# Wlp080 Cream Ale Yeast



## danman (19/8/07)

hi guys ive just found this yeast at my LHBS and thought it would be perfect in a irish red/kilkenny clone.
anyone ever used it? 
my LHBS owner has never used it and ordered it to see what it was like,so it looks like im the guinea pig  
looked on whitelabs website-claims to be a blend of ale & lager yeasts more suited to american style ales
any ideas?

cheers,dan


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## blackbock (19/8/07)

American cream ale?


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## danman (22/8/07)

just used this yeast after makin a starter 

1 can mountmellick irish cream ale
2kg coopers dark malt extract
500g cara1 steeped for 1/2hr

og1060

yeast added at 21C

nice and easy recipe hopefully with plenty of flavour

cheers,dan


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## fletcher (31/5/13)

dredging up an old thread. has anyone used this and can give any feedback?

i've looked on other forums and have found some posts saying it produces a very fine and crisp ale (not too dissimilar to a lager feel which is what i'm going for). just thought i'd ask here first.

was considering using it for a cream ale/'ale impersonating a lager', using pilsner malt, minute rice and a wee bit of dex. BIAB.

if not i'd probably just use us-05


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## Bribie G (31/5/13)

I see it's still available from ESB which is where I source my WLPs - I have made American Cream / Blonde Ales using White Labs San Diego Super Yeast (not available now) but I reckon the Cream Ale yeast would be a ripper.

Cream Ales were made, pre-prohibition, as a smooth easy drinking beer to knock back a few on the way back from the Railway workshop or Car plant. It was made as close as possible to a lager but could be cranked out as an ale by small regional breweries far more quickly than the lager process.

I'd use any pale base Aussie malt, about a third of the grain bill rice cooked to a mush (important to overcook it to burst the starch granules and make the starch available) and bitter to no more than 18 IBU with something more old fashioned like Willamette or even Goldings. Single Addition.

Seeing as you are in Surry Hills a nicer touch would be to get ye to a Continental or Asian Grocer and grab a kilo bag of polenta and cook that to a porridge and use that.

Rather than US-05 I'd use a Wyeast American from their range, American Ale 2 is good for a clean ferment.


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## fletcher (31/5/13)

Bribie G said:


> I see it's still available from ESB which is where I source my WLPs - I have made American Cream / Blonde Ales using White Labs San Diego Super Yeast (not available now) but I reckon the Cream Ale yeast would be a ripper.
> 
> Cream Ales were made, pre-prohibition, as a smooth easy drinking beer to knock back a few on the way back from the Railway workshop or Car plant. It was made as close as possible to a lager but could be cranked out as an ale by small regional breweries far more quickly than the lager process.
> 
> ...


legend mate, thank you. very helpful


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## mje1980 (31/5/13)

Wyeast.1007 makes a very nice clean ale, and pseudo lager Op


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## Bribie G (31/5/13)

Hmm I find it takes forever to clear, made a Dusseldorf Alt a couple of years ago, was going to toss the keg in November as it tasted like shyte, put it to one side till February and bloody nectar 
However apparently it clears out crystal but takes a long lagering period. I'd go with the WLP cream ale first.


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## fletcher (31/5/13)

it'll be my first liquid yeast. don't know why i've been scared of spending $12 and wrecking it for some reason. all good. i'll grab that next week and get it rolling. any idea on a ferment range? was thinking low ale temp, about 16ish? you've got me thinking about polenta too to make it authentic


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## Bribie G (31/5/13)

If it's also got lager yeast in the blend I'd look at 15-17 for sure. Probably best to start it - don't worry, nothing too scary like stir plates or stepped wort additions or anything too testicle.

When I'm starting a liquid yeast - particularly WLP which of course isn't a smack pack - I just take a sanitised litre jar (or a Passata bottle, sanitised and clingwrapped) - half fill it with the wort you are going to use, or make up some LDME plus cooled kettle water - pitch the vial and swirl it every so often for a few hours then leave overnight. Yeast will start multiplying but not necessarily making krausen... good. Then pitch and the fermentation will get off to a more robust start.

