Diacetyl Rest For...
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As the cream ale style was developed to somewhat mimic lager beer while fermenting at a higher temperature, a diacetyl rest would not be out of line. I do this for any style that I’m trying to achieve a “cleaner” taste.
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Cream Ales are a little ambiguous. I like them when they are made with nearly any yeast other than a Chico strain. I made one with lager yeast and it won gold in the MN State Fair. Others have done them with a Chico strain and won, so much for my snobbery toward Chico strains
It would be completely dependent on the strain of yeast. Cream Ales made with lager yeast may need them, but most others probably not. Alt yeasts (Wyeast 1007) work really well for cream ales too and unless the fermentation didn't go very well, then I would say you don't need a diacetyl rest. 34/70 would work at 62F and I doubt you wouldn't need a D-rest.
It would be completely dependent on the strain of yeast. Cream Ales made with lager yeast may need them, but most others probably not. Alt yeasts (Wyeast 1007) work really well for cream ales too and unless the fermentation didn't go very well, then I would say you don't need a diacetyl rest. 34/70 would work at 62F and I doubt you wouldn't need a D-rest.
The first question to ask should be, "does this beer need a d-rest"?
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Unless you're going to ferment your Cream Ale like a lager, then, no.
Diacetyl is produced at lower fermentation temps. Ale yeasts as well as some lager yeasts will produce a lot of diacetyl when brewed on the low end of their preferred range. Bringing up the temp for a D-rest is the way to get the yeast to metabolize the diacetyl.
Cream Ale would normally be fermented at a relatively high temp, well out of the range of diacetyl production and, in fact, pretty much in the range of a typical D-rest. In effect, the entire fermentation is a diacetyl rest if it's at 65 degrees, for instance.
If you want a killer Cream Ale, brew 2 parts flaked corn and 8 parts Pilsner or 2-Row, use Sazz and Cluster hops, pitch and ferment at 64-66 degrees with Fermentis S-23. I'm with @HighVoltageMan! ...Chico yeast ain't for Cream Ales.
Diacetyl is produced at lower fermentation temps. Ale yeasts as well as some lager yeasts will produce a lot of diacetyl when brewed on the low end of their preferred range. Bringing up the temp for a D-rest is the way to get the yeast to metabolize the diacetyl.
Cream Ale would normally be fermented at a relatively high temp, well out of the range of diacetyl production and, in fact, pretty much in the range of a typical D-rest. In effect, the entire fermentation is a diacetyl rest if it's at 65 degrees, for instance.
If you want a killer Cream Ale, brew 2 parts flaked corn and 8 parts Pilsner or 2-Row, use Sazz and Cluster hops, pitch and ferment at 64-66 degrees with Fermentis S-23. I'm with @HighVoltageMan! ...Chico yeast ain't for Cream Ales.
I'd raise temp only for attenuation purposes.
I only do diacetyl rests when I smell or taste diacetyl. It doesn't matter if this occurs with lager or ale, although IF/WHEN I get diacetyl (which is rarer for me these days), it's usually lager (pastorianus) yeast, due to the typically lower fermentation temperature and relative sluggishness of the yeast. However, in my opinion, a cream ale should ideally be fermented around 60 F (16 C), which most yeasts can handle just fine without turning into a diacetyl bomb. I agree that options other than US-05 need to be explored with this style. US-05 will work but can often give a peach character when stressed out like this... which you may or may not enjoy. Nottingham is similar, and *sometimes* the same peach flavor fermented cool. For a cream ale, I would explore other options that may be even more clean, including S-04 (it's actually quite clean and lager-like at any fermentation temp!), or even S-189 fermented at room temperature which I just did with my American "lager" and it turned out clean as a whistle in just 4 days flat, literally just brewed it last Sunday and bottled it on Thursday. For the record, I'm still calling it a "lager" and not a cream ale because S-189 is a pastorianus yeast and it still tastes like a lager. If it turned fruity I might call it a cream ale instead. Yes I know cream ales are usually cerevisiae fermented cool, but honestly, cream ales are also whatever the hell you want them to be, as long as they are fizzy and yellow and clean and mild. Outside of dried yeasts, the sky is the limit to the yeast strains you can experiment with at different unconventional temperatures.
For the record, I'm still calling it a "lager" and not a cream ale because S-189 is a pastorianus yeast and it still tastes like a lager. If it turned fruity I might call it a cream ale instead. Yes I know cream ales are usually cerevisiae fermented cool, but honestly, cream ales are also whatever the hell you want them to be, as long as they are fizzy and yellow and clean and mild. Outside of dried yeasts, the sky is the limit to the yeast strains you can experiment with at different unconventional temperatures.
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Yes! That!! It would be a great flavor in conjunction with certain hops but it comes with a cloying quality that makes it hard to enjoy.
As for it's use (or that of any other West Coast strains) in a Cream Ale, it's just not historically or stylistically appropriate. Cream Ale was developed as a style to mimic European lagers and was not brewed with intentionally fruity yeasts. Standard lager yeasts would have been used but the fermentation probably would have been less stringently controlled for low temperature.
Most lager yeasts fermented at moderate ale temps will provide just the right amount of fruity esters to give this beer a little character and a slightly higher mash temp will provide plenty of dextrines and residual sugars for mouthfeel and head retention that makes it feel, taste and look more like a noble-hopped Blonde Ale.
