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- Product Details
- An ale version of the light, fizzy American lager style, cream ale is a specialty of the eastern US. Our Cream Ale is medium-bodied and smooth, gold in color and low in bitterness; the specialty grain blend adds some complexity with a clean, sweet malt profile and a hint of buttered toast in the aroma and flavor. A homebrewed “lawnmower beer” is pretty hard to beat as a summertime thirst-quencher.
- Additional Information
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Beer Kit Yield 5 Gallons Recipe and Instructions Click Here for Cream Ale Extract Kit Brewing Instructions Regional Style USA Original Gravity 1040 Total Time to Make 4 weeks - Reviews
- 4.6 / 5.0289 ReviewsPretty dullUsed the extract kit, nailed the OG and nailed the ABV but this beer left a LOT to be desired, even as a cream ale. I've ordered quite a few extract kits at this point(i made this account just to leave this review) and this was before me and my wife's least favorite. We even tried some vanilla extract to help kick it up and its just not there for us. Bummer.
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Fantastic brewUsed the Wyeast 1056 and went two weeks in primary before bottling. Carbonation is perfect after 3 weeks and this is an extremely tasty and easy drinking brew. ABV finished just below 5% so you can enjoy a few!- Was this review helpful? Yes (1) No (0)
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Loved itCame out just like I hoped it would. Clean taste. The kit was great.- Was this review helpful? Yes (1) No (0)
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Dangerous (in a good way)This is hands down one of the most drinkable beers I have brewed, making it pretty easy to put several of them away at a time. With a flavor profile that is true to description, it is extremely smooth and a hit with all beer-drinking guests.- Was this review helpful? Yes (2) No (0)
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Came out great! Beautiful color. Was fun to make and everything worked perfectly. Light alcohol which for this one is just fine. Will be ordering more!- Was this review helpful? Yes (1) No (0)
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AleThis Cream Ale turned out great. Very nice head. Wonderful taste.- Was this review helpful? Yes (1) No (0)
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Happy Yet sad!Happy is was s0000 good. Sad it disappeared so fast.- Was this review helpful? Yes (1) No (0)
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Very tastySmooth , light , and flavorful..Easy to brew.
Unless you are into a full grain kit, I suggest keep it simple.- Was this review helpful? Yes (0) No (0)
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just a good beerthis isn't complex or mind blowing.... its a good and refreshing easy beer.... i like to use this to throw onto a yeast cake to make good of the yeast from another batch and to make the cost savings of this already cheap beer even better... love this recipe- Was this review helpful? Yes (2) No (0)
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A love story...I was a virgin brewer and was ready for my first time. Being inexperienced, I went with one that was gentle, easy on the eyes, and most importantly looked like she was easy. I tried to warm her up slowly and sensually, but in my inexperienced eagerness took her too hard and too long... changing her golden color to a coppery amber. I figured I blew it... my lady was not like the photos on the internet. I ruined her. The wait to our second date was excruciating, but when she was finally ready for me to taste her... wow. This girl is amazing. Smooth, velvety smooth. I will have to try other ladies, but I’ll never forget my first.Heaven in a glass- Was this review helpful? Yes (6) No (4)
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- Q&A
- Start typing your question and we'll check if it was already asked and answered. Learn MoreBrowse 13 questions Browse 13 questions and 33 answersMy first attempt at this recipe, I did not get the golden color I expected. I read one of the replies on a similar question and it mentioned about ensuring the malt extract was properly mixed in. Is there anything else that could contribute? Also, I've read where flaked maize in popular in cream ale. At what point would you suggest I add maize to this recipe?
