Lake Louie Coon Rock Cream Ale

Brewed by Lake Louie Brewing
Style: Cream Ale
Arena, Wisconsin USA

12 oz bottle (Riley’s Wines of the World, Madison WI October 2006) consumed a bit above fridge temperature from a Coors Banquet pils glass. Giant snow-white foamy-thick head subsides quickly to a moderate creamy wisp atop the clear light-honey body....fresh grainy nose, hints of honey, creamy malts dominating, bready and just right....body is soft and smooth, faint hints of sourness underlying the predominantly sweet malts, with light, pleasant woody bitterness to finish....low to moderate carbonation, touch of stickiness in the mouthfeel, this seems to represent much of what’s good and what’s boring in the style all at once. On the whole it’s successful but also a reminder of how difficult (impossible?) it is to make "great" cream ale.

From a 12 oz. long neck bottle with the distinctive Lake Louie catfish logo, no freshness date. Poured a lightly hazy golden orange with a small foamy white head. Aromas of honey and lemons with soft bready malts. Good medium carbonation and a softly crisp, velvety, creamy smooth light bodied mouthfeel. Delicious tasting, a sweetness from the white corn that goes along with a pilsener-like honey maltiness, its easy to tell that fuggles hops were used from the cutting sour lemon flavor, the proper soft bitterness for a cream ale and a nice sweet and sour finish. I’m not a big fan of cream ales, but this year I’ve had two excellent Wisconsin cream ales, first the Mallards Ale from the Great Dane, and now, Coon Rock from Lake Louie, a cream ale with an easy, highly quaffable drinkability, something I would recommend trying.

Retried this at Scott and Sue’s and it was a classic summer quencher. Not cloying like previous sample. Original post below may have been bad bottle so I will leave it and rerate. I really like this brewer but this was amazingly bad. I sampled with 3 people and we all poured the glass down the drain. Way too much carbonation and sour and tart and a cloying sugary. A little like Buffalo Bill’s orange blossom. which is horrid. Perhaps a bad bottle but I rate what I get.

I was suspicious of this beer at first but came to like it. It pours with a big white head on a hazy rich golden body. The aroma struck me of apricot before I started sipping, where I found a combination of grassy, creamy, butterscotch flavors. At first I thought this was a beer that had gone off--like a bottle of Viking, too much diacetyl or something--but no, I had to assume this was intended, and it was like a piece of candy. I noted an English note, like a pint of bitter, which I later took to be the influence of the Fuggles. Slightly frothy, oily, moderately well supported; decent palate with a sweet finish and a hint of metallic bitterness. Not for everyone, perhaps, but an interesting beer for around the house.

Slimmer straw yellow with a slight smudgey body to it. Quick and faint white capping of thin stature makes its way from the pour but gets to its lower collaring quickly. Medium rising carbonation. Minimal lacing in strings mainly closer to the liquid than sticking elsewhere along the glass. Aroma is faint of light creamy grass, corn, and hay with a slender underbite of bread dough. Solid flavors of paled malt and white corn startch make for a steady flow of evenly handed sweetness that of which is simple, delicate, and fluffy in a bready/biscuity kind of way. Flavors last for a good bit too and has a slight touch and dance of spicy grassyness. Feel is soft, smooth, and wholesome with a simple, delicate sweetening texture and bold lenghtyness. Bright, yet dulling, clean, and rounded with a bready dryish malt with a semi light drying sense and flint of spice and toastedness in the finish. A solid cream ale. A summer quencher for sure to be enjoyed when ever, where ever within the dog days of summer. Gone in to time and another is just as easy to down.

On tap at Cheers for a Cure


This is the highest rated cream ale, so I thought I would give it a try as the day wound to a close. It was interesting and enjoyable, but obviously cream ales lack the same presence as bigger beers. I do look forward to buying this again in six packs now that I know it is well done. Pick it up for a cool summer evening or early fall day.

Aroma / Appearance - The only thing that I was able to pick up after trying repeatedly was vanilla cream soda. There may have been traces of other things but the entire bouquet was exactly that. The hazy bronze body had some mild carbonation working its way through the top to escape. There was a one-finger head for the shortest time before it quickly collapsed onto itself.

Flavor / Palate - Once again, the first thing I thought of on taking a sip was cream soda. Howevever, unlike the nose, there was more complexity here. A cross of honeycrisp apples, honey and almonds came next, enhancing the experience. It reminded me of a flat version of a champagne from a Door County vineyard called Stone’s Throw. It was extremely easy to drink with a smooth finish that cools the throat. For a style that doesn’t have very many characteristics, this is an interesting beer.

Well, here it is the number 1 rated Cream Ale. Picked it up in Madison for $1.59. The beer pours to a very effervescent bright honey golden body with a thick and very lively frothy white head. Nice lacing. The aroma is sweet corny cereal and caramel and butterscotch ice cream toppings. Perhaps the 3 musketeers shell as well? Very strange aroma. The flavor is sweet corny cereals, sweet toasty malts, lightly spicy/grassy hops. The palate is very clean with a moderate mouthfeel and velvety texture. Great for a not-so-great style.

12oz bottle from ClarkVV. Pours a clear light golden color with a small white head. Head receedes a bit but a fair film is left and a thick ring rests along the edges. A nice sweet nose with hints of corn and sugar. Palate is clean and crisp. Flavor is sweet with a nice corny and grassy touch to it.