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Buyer's Guide for Beer Lovers

British and North American Ales

The Lords of the Ales: A Powerful Onslaught of Ales from the Two Towers of North America and Great Britain

Cream Ale

Cream ale is a North American specialty that is somewhat of a hybrid in style. Despite the name, many brewers use both ale and lager yeasts for fermentation, or more often, just lager yeasts. This style of beer is fermented like an ale at warm temperatures, but then stored at cold temperatures for a period of time, much as a lager would be. The resultant brew has the unchallenging crisp characteristics of a light pale lager, but is endowed with a hint of the aromatic complexities that ales provide. Pale in color, they are generally more heavily carbonated and more heavily hopped than light lagers.

Interpreting the 100-point Scale

Consumers can translate the point score to the following quality bands:

Point Range Quality Band
96-100 points Platinum
90-95 points Gold
85-90 points Silver
80-84 points Bronze
Less than 80 Not Recommended
Legend
  • = Brewpub
  • ABV = Alcohol by volume
  • Date denotes the date on which the beer was tasted

92 Liebotschaner Cream Ale, The Lion Brewery (PA). 5.5% ABV (3/09)
Bright golden yellow color with a lively blanket of foam. Aromas of nougat and banana bread follow through on a soft plush entry to a dry medium body with Shredded Wheat and cream notes. Finishes with a gentle, lightly honeyed fade. A spot-on cream ale.

88 Hive Honey Stung Ale, Uinta Brewing Co. (UT). 4% ABV (3/11)
Rich amber color. Aromas and flavors of honeyed sunflower bread, Raisin Bran and blanched nuts with a crisp, dry light body and a smooth, sprouts-like hop finish. Very nice and refreshing.

84 Monumental Cream Ale, Bastone Brewery (MI). 5% ABV (3/11)
Yellow straw color. Fresh corn tortilla chip and egg aromas and flavors are reminiscent of chilaquiles with a hint of avocado and dried apple. Crisp, dry light body and a multigrain bread crust and turnip-accented finish with light grassy hops.

83 True North Cream Ale, Magnotta Brewery Ltd. (Canada). 5% ABV (3/09)
Deep old gold color. Lovely, delicate aromas of toasted cracker, cornbread and honey follow through on a supple, frothy entry to a dryish medium body with citrus water notes and a steely metallic tang on the finish.

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