Clean, crisp, thirst-quenching, and refreshing. An easy-drinking beer-flavored beer for any occasion. Why is it called a Cream Ale? No one knows for sure. One thing that’s certain is that there is no actual cream involved. 150 years ago, in the early days of Cream Ale “Cream” might have referred to “cream of the crop,” or to the creamy, frothy head produced by higher carbonation, or it may have been meant to imply a general creaminess or richness.