Serve in a pilsner glass at 3-6 °C
What it tastes like
Cream ale is an American invention from the late 1800s, when ale brewers in the north-east were losing drinkers to the new pale lagers. Their answer was a light, clean ale, often fermented warm and then stored cold, sometimes blended with lager. Despite the name, there is no cream in it, and the creaminess is mostly in the marketing.
It tastes of light, sweetish grain with a corn or rice character, very low hop aroma and a low bitterness. Corn gives a faint sweetness, rice keeps it drier and crisper. A cool fermentation with a clean ale yeast keeps fruitiness to a whisper, so the beer drinks almost like a lager, with a touch more roundness in the middle. It is pale, highly carbonated and refreshing. A good cream ale has no flaws to hide behind, which makes it a better test of a brewery than any double IPA.
Style profile
- Look
- Pale straw to light gold, brilliantly clear, with a fizzy white head that fades fairly quickly.
- Aroma and flavour
- Light, sweetish grain with corn or rice character. Low floral or spicy hops and almost no fruitiness.
- Mouthfeel
- Light body, high carbonation, and a crisp, smooth and dry finish.
- Ingredients
- Pale two-row or six-row malt with flaked corn or rice up to about a fifth of the grist, low-alpha hops, and a clean ale or lager yeast.
In India
Cream ale fits India almost too well. Rice and maize adjuncts are common in mainstream lager, so the flavour is familiar, and the light body is right for a hot afternoon. Brewers here can use poha or local rice as the adjunct, and at least one Delhi brewpub has done exactly that. It is a good bridge for drinkers moving from mass lager to craft. Serve it properly cold.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Masala dosa with coconut chutneyClean, crisp grain and fizz refresh the palate between bites of potato and chutney.
- Amritsari kulcha with choleThe light beer cuts butter and spice without competing with them.
- Malvani surmai fryBubbles and a crisp finish scrub away the fried coating and kokum tang.
- RasgullaA light, slightly sweet beer matches the soft, syrupy cheese without weighing it down.
Brewed in India
- Poha Creampie, Fort City Brewing source