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Orange Blossom Cream Ale

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Angus

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Aug 19, 2005
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Milwaukee, WI
OK, I know this sounds unusual, but believe me when I say it was a fantastic Ale. It was a session beer brewed at Milwaukee's Ale House.

The subtle Orange Blossom honey was the first thing you notice in the nose, and the first flavor. A wonderfully light hop followed, I think using a Hallertauer, combined with a light malt flavor. It was refreshing, crisp, and unusual but not fruity in the slightest.

If you are in the Milwaukee area, head in and give it a try before it runs out. If anyone has a recipe that sounds like it fits, please post.

Angus
 
I'd be interested in hearing how this compares to the more readily available Buffalo Bill branded brew of the same name.

The Milwaukee Ale House has an old blog with some information - the rest of the website is also worth a look. It sure looks like a fantastic place to visit - "fresh music and live beer!" Jim Olen, Practical Brewer, seems very much to be an artisan unafraid to experiment, and it looks like the SOBCA is an iterative effort. There's enough information in the log to formulate a few different clone attempts, but I'd be willing to bet that these guys would give the recipe outright to an interested patron.

Thanks for adding this place to my radar - if I ever find myself in WI, I'll shoot myself. drop in.

Cheers,
mmi
 
Based on some feedback from the Microbrewery, and some investigation on Cream Ales, here is the recipe I will be trying. Note that the taste and aroma of the Orange Blossom Honey will be preserved better if the honey is not boiled with the wort, but added in the primary. To reduce the risk of spoilage organisms, get a really good starter going.

Ingredients:

3.3 lb. Muntons LME - Light
2.0 lb. Orange Blossom Honey
0.5 lb. CaraPils
1 lb. Flaked Corn
0.5 lb. Pale Malt 2 Row

0.5 oz. Liberty Hops (pellets), 4% - 60 mins.
1 oz. Liberty Hops (pellets), 4% - 2 mins.

1 tsp. Irish Moss - 20 mins.

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Create a starter 24 to 48 hours before brew-day: smack pack and allow time to expand in 75°F ambient. When smack pack is ready, boil 2 cups of water and 1 cup of Light DME for 10 minutes. Pour into sanitized jar and let cool, covered with shrink-wrap, until it is 75°F. Pour in contents of smack-pack, cover and let sit for 24 hours or until there is a good 1/2 inch of yeast sediment.

Brew-day:

Mashed the grains in 3 gallons of water for 1 hour at 158°F. Drained liquid directly into boil kettle onto 3 gallons of 180°F water.
Add the LME. Increase the water volume to 6 gallons (assume 15% evaporation and some loss to trub).
Boil vigorously, adding hops and Irish Moss at specified times.
Cool rapidly to achieve cold-break. Stop at 75°F.
Gently warm honey until it flows easily (place jar in 90°F water for 5 minutes), then add to the primary fermenter. Siphon in cooled wort while stirring vigorously to help dissolve the honey and oxygen. Drain off clear liquid from starter leaving only a little over the yeast sediment. Swirl the jar to resuspend the yeast then pitch all of the contents into the wort, airlock and ferment for 2 to 3 weeks. Bottle or keg as desired.

Pre-boil SG: 1.040
Post-boil SG: 1.051
Anticipated IBU: 16.5
 
Good point Akueck. I edited the entry to add that. Wyeast 1056 American Ale. I have also adjusted the malts and honey a little, and have reduced the bittering hops to get an IBU around 16.5.

Angus
 
8/15/06

Brew day. Prepared everything as described above. Had a very vigorous boil and actually lost more volume than expected. Had to add 1/2 gallon of distilled water to bring the volume up to 5.25 gallons.

I also changed the honey addition to 2 lbs due to the less aromatic quality of the orange blossom this year. Hopefully this will maintain the taste and aroma as it was in the microbrewery version.
 
8/28/06

Kegged 4 gallons plus 7 bottles to hand out as samples. Forced carbonation on the keg @ 21 psi/66ºF. Will condition for 4 weeks.
Used 4 priming tabs per bottle for normal carbonation levels.

FG - 1.009

Note - sample from SG reading is amazing, even flat. Orange Blossom aroma was difficult to detect, but the flavor was strong. This is going to turn out to be one of my most succesful, I think.
 
How is it?

Initial aroma is a wonderful Orange Blossom, with a hint of the Liberty. Taste is initially dominated by the honey, followed by a light malt, with low bitterness. Mouthfeel is full, but still light. Finish leaves a nice remnant of the honey in the nose complemented by the hops, and the malt in the palate.

Overall.... :thumbsup:

This one will be a staple summer brew from now on.

Angus
 
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