[madscientist]

My friends are hardcore BMC drinkers, (one person even posted on his FB how good Bud Light Platinum was), but slowly they are coming over to the craft beer side.  It's nice to see.  My crowd pleaser is something light and drinkable, and like many have said you can't go wrong with a cream ale.  Simple/effective.

[euge]

I know the request was for a lager of some sort and kolsch was brought up. Which is an excellent alternative. And a cream ale too, but what- no blonde ale? I've made a couple and they were quite clean. If I presented them as lagers to BMC drinkers I doubt an eye would have been raised as to whether they were or not.

Please don't take that as a promotion to decieve your friends.

[malzig]

I used a big pitch of WY2035 from another beer.
It's ok.  I thought I kept the fermentation temps at the proposed levels but they not have been perfect.

The beer is ok but it's way too fruity in my opinion.  Seems more like a kolsch than a cream ale that I'm used to.  It will get drank but I'm not sold on this one yet, at least not the way I did it.

It the 2035 that's the problem.  It's a difficult yeast, to put it kindly.  I'd stay away from it.

WLP830 will render the cleanest of flavors, while WLP833 will lend the maltier profile in my experience. They are both fantastic lager yeasts IMO.

I'd agree with that.  WLP830 or Wy2124 are one of the most forgiving lager yeasts.   They tolerate higher temperatures well, stay quite clean and flocculate well.  If fermented well, you shouldn't need more than a couple weeks of lagering to drop the beer clear.

[tygo]

It the 2035 that's the problem.  It's a difficult yeast, to put it kindly.  I'd stay away from it.

I agree.  I ran a split batch comparison once between 2124 and 2035 in a CAP and the 2124 was the clear winner with 2035 producing the characteristics described above.

[sharg54]

JMHO but if you want to turn your friends heads I would go for a Cap. It has got to the point if I brew one I don't let my friends know about it as they always want to come over and drink it all up. I've always been a fan of old school is the best school when it comes to a cap and the fact that it is a very basic brew makes that even more important IMO.
 
Simple Recipe I use goes like this for a six gallon batch.
8 lbs of US 6 row but 2 will work.
2 lbs of flaked maze if you are using 6 row and corn meal if you are using 2 row. The corn Meal picks up the grain taste a little more for some reason.
.5 lb of rice. To dry out the finish a little. ( to much thins it out and kills the malt)
Do a cereal mash with the corn meal and rice ( run the rice through a blender it works better) If using flaked rice and corn skip the cereal mash.
Mash in at 130 degrees for 30 minuets.
Infuse to 153 Degrees for total conversion (if you ran a cereal mash use it to step up the temp. cool whats left to 153 and add it to the mash.
Batch sparge with equal amounts of 170 degree water to obtain 7.5 gallons of wort.
90 min boil
.5 oz sazz at 75 min
1.5 oz sazz at 60 min.
 .5 oz sazz at 20 min
.25 oz sazz at 7 min.
OG at end of boil 1.054 give or take at 6.25 gallons.
Chill to pitching temp of 52 degrees.
Make a half gallon starter with White Labs Pilsner 800 3 days in advance and (slowly) cool to 52 degrees.
Ferment until Gravity reaches 1.020 and raise to 60 deg for a D rest for 48 hours. Mine ends up at an FG of 1.012 after the D rest.
Transfer to secondary after D rest and crash to 35 degrees for one week.
I bottle so I prime for one week at 62 degrees before crashing it again to 32 degrees for two weeks. Total time roughly 5 to 6 weeks to enjoy.
Good luck..
People always ask why I do it this way... Simple answer is it works and it taste fantastic and is as smooth as a babies back side. LOL