If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Cream Ale, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Pale malt, with Centennial 8.5% doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Cream Ale |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.042-1.050 |
| Final Gravity | 1.008-1.012 |
| ABV | 4.5-5.5% |
| IBU | 10-22 |
| SRM | 2-5 (pale gold) |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pale malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Centennial 8.5%. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 18C (64F) Pitch Wyeast 2112 California Lager once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 3 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt 1 Lb)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Chinook Hop Pellets 8 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. LalBrew Nottingham Brewing Yeast (2 Pack), Make Beer at Home)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. 3 Gallon Clear Glass Italian Carboy)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Corn Sugar Dextrose Bottling Priming Sugar 1 lb Highly Fermentable N)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Deluxe Bottling Kit Craft a Brew Homebrew Bottler Equipment Home Bre)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Cream Ale is best served in a pint, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Cream Ale
Equipment
- 1 Mash tun
- 1 Brew kettle
- 1 Fermenter (e.g., glass carboy or plastic fermenting bucket)
- 1 Airlock
- 1 Wort chiller
- 1 Hydrometer
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Brewing spoon or paddle
- 1 Racking cane or auto-siphon
- 1 Tubing for siphoning
- 1 Bottling bucket
- 1 Bottles or kegs for storing the beer
- 1 Bottle capper or kegging system
- 1 Sanitizing solution or cleaner
- 1 Measuring Cups and Scale (for accurate ingredient measurements)
- 1 Brewing Gloves (optional but recommended)
- 1 Brewing thermometer
- 1 pH Test Strips or pH Meter (optional)
- 1 Brewing Burner or Stovetop (for boiling the wort)
- 1 Brewing Software or Calculator (for recipe formulation and tracking)
Ingredients
For the Mash, Liquor 13.75 Litres (24½ Pints), Mash Time 1 hr, Temperature 65°c/149 °F
- 11 lb Pale malt Quantity 5kg
- 1.2 lb Flaked maize Quantity 500g
For the Boil, 27 Litres (47½ Pints), Boil Time 1 hr, 10 mins
- ¾ oz (Hops) Centennial 8.5% When to add, At start of boil (IBU 19.8)
- 1¼ oz (Hops) Mount Hood 4.5% When to add, At turn off (IBU 0.0)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other, When to add, For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment, 18°C (64°F), Conditioning 3 weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 Wyeast 2112 California Lager
Instructions
Mash Preparation:
- Heat 13.75 liters (24.5 pints) of water to a temperature of 65°C (149°F) in a large pot.
- Add 11 pounds of pale malt and 1.2 pounds of flaked maize to the water.
- Stir the mixture well to ensure even distribution.
- Maintain the mash temperature at 65°C (149°F) for 1 hour.
Boiling:
- Transfer the mash to a separate vessel, leaving the liquid behind (the wort).
- In a large pot, bring 27 liters (47.5 pints) of water to a boil.
- Add ¾ ounce of Centennial hops to the boiling water and let it boil for the entire hour.
- After 1 hour, add 1¼ ounces of Mount Hood hops and turn off the heat.
Cooling and Fermentation:
- Rapidly cool the wort to a temperature of 18°C (64°F) using a wort chiller or an ice bath.
- Transfer the cooled wort to a fermenter, leaving behind any sediment.
- Pitch the Wyeast 2112 California Lager yeast into the fermenter.
- Seal the fermenter with an airlock to allow for gas escape while preventing contaminants from entering.
- Place the fermenter in a location with a consistent temperature of 18°C (64°F).
- Allow the beer to ferment for approximately 28 days.
Conditioning:
- After fermentation, transfer the beer to a secondary fermenter or a bottling bucket.
- Store the beer at a temperature of 12°C (54°F) for 3 weeks to condition and carbonate.
- You can use priming sugar during bottling to achieve the desired carbonation level.
Enjoying the Cream Ale:
- After the conditioning period, your Cream Ale should be ready to drink.
- Chill the bottles or kegs before serving.
- Pour the beer into a glass and savor the light, crisp, and refreshing flavors of the Cream Ale.
Get the fermentation temperature right on Cream Ale and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Cream Ale the Style It Is
Cream Ale sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on pale malt and centennial 8.5% once it is finished conditioning. Wyeast 2112 California Lager is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 4.5-5.5%
- Bitterness: 10-22 IBU
- Color: 2-5 (pale gold)
- Serving temp: 40-45F (4-7C)
- Glassware: a pint
- Food pairings: burgers, hot dogs, light appetizers
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
