One of my earliest childhood memories is playing with a toy truck that had “Genesee Cream Ale” printed on the side. Brewed since 1960, Genesee is at least one macro beer that a lot of geeks don’t mind drinking. While better versions are out there—New Glarus Spotted Cow may be the world’s best lawnmower beer—Genesee helped to define and popularize the style. (For a deeper dive on the tradition, see The Smooth-Drinking Gimmickry of Cream Ale.)
Style: Strictly speaking, cream ale is a hybrid; it can be brewed with either ale or lager yeast. It’s also fairly restrained—you won’t find strong flavors, and you shouldn’t find “cream” in it. I’ve tasted a few with lactose, and I can safely describe the results as “highly unpleasant.” The best versions have an austere dryness that sets off nicely against a touch of classic American hops, or American-Noble hybrids, and a bit of berry-like ester. This beer should be refreshing, light, dry, and more flavorful than a typical mass-market lager. Think hot days, baseball games, lawnmowers…
Ingredients: The strategy is light and restrained, yet flavorful. The grist is simply pilsner malt—in fact, this is effectively a SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) beer. When it comes to malt, cream ale needs only what pilsner can provide: a pleasant, mildly grainy, light honey-like flavor, possibly with a light touch of corn. It’s traditional to add rice or corn as an adjunct. However, since the goal here is lighter body, I opt for a bit of cane sugar. This will help ensure a bone-dry finish while adding no other grain flavors to muddle our pretty pilsner background.
As for hops, I love Crystal here: They marry Old and New World into one lovely, woody, earthy, piney gestalt. Our bittering is modest here—about 20 IBUs—while an addition at 10 minutes will add evident but mild hop aroma.
For yeast, you have options. We want a low level of fruity esters. Some will recommend the Chico strain. However, if you have good temperature control, I recommend Wyeast 1007 (German Ale) for its mild fruitiness and thorough attenuation at relatively low temperatures. If you’re at the mercy of your basement or closet temperature, try to get a Kölsch strain—it should produce similar esters but won’t overdo it, even at slightly higher temperatures. Either should attenuate nicely while adding a bit more character than the typical American ale strain.
Process: Mash a bit low (say, 150°F/66°C) to promote more attenuation. If you have particularly hard water, consider diluting it with distilled. A flinty background is a fault here—we want dry, not mineral. Ferment on the cooler side before allowing it to warm and finish fermentation. After crashing, carbonate to about 2.5 volumes—a bit of spritz will increase the perception of dryness. Even if you brew it in the winter, you treat this beer like a true lager: Brew it, store it cold, and it’ll have plenty of life when the warmer weather comes back around.