Strawberry Cream Ale Beer Recipe | All Grain Cream Ale by Brewer Dennis | Brewer's Friend
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Strawberry Cream Ale

154 calories 14 g 12 oz
Beer Stats
Method: All Grain
Style: Cream Ale
Boil Time: 40 min
Batch Size: 1.75 gallons (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 2.25 gallons
Post Boil Size: 1.75 gallons
Pre Boil Gravity: 1.037 (recipe based estimate)
Post Boil Gravity: 1.047 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
Calories: 154 calories (Per 12oz)
Carbs: 14 g (Per 12oz)
Created: Sunday January 22nd 2023
1.047
1.009
5.0%
18.5
4.9
n/a
n/a
 
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable Cost PPG °L Bill %
1.75 lb Crisp Malting - Finest Maris Otter1.75 lb Finest Maris Otter 38 3 42.7%
0.30 lb United Kingdom - Golden Naked Oats0.3 lb Golden Naked Oats 33 10 7.3%
0.15 lb Cane Sugar0.15 lb Cane Sugar 46 0 3.7%
0.50 lb American - White Wheat0.5 lb White Wheat 40 2.8 12.2%
20 oz Oregon Fruit - Strawberry - Seedless20 oz Strawberry - Seedless - (late fermenter addition) 4.39 0 30.5%
0.15 lb Briess - Brewers Oat Flakes / Flaked oats0.15 lb Brewers Oat Flakes / Flaked oats 32.2 2.5 3.7%
4.10 lbs / 0.00
 
Hops
Amount Variety Cost Type AA Use Time IBU Bill %
6 g Huell Melon6 g Huell Melon Hops Pellet 7.2 Boil at 212 °F 40 min 16.35 60%
4 g Huell Melon4 g Huell Melon Hops Pellet 7.2 Whirlpool 0 min 2.17 40%
10 g / 0.00
 
Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Start Temp Target Temp Time
1.5 gal Strike 170 °F 155 °F 60 min
0.75 gal Batch Sparge 190 °F 185 °F 30 min
Vorlauf until wort runs clear. Vorlauf 155 °F 155 °F --
Starting Mash Thickness: 2 qt/lb
Starting Grain Temp: 65 °F
 
Other Ingredients
Amount Name Cost Type Use Time
1 each Whirlfloc tablet Fining Boil 10 min.
 
Yeast
Omega Yeast Labs - Sundew OYL-401
Amount:
1 Each
Cost:
Attenuation (custom):
80%
Flocculation:
High
Optimum Temp:
64 - 78 °F
Starter:
No
Fermentation Temp:
70 °F
Pitch Rate:
0.75 (M cells / ml / ° P) 58 B cells required
0.00 Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator
Priming
Method: sucrose       Amount: 1.3 oz       Temp: 68 °F       CO2 Level: 2.45 Volumes
 
Target Water Profile
Balanced Profile
Ca+2 Mg+2 Na+ Cl- SO4-2 HCO3-
60 5 10 95 55 0
Using a combination of Kalamazoo city water and spring water from the grocery store. Water is boiled before use.

Strike water temperature will vary depending on your mash tun set up. I am using an Igloo cooler so around 165-170 F works best for me. Mash rest for 60 minutes. Begin vorlaufing, stop when wort runs clear. Heat water up to 190 F for sparging.

Boil for 40 minutes, following the addition schedule. Cool the wort down to 70 degrees F using desired method (copper coil heat exchanger in my case). Pitch yeast.
Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator
 
Notes

Hi, all!

I brewed this recipe on January 28th and it has been steadily fermenting since then. I gave a quick sniff of the airlock and got a Sulphur-like aroma. This is not surprising since it is still fermenting, and also considering that it was derived from a Belgian. I did a little bit of digging online and found some forum discussions on this subject. User jnick from "homebrew talk" contacted the owner of Omega about this and received this "Sundew can definitely kick off a ton of sulfur during fermentation (its parent strain, Belgian A, does the same thing). Give it a little more time and that should condition out. Everything else sounds on point. Let me know if you have any other questions".

I normally leave my homebrews to ferment for about 2.5 - 3 weeks before cold crashing or transferring to secondary. So, in the meantime I will wait for this to finish fermenting. Expect an update by the end of next week.

Best Regards!

  • Dennis (02/06/23)

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Update!

    Fermentation has almost finished, and the sulphury smell is no longer apparent. I will be waiting a couple more days before racking into a secondary along with a fining agent. I plan on bottling this in about a week.

    Best Regards!
  • Dennis (2/15/23)

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Update!

    Bottled about 2 weeks ago, I'm going to let the bottles condition for another week before transferring to the refrigerator. I opened a bottle to check the carbonation and give it a quick taste. The strawberry characteristic is very subtle, really all of the flavors are subtle. I didn't take an OG or FG recording, so I don't know exactly where issues would have arisen. I have since procured some instruments that will help with recording these variables, so all future recipes posted to brewer's friend will have better data. I'll provide a final update after conditioning is finished.

    Best Regards,
  • Dennis Gifford (3/9/2023)

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Final Update!

    Bottle conditioning has finished, and I pulled one out of the refrigerator last night to try. The first and most obvious thing I noticed was the very apparent Belgian-like character which is most likely due to the yeast strain being derived from a Belgian strain. Overall, the beer turned out okay, definitely not a cream ale (more like a strawberry Belgian ale). If I were to brew this again I would adjust the grain bill a little bit, use more strawberry puree, and a yeast like California ale from white labs. I definitely want to use Sundew for a different recipe in the future.

    Best Regards,
    -Dennis Gifford
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  • Last Updated: 2023-04-02 16:49 UTC
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