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Author Topic: Cream Ale  (Read 11515 times)

Offline the_pig

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2013, 12:20:03 pm »
Thanks everyone! 

One follow up question:  Does adding sugar to the boil have a flavor/feel effect?  Or is it just to boost fermentable/alchol?

-Bill

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2013, 02:39:42 pm »
Thanks everyone! 

One follow up question:  Does adding sugar to the boil have a flavor/feel effect?  Or is it just to boost fermentable/alchol?

-Bill

it boosts alcohol and lightens body. If used in very high percentages it can add some cidery flavours. but at these levels it will just boost the gravity without changing the flavor.
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Offline skrag6713

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2013, 08:08:08 pm »
Personally I would go with corn for the corn flavour it provides more than the alcohol. I think that's a key aspect of the beer but others may not.
Mash the corn.

I prefer to avoid the corn flavor personally.  I use rice syrup solids instead.  just replace the sugar with it.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2013, 08:23:27 pm »
Thanks everyone! 

One follow up question:  Does adding sugar to the boil have a flavor/feel effect?  Or is it just to boost fermentable/alchol?

-Bill

it boosts alcohol and lightens body. If used in very high percentages it can add some cidery flavours. but at these levels it will just boost the gravity without changing the flavor.
How high is high?
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #19 on: June 24, 2013, 08:37:38 am »
Thanks everyone! 

One follow up question:  Does adding sugar to the boil have a flavor/feel effect?  Or is it just to boost fermentable/alchol?

-Bill

it boosts alcohol and lightens body. If used in very high percentages it can add some cidery flavours. but at these levels it will just boost the gravity without changing the flavor.
How high is high?

Good question. I've gone 20% but in a very big very malty beer. Actually at brew club the other day we had a member present on cask ale and he tapped a pin of ordinary bitter at 3.2% abv that had 2lbs of sugar in the recipe. I didn't get any particular cideryness there. so I guess the short answer is...
it depends.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #20 on: June 24, 2013, 08:51:39 am »
Has anyone here actually experienced "cidery" flavors that can directly be attributed to nothing more than a high percentage of simple sugar in the recipe? Methinks this is an old wives tale from the days of yore before brewers focused on yeast health, pitching rates and controlling fermentation temperature.

Back in the days when brewing involved stale extract, a crapload of sugar and one 2-year old packet of Munton's dry yeast that was stored warm, then I can see why you would expect a lot off off fermentation off-flavors. I'm sure all that simple sugar caused fermentation temps to take off pretty quick as well. But, I've just never picked up cider notes in any well-fermented Belgian or IIPA.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #21 on: June 24, 2013, 08:52:45 am »
Has anyone here actually experienced "cidery" flavors that can directly be attributed to nothing more than a high percentage of simple sugar in the recipe? Methinks this is an old wives tale from the days of yore before brewers focused on yeast health, pitching rates and controlling fermentation temperature.

Back in the days when brewing involved stale extract, a crapload of sugar and one 2-year old packet of Munton's dry yeast that was stored warm, then I can see why you would expect a lot off off fermentation off-flavors. I'm sure all that simple sugar caused fermentation temps to take off pretty quick as well. But, I've just never picked up cider notes in any well-fermented Belgian or IIPA.

I am entirely willing to accept that possibility especially after my experience with the ordinary bitter.
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #22 on: June 24, 2013, 09:18:19 am »
Methinks this is an old wives tale from the days of yore before brewers focused on yeast health, pitching rates and controlling fermentation temperature.

I think so too. Many belgian beers use high percentages of sugars and many super-high gravity recipes are almost 50% sugar. Probably what happened decades ago was that all malt beer had the flavor to cover bad yeast flavors. And simple sugars don't have nutrients, making bad yeast flavors even worse.
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Offline gmac

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #23 on: June 24, 2013, 04:07:56 pm »
I've definitely had cider flavours in the past (20 years ago) but I can't say it was sugar or bad yeast or what.  That was one of the reasons that I gave up on homebrewing for a while, cidery beer that was not good.  I found it worst with high percentages of corn sugar (50%).  Not saying it exists now but I still fear it to this day and it's one of the reasons I moved to all grain.

Offline yso191

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Re: Cream Ale
« Reply #24 on: June 24, 2013, 05:45:28 pm »
And I find myself wondering how often Acetaldehyde was labeled 'Cidery'
Steve
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