What the heck is a California Common? You might better know it as Steam Beer. Unfortunately for the rest of us, those clever folks at Anchor Steam have trademarked the term Steam Beer, so it’s also been given this more general name describing its origins. Common, however, it is not. One of the few truly original styles, it was developed when German immigrants who came to the San Francisco area of California wanted to brew the Lagers from their homeland. In those days they had neither ice caves nor mechanical refrigeration which was necessary to ferment their Lager yeasts at the proper temperatures, usually in the 45°-50° range. Instead, they adapted to the environment of the area and fermented their Lagers in shallow open vessels where the ambient temperatures of the region kept the fermentation in the 60°-65° range.
This recipe is not designed to be a clone of Anchor Steam, but simply a good example of the style. The key to this style is the proper yeast strain. Without that, it’s not really a California Common. You must use either the Wyeast 2112 or White Labs WLP810. While you can ferment them at near ale temperatures, the best results will really come from keeping them in the 60°-62° range. If you want something a little closer to an Anchor clone, then you might want to substitute 1-2lbs each Munich and Vienna malts in place of some of the base malt for the All grain and Partial mash. Unfortunately for the extract brewers, Vienna and Munich are base malts which must be mashed to convert. You can’t steep them like your crystal malts, but you could take this opportunity to learn how to do a partial mash.
California Common All Grain
| Brew Type: All Grain |
Date: 11/10/2007 |
| Style: California Common Beer |
Brewer: Jimmy |
| Batch Size: 5.50 gal |
Assistant Brewer: |
| Boil Volume: 7.00 gal |
Boil Time: 60 min |
| Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 % |
Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal) |
| Actual Efficiency: 75.13 % |
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 9.50 lb |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.8 SRM) |
Grain |
90.05 % |
| 1.00 lb |
Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
9.48 % |
| 0.05 lb |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
0.47 % |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
30.1 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (15 min) |
Hops |
8.0 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (1 min) |
Hops |
5.0 IBU |
| 1 Pkgs |
California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112) [Starter 2000 ml] |
Yeast-Lager |
|
| Estimated Original Gravity: 1.048 SG (1.048-1.054 SG) |
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG |
| Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.011-1.014 SG) |
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG |
| Estimated Color: 10.5 SRM (10.0-14.0 SRM) |
Color [Color] |
| Bitterness: 43.2 IBU (30.0-45.0 IBU) |
Alpha Acid Units: 14.8 AAU |
| Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.42 % (4.50-5.50 %) |
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 4.69 % |
| Actual Calories: 233 cal/pint |
| Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge |
Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb |
| Mash Grain Weight: 10.55 lb |
Mash PH: 5.4 PH |
| Grain Temperature: 72.0 F |
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F |
| Sparge Water: 5.22 gal |
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE |
| Name |
Description |
Step Temp |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 13.19 qt of water at 170.1 F |
154.0 F |
60 min |
Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
| Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2) |
Carbonation Volumes: 2.6 (2.4-2.8 vols) |
| Estimated Pressure: 10.2 PSI |
Kegging Temperature: 34.0 F |
| Pressure Used: - |
Age for: 4.0 Weeks |
| Storage Temperature: 34.0 F |
Notes
.05 lbs = 22 grams of Chocolate Malt. Try with 1% Pale Chocolate (200 SRM) also.
California Common Partial Mash
| Brew Type: Partial Mash |
Date: 11/10/2007 |
| Style: California Common Beer |
Brewer: Jimmy |
| Batch Size: 5.50 gal |
Assistant Brewer: |
| Boil Volume: 7.00 gal |
Boil Time: 60 min |
| Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 % |
Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal) |
| Actual Efficiency: 88.45 % |
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 4.35 lb |
Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) |
Dry Extract |
58.91 % |
| 2.25 lb |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.8 SRM) |
Grain |
30.45 % |
| 0.75 lb |
Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
10.15 % |
| 0.04 lb |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
0.49 % |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
30.1 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (15 min) |
Hops |
8.0 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (1 min) |
Hops |
5.0 IBU |
| 1 Pkgs |
California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112) [Starter 2000 ml] |
Yeast-Lager |
|
| Estimated Original Gravity: 1.048 SG (1.048-1.054 SG) |
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG |
| Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.011-1.014 SG) |
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG |
| Estimated Color: 10.6 SRM (10.0-14.0 SRM) |
Color [Color] |
| Bitterness: 43.2 IBU (30.0-45.0 IBU) |
Alpha Acid Units: 14.8 AAU |
| Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.41 % (4.50-5.50 %) |
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 4.69 % |
| Actual Calories: 233 cal/pint |
| Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge |
Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb |
| Mash Grain Weight: 3.04 lb |
Mash PH: 5.4 PH |
| Grain Temperature: 72.0 F |
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F |
| Sparge Water: 6.67 gal |
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE |
| Name |
Description |
Step Temp |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 3.79 qt of water at 170.1 F |
154.0 F |
60 min |
Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
| Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2) |
Carbonation Volumes: 2.6 (2.4-2.8 vols) |
| Estimated Pressure: 10.2 PSI |
Kegging Temperature: 34.0 F |
| Pressure Used: - |
Age for: 4.0 Weeks |
| Storage Temperature: 34.0 F |
Notes
.05 lbs = 22 grams of Chocolate Malt. Try with 1% Pale Chocolate (200 SRM) also.
California Common Extract
| Brew Type: Extract |
Date: 11/10/2007 |
| Style: California Common Beer |
Brewer: Jimmy |
| Batch Size: 5.50 gal |
Assistant Brewer: |
| Boil Volume: 7.00 gal |
Boil Time: 60 min |
| Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal) |
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 6.02 lb |
Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) |
Dry Extract |
88.54 % |
| 0.75 lb |
Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
11.02 % |
| 0.03 lb |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
0.44 % |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
30.1 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (15 min) |
Hops |
8.0 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Northern Brewer [7.40 %] (1 min) |
Hops |
5.0 IBU |
| 1 Pkgs |
California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112) [Starter 2000 ml] |
Yeast-Lager |
|
| Estimated Original Gravity: 1.049 SG (1.048-1.054 SG) |
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG |
| Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.011-1.014 SG) |
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG |
| Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM (10.0-14.0 SRM) |
Color [Color] |
| Bitterness: 43.2 IBU (30.0-45.0 IBU) |
Alpha Acid Units: 14.8 AAU |
| Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.43 % (4.50-5.50 %) |
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 4.69 % |
| Actual Calories: 233 cal/pint |
| Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar |
Carbonation Volumes: 2.6 (2.4-2.8 vols) |
| Estimated Priming Weight: 2.8 oz |
Temperature at Bottling: 34.0 F |
| Primer Used: - |
Age for: 4.0 Weeks |
| Storage Temperature: 52.0 F |
Notes
.05 lbs = 22 grams of Chocolate Malt. Try with 1% Pale Chocolate (200 SRM) also.
Steam Beer
Tagged as:
brew,
california,
common,
recipe,
steam
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Hi there! My name is Jimmy VerVaecke and I’m a brewer. I discovered brewing in 2004 and have been hooked ever since.
My beer has won numerous awards, including one at the National level. 
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