How do you write a style profile about a beer that traditionally did not have a strict rule set of how it should be made?  I don’t know, but I am going to try to pull something together. 

Cream ale is a style that is indigenous to America.  They were made by ale breweries to compete with the golden lagers that were starting to become pretty popular towards the end of the 19th century.  Because of Prohibition, the full knowledge of ingredients and techniques that were used was lost.  What we do know is that they are ale to be made more like German lagers than British ales.  This concept probably led to the ale breweries using lager yeasts and trying their best to storing their brews at cold temperatures for long periods of time.

BYO magazine put it best when they put together these guidelines:

• It’s an American beer style, so all ingredients should be American.
• The brew should be fermented at regular ale (warm) temperatures but cool to cold conditioned for a good length of time (2 to 4 months) to mimic a lagering stage.
• The brew’s uniqueness should be derived from it having both ale and lager qualities.
• It should be effervescent and dry.

I like the idea of making a true American brew.   I also feel like homebrewing brings us back to a time where people mostly made things for themseleves.  Beer styles seem to be based on what people had around them.  If you look at my cream ale recipe, I use flaked maize.  You can’t get a more American grain than that, right?   Heck, if I were living in those times maybe I would be using some corn in my brew.

I took up the challenge of brewing a cream ale because I wanted to try to brew something light for summer.   Homebrewers tend to brew darker beers, and I have no problem with that.  I wanted to see if I could brew a lighter beer where mistakes would be easier to detect.  Certainly wasn’t perfect, but was very drinkable and I will keep working at it until it’s close to flawless.

So - I am impatient and I have decided that, even though the poll isn’t officially closed, Oktoberfest style beer is the one most people who read this blogging are looking forward to drink this autumn.  I voted for Porter, and the peeps who want a wine cooler can call up Bartles and/or Jaymes.

I like Oktoberfest.  I really do.  The only issue I have with it is as a homebrewer is that it is a hard style to brew correctly.

It is a lager.  The definition of a lager means it’s a beer that to ferments at lower than room temperatures.  We’re talking 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  Unless you have a fridge with a thermostat hooked up to it, you can’t really make lagers…unless you have a sweet cave in your back yard.

Read what Beer Advocate says about Oktoberfest.

Here are the Beer Judge Certification Program’s guidelines for an Oktoberfest.

It is interesting to note that this style shares guidelines with another one called Marzen.  I think the Oktoberfest moniker came later (probably after the original public celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Luitpold I and Princess Theressa of Bavaria on October 17, 1810…which was the birth of Oktoberfest - the festival).  Marzens were brewed in March and then stored in caves all summer to keep cool.  In the late summer/early fall, they were enjoyed….I guess that’s what they had on tap when the Prince got hitched.

In my opinion, Oktoberfests are good because:

• They are malty
• They are smooth
• They have a little more alcohol content than the standard 4% by volume

They just aren’t beginner homebrewer beer.   Maybe next year.  

Hope to raise a pint with you soon.