Style Spotlight: Cream Ale

A while back, I was trying to do a style of the week. It was going well for a while… and then work got busy – and stayed that way. But I really want to stick with style guidelines and talking about them for a few reasons. One, I think a lot of misinformation about styles swims around on the interwebs - such as the idea that a "Double IPA" is somehow authoritatively different from an "Imperial IPA". I'll never forget getting into a disagreement about that with a bartender in Seattle where I was told that he was right, I was wrong, and there was a reason he was BEHIND one of the country's best bars and I was not.

Someone didn't know how to earn tips.

Two, I'm taking the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam in September, and this will help me study. Knowing and understanding different styles is not just based in tasting them, but knowing what properties are typical of the style as well as their history. Finally, I want to focus on commercial examples of beers that not only exemplify styles but are available in the KC metro area. I'm going to stick with the BJCP guidelines for now because I think it's a good – and standard – starting point for style recognition. And seeking out commercial styles that I can get here will only help me study. (Study... yeah, that's the ticket...)

Today's style is Cream Ale, partially because I recently came back from Milwaukee and had a New Glarus Spotted Cow (which you can't get outside of Wisconsin or internet trades. What was I just saying about KC availability?). But also because I think it's a style that has several misconceptions about what it is. No, it doesn't have cream in it. It doesn't have lactose or anything dairy-based at all. And it's not because it's served on nitro or has a creamy mouthfeel (that's called Smooth Ale across the pond). It's actually a pretty old style, one which managed to survive Prohibition (shudder).

So what is it? It's one of the truly American styles (along with California Common) and was initially created by ale houses in the states to compete with American lagers. Though it is fermented with ale yeast (though some breweries, like Genesee, use lager yeast), it's fermented at cool temperatures then lagered for at least a few weeks. Ale yeasts typically throw esters at warmer temperatures, and fermenting them at lower temperatures keeps the fruity esters at bay. It also often includes corn as an adjunct (a very American ingredient!) to create a slightly sweet but still crisp flavor.

The result is a clean, light ale that is neither bitter nor malty, is highly carbonated, and very refreshing. It's the lawnmower beer of the ale world.

Some examples:

- Anderson Valley Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema (I need a beer just typing that out)
- Genesee Cream Ale
- Rogue Honey Cream ale

If you're ever in Wisconsin, do yourself a favor and pick up a Spotted Cow. It's definitely worth tipping (back). har har.

Beer of the Week: Cream Ale

This week's featured beer is a little less exotic than those that proceeded it, but perhaps more misunderstood.

Cream Ale is one of two unique US beer styles, along with California Common (Anchor Steam being the predominant example) which originated prior to prohibition and is currently in large scale production. We owe the survival of Cream Ale through prohibition to Canada, where it was popular and brewed during much of the US prohibition.

The name "Cream Ale" can be misleading. The beers contain no cream or milk and do not have a particularly creamy mouth feel, being instead light and thirst-quenching. Adding to the confusion is that some breweries adopt the Cream Ale moniker for beers that better fit into other light ale styles.

So then what is a Cream Ale? It is an American Lager (think Budweiser or Coors) which is fermented instead as an ale. The style has its genesis in East Coast breweries which aimed to compete with the popular American Lagers but were not equipped to carry out a lager fermentation.

Like American Lagers, cream ales are light in color and flavor and thirst-quenching. There may be some residual sweetness and a corn flavor, if corn is used as an adjunct. Most are brewed with adjuncts but there are some all malt examples (surprisingly not at all correlated with the size of the brewery). The primary difference between an American Lager and a Cream Ale is that the Cream Ale may have some fruity esters from the ale fermentation. The lack of a crisp drying sensation from the sulfur produced by lager yeasts may lead to a perception of a fuller mouth feel, but the mouth feel will not approach "creamy".

Modern Cream Ales are often cold conditioned or use a lager yeast for all or part of fermentation. There is no historical basis for this, however, as the lack of refrigeration was the entire motivation for the creation of the style.

There are not a lot of Cream Ales on the shelves, but you should have no problem finding one. Craft brewed examples include Spotted Cow by New Glarus (Wisconsin only) and Summer Solstice Cervesa Crema by Anderson Valley Brewing Company. The latter is unusual in that it is all malt, has a distinct crystal malt sweetness, and has a subtle addition of vanilla.

The next time you are mowing the lawn (which is hopefully no time soon), put down your American Lager and grab something a little more uniquely American.