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Recipe: Collegeville Cream Ale

From Josh Weikert’s Make Your Best series: The dose of sugar and mash regime should help get this dry, while the Crystal hops and light esters add pleasant character to a clean background. The result is a beer that drinks well by the liter.

Josh Weikert Jun 19, 2022 - 2 min read

Recipe: Collegeville Cream Ale Primary Image

Photo: Matt Graves

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For much more about cream ale and how to brew a great one, see Make Your Best Cream Ale and The Smooth-Drinking Gimmickry of Cream Ale.

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012
IBUs: 20
ABV: 5.5%

MALT/GRAIN BILL
9.3 lb (4.2 kg) pilsner

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HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
8 oz (227 g) cane sugar at first wort
1.25 oz (35 g) Crystal at 60 minutes [15 IBUs]
1.25 oz (35 g) Crystal at 10 minutes [5 IBUs]

YEAST
Wyeast 1007 German Ale

DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 150°F (66°C) for 75 minutes. Recirculate until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Add the sugar and stir gently to dissolve. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill the wort to about 58°F (15°C), aerate well, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 58°F (15°C) for 2 days, then allow the temperature to rise to 65°F (18°C) until fermentation is complete. Crash to 35°F (2°C), then package and carbonate to about 2.5 volumes.

EXTRACT VERSION
Replace the pilsner malt with 6.5 lb (2.9 kg) extra-light dry malt extract (DME). Heat about 6 gallons (23 liters) of water and add the DME and sugar, stirring completely until dissolved. Bring to a boil and continue as above.

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