thank you!BEST ANSWER: I have learned through experience that the malt extract needs to be added in stages at the beginning of the boil and at about the 20 minute mark. This keeps the sugars from caramelizing and darkening the wort. If i were going to add corn to this kit I would add it to the steeping grains. I hope this helps. Happy Brewing!- Reply
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- Michael C on Jan 18, 2017
- Purchased on Jun 13, 2015
I just made a batch of the cream ale, and it doesn't have the golden color it should. The color looks more like hot cocoa. I followed the directions to a tee, but I can't figure out why it is an off color. Its not a matter of sanitation, it turned that color in the boil and never changed. Any ideas?BEST ANSWER: I've brewed many batches of the cream, both extract and all grain. My color after the boil has always been a little darker, but at the end of fermentation it's the golden color you'd expect it to be. I can only assume maybe it's because I don't use a hop sock, so at the end of the boil it always looks cloudy, darker off color, but it settles during fermentation. Not sure if that's the actual reason, but again, I assume that's what causes it with my batches. Hope that helps, I've only been brewing for just over a year now, so still learning myself.- Reply
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- MATTHEW G. on Feb 25, 2016
Just bottled this tonight and was wondering what the final gravity of this beer should be.BEST ANSWER: Hey Rick,
Thank you for choosing Northern Brewer! The final gravity will vary a bit, but it should be somewhere around 1.010. A good rule of thumb on any beer would be to take a gravity ready once a day for three days or so and if it doesn't change, the fermentation is finished. I hope that this helps, have a great day!- Reply
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- Customer Service on Dec 7, 2015
I have a batch of this currently sitting on 4 lbs of Strawberries....I am wanting to brew up a few of these for this coming summer. My question is....will this beer still be drinkable after 8 months of aging? Has anyone kept or forgot they had this brew and tried it later down the road? If so was it still good? ThanksBEST ANSWER: Hello Jeff
That beer more than likely won't keep very well. If you do decide to keep it
I would keep it in the refrigerator.- Reply
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- Customer Service on Nov 30, 2015
Should I transfer to a secondary after fermentation ends?BEST ANSWER: In my experience there is no need at all for a secondary. We've had great results simply allowing the fermenter to rest for a full two weeks and then move to bottling for another two weeks of bottle conditioning.- Reply
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- jeff l on Jul 12, 2017
- Purchased on Aug 2, 2015
How would I go about adding honey to the recipe? Also what kind of honey would you recommend?BEST ANSWER: One way to do it would be to add the honey at the end of your boil, but prior to chilling the wort. If I was going to experiment with this recipe I would try 2 oz of Ames farm single source honey that you can get from Northern Brewer, and adjust future brews with more or less to achieve the flavor profile that you are looking for.- Reply
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- joe p on Jul 6, 2017
- Purchased on Jun 29, 2015
Original Gravity came out a lot higher than I expected. I used two different Hydrometers and came up with 1.070 and 1.072 for Grav. I had this extract kit sitting in a small dorm fridge for about a month before cooking up. I expected around 1.040 any thoughts on why I started out so high?BEST ANSWER: Typically, higher OG than anticipated is a result of greater conversion. It's a process thing. Unless you're a stickler for details just go with it and realize that you're going to get a higher gravity and enjoy it. Possible causes could be longer steep time with your grain, squeezing the bag, water temp or composition and so on. Consider that LME or DME sometimes varies in concentration as well. Hope that helps- Reply
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- Eric C on Apr 16, 2017
- Purchased on May 4, 2015
Northern Brewer says that Fast Pitch® Yeast Starter is required for this cream ale. I'm new - how do you use this? I've been googling for 2 hours and don't really get it. Someone teach me please :-)Cream Ale Extract Kit w/ Specialty GrainsBEST ANSWER: I don't use a yeast starter, and mine turns out great every time. Once you get the wort temp down to 70 degrees, just pitch the yeast and let it set.- Reply
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- L L on Mar 14, 2017
- Purchased on May 13, 2015
Should the wort be run through the screen in my funnel when I transfer it from the pot to the primary fermenter? This will remove most of the hops.BEST ANSWER: Straining your wort as it goes into the primary can be beneficial for a couple reasons. First it will filter out much the particulate allowing clearer wort to get into the fermentor
It can also aerate the wort as well.- Reply
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- Customer Service on Oct 4, 2015
I already have the buckets capper and all. I'm looking just for the ingredients and instructions. Is this the ingredients and instructions or will this come with bucket capper ect?BEST ANSWER: This is just the recipe kit. It comes with ingredients, no equipment. Cheers!- Reply
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- Laura E Staff on Feb 6, 2018
I'd like to Keg this beer instead of bottle this time around. Any recommendations on psi (@38 degrees) and should I go 3 weeks in primary since it won't be bottle conditioning at all?BEST ANSWER: No on three weeks. I always start beers at 21 PSI in the keg for about a week then turn down from there. Around 10 or 11 PSI for this beer. I have brewed it many times- Reply
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- Greg K on Jan 1, 2018
- Purchased on Mar 29, 2016
I am a new homebrewer and this Cream Ale kit is may first recipe. It has been in the primary for 8 days now, and I have not seen the airlock bubble since the 2nd day (it was pretty steady all of that day), and there is virtually no krausen forming on the top, just a few suds. The temperature on the fermometer of the Big Mouth Bubbler has been around 60-63 the whole time. Wondering if this is too cold for fermentation, or is there something else I've done wrong? Don't want my first batch to be a dud.BEST ANSWER: Hello,
You will want to get the temperature up to about 68 degrees or so to get a more complete fermentation. It is possible too that the initial portion of the fermentation has run its course. I would try to get the temperature up and let it ferment for a full 2 weeks to be on the safe side. I hope that this helps!- Reply
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- Customer Service on Apr 2, 2016
Fermentation took nearly a week to begin. I didn't take a gravity reading right away, but did take one 6 days after brewing. It's about 1,045. I read in a previous question that final gravity should be around 1.012. So clearly fermentation hasn't happened yet. Foam just started to appear in the carboy. If I wait another week and the gravity still hasn't fallen, can I still add more yeast at that time? Two weeks after brewing?BEST ANSWER: Hello Lance,
Thank you for choosing Northern Brewer! If foam has started to appear, then the fermentation has begun. You can most definitely still add more yeast at that point. What yeast did you use, and what temperature are you fermenting at?- Reply
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- Customer Service on Mar 26, 2016