Cream Ale Week: Terrapin Golden Ale

Cream Ale Week: Terrapin Golden Ale

Even though they call it “Golden Ale,” Terrapin Beer‘s Golden Ale does in fact fit the Cream Ale style bill—and the ratings sites both classify it as such. Intrigued, I contacted Terrapin to find out if they would provide a sample for review; they generously sent two bottles to me. … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week: New Glarus Spotted Cow

Cream Ale Week: New Glarus Spotted Cow

The most-rated beer for the Cream Ale category on both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer comes from Wisconsin, specifically the town of New Glarus: Spotted Cow, from (fittingly enough) New Glarus Brewing. As it happens, it may also be Wisconsin’s best-known beer—it’s certainly the flagship beer for the brewery. At 4.8% alcohol … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week: Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

Cream Ale Week: Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

It would be hard to talk about Cream Ales on the West Coast and not mention Anderson Valley’s Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema. It’s a Cream Ale that actually achieves a creamy flavor (and aroma)—though it’s through the addition of a mystery spice. So it’s sort of a hybrid of a … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week: Laughing Dog Cream Ale

Cream Ale Week: Laughing Dog Cream Ale

Laughing Dog Brewing is one of those Pacific Northwest microbreweries you may or may not have heard of; located in the Idaho panhandle (way up north) in the town of Ponderay, the brewery has been making something of a splash in the PNW for their Alpha Dog Imperial IPA. This … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week: The origins and style of Cream Ale

Cream Ale Week: The origins and style of Cream Ale

Cream Ale is classified by the BJCP as a “Hybrid Beer”: category 6A. It’s classified as a hybrid because it was originally developed as an ale version of the American light lager that was popular in the latter half of the nineteenth century: An ale version of the American lager … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week: Kiwanda Cream Ale

Cream Ale Week: Kiwanda Cream Ale

The first Cream Ale I picked up to review this week is an award-winning beer from (big surprise) Oregon: Pelican Pub & Brewery‘s Kiwanda Cream Ale. Pelican is one of the top brewers in Oregon right now, and it’s not much of a stretch to say Kiwanda Cream Ale is … Continue reading

Cream Ale Week

Cream Ale Week

Welcome to Cream Ale Week! All this week I’ll be reviewing and writing about Cream Ales, the light “hybrid” style of American golden or blonde beers (why it’s considered something of a hybrid style is something I’ll cover this week as well). Why Cream Ales in the middle of winter? … Continue reading