Edit: To avoid making slight changes to the taste, using the wort is best - if no chilling then run off half a passata bottle first, clingwrap and put into cold fridge then pitch your vial into it while the bulk of the wort cools, just let bottle sit at ambient overnight this time of year. No time wasted.


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## fletcher (31/5/13)

thanks again mate. really appreciate that.


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## Weizguy (16/4/16)

Just regenerating this thread as I have recently made a beer (Cream Ale) with this yeast blend.

Pretty sure the yeast has been in my fridge for at least 5 years, and I bought it at the same shop as the OP. May have even been from the same batch. Could not be sure, as the date has been smeared off.
Took a few days for the yeast to wake up on the stirplate and I pitched a 2 litre starter into 44 litres of wort at 18°C.

Fermented for a week and got to 72.2% apparent attenuation, and stopped. Still tastes quite malty and nowhere near bland enough for the style.

Mashed at 65°C for 60 min. Grist was 12.7% flaked rice, and the remainder was BB pils and ale malts.

Has anyone recorded similar attenuation results?


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## fletcher (16/4/16)

Les the Weizguy said:


> Just regenerating this thread as I have recently made a beer (Cream Ale) with this yeast blend.
> 
> Pretty sure the yeast has been in my fridge for at least 5 years, and I bought it at the same shop as the OP. May have even been from the same batch. Could not be sure, as the date has been smeared off.
> Took a few days for the yeast to wake up on the stirplate and I pitched a 2 litre starter into 44 litres of wort at 18°C.
> ...


just checked my records from 2013 (last time i used it) and i had a cream ale, mashed at 64C for 60 get 85% attenuation. fresh vial though and slight overpitch


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## Weizguy (16/4/16)

fletcher said:


> just checked my records from 2013 (last time i used it) and i had a cream ale, mashed at 64C for 60 get 85% attenuation. fresh vial though and slight overpitch


Only a bad tradesman blames his tools, so I might have to try again. Maybe from the yeast cake, as the beer is still in the stainless fermentor cold conditioning.


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## fletcher (16/4/16)

Les the Weizguy said:


> Only a bad tradesman blames his tools, so I might have to try again. Maybe from the yeast cake, as the beer is still in the stainless fermentor cold conditioning.


ah yeah, but in all honesty, it could have been any number of things. i've never had a successful batch made with bry-97 or notto myself even though others have sworn by it haha. good luck with it anyway mate. my cream ale was really crisp and clean with that yeast so hopefully she works out for you on the re-use. i'm a fan though i've never really found the need to use it again, as i've been using wy1007 or even just the chico strain if i'm making a blonde/cream ale/something similar.

now you've brought it up though, i'd like to retry it! haha. what's your recipe?


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## Weizguy (16/4/16)

my recipe is here

Was thinking of repeating it with all JW ale malt to cut back on the malt character. Fair call, or another malt? Open to suggestion.
Just don't like the current one's flavour mix.


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## Black n Tan (16/4/16)

Never tried IMC malt so not sure. However I think corn works well in a cream ale, may be more so than rice. I use 15% corn and 5% rice, which will tone down the malt. Combine that with a better attenuation and i think you will be more pleased.


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## Weizguy (17/4/16)

Oops, it wasn't IMC malt, but I didn't have Barrett Burston in my Beersmith database. I have corrected the recipe, both in the link and my recipe at home.
Next time, I'll use corn or polenta. The recipe was inspired by Jamil's recipe in BYO and the recipe in BYO for their Genesee original Cream Ale tribute.


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## Weizguy (14/5/16)

Cream Ale update. I kegged some of the cream ale I brewed, after leaving it to lager a few weeks in the fridge.

Still very malty, and as I allow the kegged beer to sit at ambient (but still inan enclosed fridge, just not powered on), the yeast is throwing out a medium amount of isoamyl acetate (banana ester), which is not good for a lager.
The banana was not present when the beer was kegged, and the keg was definitely cleaned and sanitised.

THIS is one of the reasons that I dislike American ale yeast - throws banana for me. It's not just the Am Ale yeast in WLP080. I've got the same thing from US-05, W1056 and YeastLabsA01, so it's not a coincidence.


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