California Common (Steam Beer)

4/9/2010

True Brew California Common (steam)

February 2010

BG: 1.048             FG: 1.012             ABV: ~4.725%

Hop bittering units: 22.0

Ingredients

Unhopped light malt extract- 2 cans

Dark crystal grains- 8 oz

Pilgrim hop pellets- 2 oz

First Gold- hop pellets- 1 oz

Lager yeast- 1 pack

priming sugar- 5 oz

Start time to drink time: ~2 months

Process

This brew involved our first attempt with steeping grains in a bag.  We had no problems with that, which was good.  Standard brewing process again: boil water, steep the grains for 30 minutes, boil the malt and Pilgrim hops.  We added the First Gold hops at the end of the boil.  Last step was transferring it to the glass carboy to ferment at 68-72 degrees  for a week or two.  After that we bottled and let it sit until March Madness started, so a little over a month.

Comments

This type of beer was a "steam" beer.  There are many thoughts on why it is called a steam beer, which you can find by doing a little research online.  It originates from the gold rush time in california, hence the California common name now.  Anchor Steam Brewing Co. trademarked the name Steam Beer, so California Common is the name for this type of beer nowadays.  We bought a 6 pack of Anchor Steam to compare it to.  Craig and I thought it compared favorably.  Not as smooth, obviously, as Anchor Steam, but a good homebrew for our 2nd try.  Some reviews thought it was too bitter.  At first I thought it didn't come out right, but the more I drank it the more I noticed the similarity to Anchor Steam.  I am still honing my beer tasting, smelling, and identification skills. 

Update 12/6/2010:  Looking back Craig and our roommates agree that this has been the best one that we have made so far.  We are on the grind to beat this performance.