Acoustic Cream Ale

Brew Date: 2012-02-26

Recipe Name: "Acoustic Cream Ale" (based on Jamil's "Weed Feed and Mow")

Beer Style: Cream Ale

Batch Number: B5

This beer got its name because I spent the day listening to two acoustic Widespread Panic shows. Also, because the cream ale style strikes me as a down-to-earth, no-frills style, as opposed to electric and in-your-face like an IPA. Finally, the name just sounds good.

Expected Original Gravity: 1.050

Expected Final Gravity: 1.009

Expected ABV: 5.4%

IBUs (bitterness): 18

SRM (color): 3 

Expected Efficiency: 70%
Actual Brewhouse Efficiency: 85%?

Yeast Starter Size: 2 liter

Water Volume: 2 liters

Dry Malt Extract: 200 grams

Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast

A vial of White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast

Grain Bill

• 4.75 lbs of German Pilsener Malt
• 4.75 lbs Canadian Two-Row
• 1.0 lbs flaked maize
• .75 lbs cane sugar (@ 30 minutes)

This grain is from Heidelberg, Germany!

Brew Day Start Time: 8:20 AM

Music: Widespread Panic - 2012-01-29 The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA 

(an acoustic show)

Mash

Strike Water Volume: 3.3 gallons

Strike Water Temperature: 165 F

Target Mash Temperature: 149 F

Actual Mash Temperature: 149 F

Mash Time: 60 minutes

Sparge #1

Sparge Water Volume: 2.5 gallons

Sparge Water Temperature: 155 F to 150 F

Mash Time: 20 minutes

Sparge #2

Sparge Water Volume: 2.75 gallons

Sparge Water Temperature: 149 F

Mash Time: 20 minutes

Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.050

Pre-Boil Volume: about 7 gallons

Wort

Boil Time: 60 minutes

Music: Widespread Panic - 2012-01-25 The Fillmore, Washington DC  

(an acoustic show)

Hop Additions

• .1 oz Liberty @ 60 min
• .5 oz Liberty @ 1 min

Original Gravity: 1.052

Brew Day End Time: 1:34 PM

I ended with 6 gallons of wort in the bucket, which is too much, as I later found out.

Fermentation Temperature: 60 F for 24 hours, 65 F after

The stopper was bubbling within 8 hours. The stopper filled with yeasty krausen during the week and I emptied and cleaned with sanitized water three times.

We saw three deer looking for the mash grain a half hour after it was dumped in the compost pile. This was in the middle of the day!

Hard to see, but there are three deer down there

Costs

Grain: $1.79 (minus my base malt purchase)

Hops: $3.78

Yeast: $6.99

Other: $7.99 for shipping

Total: $12.56

I should note that I did stock up on StarSan (8 oz) and bottle caps (144 count) too. Together, they cost $11.74 ($7.99 plus $3.75, respectively).