California Common
California common: San Francisco's steam beer, a lager yeast fermented warm in shallow open vessels since the Gold Rush. Anchor Steam, taste and serving.
A California common pours medium amber to light copper and clear, under a moderate off-white head. It tastes of toast and caramel malt with a pronounced bitterness and a rustic, woody, herbal or minty hop from old-style American varieties. Light fruit sits under a dry, crisp finish. It is smooth and well carbonated, at 4.5–5.5% alcohol.
Where it comes from
San Francisco brewers made it as steam beer in the Gold Rush years. Without refrigeration they fermented lager yeast warm in large, shallow open vessels and let the cool Bay Area air do the rest. Anchor Brewing revived the style in the 1970s, and today’s versions follow Anchor Steam. Anchor trademarked the name steam beer in 1981, so other brewers call theirs California common.
How to serve it
Pour it at 10–13 °C into a nonic pint. It goes with pork loin, feta or bread pudding.
Next to its neighbours
It looks like an American amber ale, but uses old-style American hops, toastier malt, firm hopping throughout and a lager yeast fermented warm.
California Common in numbers
- Classic example
- Anchor Brewing
- Original gravity
- 1.048–1.054
- Final gravity
- 1.011–1.014
- Also called
- Steam beer
- Food
- Pork loin; feta; bread pudding
- Classic examples
- Anchor Steam; Steamworks Steam Engine Lager
- BJCP style
- 19B California Common
Sources
Checked .
- 19B. California Common, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- California Common — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association
- California common — Wikipedia
