremens lends itself to nitro very well! (and just wait until you have tried Samichlaus or Abyss this way too). Some of them might take 20 minutes to pour due to all of the foam but they were worth it.

I also had two hand pumps and did side by side by comparisons on several beers with normal faucet, sparkler and hand pump. While the sparkler can improve several beers, it is still a pale shadow compared to the hand pump. The problem with the hand pump is freshness though. You have to go through the keg quickly or it will go stale on you.

:cheers:
Wade