[gymrat]

I was just looking at the recipe of the week. 12 dollar cream ale. It is a SMaSH made with Briess 2 row and Willamette hops. Isn't a kolsh basically just 2 row? I thought a cream ale had flaked corn or something in it to make it creamy. My question is what is the difference between a kolsh and a cream ale?

[skyler]

"Cream Ale" is a bit of a misnomer. A cream ale is usually similar to an American light lager, but fermented with an ale yeast. It isn't creamy, but sprightly.

Kölsch is all or mostly pilsner malt and a smallish amount of noble hops (and sometimes a little wheat).

[hopfenundmalz]

Cream ale is a Faux American Lager. It mainly uses American malt ingredients such as 6-row or 2-row, and corn as an adjunct, hops can be whatever. Clean ale yeast is used, though some could use lager yeast at a higher temperature. Lawnmower beer.

Koelsch is a Faux Pilsner. As said above it uses Pils malt, some versions use wheat, noble hops to a low level.  It is fermented cool and lagered for about a month. Some Koelsch yeast have a faint white wine aroma. These are very smooth and easy drinking. German lawnmower beer in the area of Cologne.

[gymrat]

Thankyou for your responses.

[bluesman]

I'm getting ready to brew a Cream Ale using mostly six row and flaked maize with some vienna and pilsner thrown in. I'm using German Noble hops and an American Lager yeast, but I'll ferment it at 60F.

My Kolsch is mostly Pils malt fermented in the upper 50's then lagered on the yeast for a month.

[santoch]

I'm getting ready to brew a Cream Ale using mostly six row and flaked maize with some vienna and pilsner thrown in. I'm using German Noble hops and an American Lager yeast, but I'll ferment it at 60F.

What will your mash schedule be?  Grain/hop bill sounds good to me.  Gonna be nice and malty/grainy.
You may want to consider doing a protein rest with all that 6 row.

[alcaponejunior]

sprightly

The Adjective of the week award has just been clinched 

[dzlater]

I was just looking at the recipe of the week. 12 dollar cream ale. It is a SMaSH made with Briess 2 row and Willamette hops. Isn't a kolsh basically just 2 row? I thought a cream ale had flaked corn or something in it to make it creamy. My question is what is the difference between a kolsh and a cream ale?

Not really relevant to your question , but I had no idea there was a recipe of the week. That's a pretty cool resource. For anyone else who doesn't know here's the link
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/community/blog?pagenum=2

[gymrat]

There are a lot of cool things about this site. I love exploring here.

[netsteel]

I was thinking about brewing this as well, but now I'm not so sure. I'm not a big fan of the BMC beers. Would this one have more flavor and character?
I may brew it any way for the learning experience. I can always find people willing to drink it. No one turns down free beer. 

[andrew000141]

Some cream ale yeast is a mix of both lager and ale yeast.

[tomsawyer]

I think its spritzy, not sprightly.  Sprightly means lively or gay.  Are you saying cream ale is gay?  Not that theres anything wrong with that.

I like a little corny flavor in a cream ale, its not required but it is tasty and it gives the beer a little direction as far as flavor.  Some people make it more hoppy, the wife likes it low on bitterness.  I recall Little Kings being somewhat bitter but back then I thought American lagers were bitter.

Kolsch yeast kicks out a little fruitiness and the beer itself come across as very delicate, theres really not a lot of any flavor standing out.  Cream ale is a little more robust than that and its an ale but a clean low fruit ale.