Amount of lactose (or milk?) to make a real 'Cream Ale',

Question

Amount of lactose (or milk?) to make a real 'Cream Ale',

CDspace

2014年6月9日 01:28

So I'm brewing the recipe below for my wife. (She wanted a "fruity" beer.") It was listed on beersmith.com as "Strawberry Cream Ale". I asked at the LHBS, and they confirmed what I thought, in that there was no lactose, so this isn't a true 'cream ale'. It's in the mash right now, and I was wondering, is there a way to make this into a true cream ale? How much lactose should be added for a 5 gallon batch?

As an aside, let's assume I can't make it back tot he LHBS to get lactose. Can I just use straight whole milk or heavy cream instead?

8 lbs   Pale Malt (2 Row) US 
1 lbs   Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L 
1 lbs   Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)
1.0 oz  Cascade [5.5%] - Boil 60 min 
1 pkgs  California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)
4.00 lbs    Strawberries (Secondary 7 days)

Topic lactose ingredients ale homebrew

Category Mac

score 1 · Accepted Answer · 2014年6月9日 01:28

In general, adding lactose will add sweetness and overall silkier/creamier mouthfeel. Perhaps you are confusing the name with milk stouts, or "cream" stouts which do use lactose to achieve this creamy mouthfeel. Milk stouts fall into a different category of BJCP, #13B, rather than #6 for cream ales. This article gives you a good idea of the flavour and usage of lactose in milk stouts.

That being said, if you want to brew to style, you shouldn't use lactose in cream ales because it works against the taste and overall mouthfeel (contrary to the name). However, if you don't care to brew to style, go for it and see what your experiment produces!

speersj · Accepted Answer · 2014年6月1日 21:56

I don't think lactose is desirable in a cream ale. Don't let the name fool you, cream ales have no cream or lactose or anything of the sort. They're basically American lager type beers fermented with ale yeast. Lactose would add sweetness and take away from the crisp finish most people would find desirable in this kind of beer. That's why the recipe calls for flaked corn, to minimize body and lend a crisp, dry finish: the exact opposite of what lactose would do.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style06.php

Feel free to add it if you want of course!

Amount of lactose (or milk?) to make a real 'Cream Ale',

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