Robin Shepard
One classic style that deserves a little beer patriotism during the upcoming July 4th weekend is the cream ale. Brewers often call it a true American style because it emerged prior to Prohibition, as U.S. brewers looked for something to compete with the emerging popularity of the European-influenced lager brewing. The cream ale often has corn or rice in its grist, which produces a light body with distinctive crisp flavor. It’s a wonderful style for the warm days of summer. In search of one, I recently ended up at Stoughton’s Viking Brewpub, where Midnight Sun is offered regularly and is one of the brewery’s best offerings.
What is it? Midnight Sun from Viking Brewpub in Stoughton.
Style: The American cream ale is a mild beer with a smooth yet light maltiness and low hop bitterness. While commonly referred to as a cream ale, these beers can be either an ale or a lager, depending upon the brewer's preferred yeast and fermentation temperatures. They range in alcohol from 4.2% to 5.6% ABV. Other local examples include Outboard from Milwaukee Brewing, Mallards Cream Ale from the Great Dane and Golden Booty Cream Ale (formerly called Coon Rock Cream Ale) from Lake Louie Brewing. Even the venerable Spotted Cow from New Glarus shares some properties of the style.
Background: The American cream ale is light and easy drinking. It’s often overlooked among craft beer enthusiasts because it comes off as a little too “big brewery,” with its clean, non-offensive personality, which some mistake as bland. Even though it’s considered an American classic, it’s very much like the light-bodied traditional German kölsch style, and a great summer beer when it’s done well.
Midnight Sun has been offered by Viking Brewpub since its first summer, back in 2014. Since then the recipe has been tweaked by Viking brewmaster David Worth. Worth found the cream ale was too similar to his Nordic Blonde lager.
In order to make it stand out, he gave the cream ale a little more body and a little more color. Midnight Sun is a little deeper in copper color than most beers of the style thanks to a combination of flaked corn, pale base malt, darker Munich caramel and honey malt. The beer also has a solid herbal spiciness from Styrian Golding and Summit hops. Worth uses a combination of both ale and lager yeast for fermentation and allows it to condition a little longer to soften its distinctive corn sweetness. (Worth is also changing the recipe of the Nordic Blonde to refine its clean lager characteristics.)
Viking also offers a mango-infused version of Midnight Sun that’s been especially popular in the spring and early summer. Worth first adds mango puree into the fermenter and then a second dose as he’s kegging it, to sharpen its tropical, fruity flavor and aroma. “People are looking for a fruit beer, and mango is different, not a typical fruit,” says Worth.
Mightnight Sun Cream Ale finishes at 5.9% ABV and about 8 IBUs. It’s sold at the Viking Brewpub bar for $4.75/pint and $13/growler (refill).
Tasting notes:
Aroma: A light bready and corn graininess.
Appearance: Clear, golden copper. A soft, off-white head.
Texture: Light- to medium-bodied, round with softness.
Taste: Begins with a bready and earthy, grainy sweetness from the corn. A light floral, fruity sweetness lies in the background.
Finish/Aftertaste: A soft fruity and corn-like sweetness. Yet nothing lingers; there’s still a clean finish.
Glassware: Viking serves it in the standard bar pint. However, when taking home a growler, I like the stubby bar pilsner glass with its slender appearance and slight taper of the lip to bring attention to the grainy aroma. Besides, the glass is a bit of small-town-bar tradition for this American classic style.
Pairs well with: Cream ales are light in flavor, crisp and clean. They don’t compete or get in the way of most food flavors. They’re good with light foods like BLTs and club sandwiches. Cream ales are also well suited for hot days at the ballpark with brats or burgers.
The Verdict: The cream ale can be a bit of a chameleon — brewers might use an ale or a lager yeast, different fermentation temperatures and conditioning times. However, it’s the corn in the grist that I look for to lend unique personality to the cream ale. David Worth’s take on the style is a little darker in color than most cream ales, but he was still able to keep the cream ale aroma and flavor as it should be. So there’s lots of grainy corn, slightly perfumey with a light malty sweetness that makes this a solid cream ale. As I sipped on a pint over the Nordic-themed Viking bar, I found myself appreciating it even more, so much so, in fact, that I’m recommending Midnight Sun to those looking for a flavorful alternative to macro-lagers.
