Steam Beer? Really is it worth it?

[Darcey]

I have heard about Steam Beer/Californian Common Beer but noticed someone on the forum actually brewed one with lager yeast at ale temps... now really historically this beer style was cheap bastardised lager / ale? Does it actually taste nice?! It seems from a quick google that the Americans love the stuff! Maybe that's more to do with trying to connect with their historic beer styles?

D

 

[unclepumble]

Its a nice clean beer style, easy to drink.

UP

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Use S-05

 

[unclepumble]

White Labs WLP001 for best results

UP

 

[jamesb]

It's nice.

Battledown Brewery in Cheltenham do one, although the name escapes me.

Anchor Brewing Steam Beer is probably the most famous (and original of the modern lot) one readily available.

 

[phettebs]

I make a cali common and use Wyeast 2112. That is a hybrid yeast. A lager yeast that does well at ale (low ale) temps. It was traditionally done in California in the late 1800s where temp control was non-existent. They used ice as much as possible but in the end, their lager yeasts were forced to work at warmer ale temps. Over time, these yeast evolved to actually do well at the ale temps. Or so we are led to believe. :-)

Anchor Brewing has trademarked the term "Steam Beer" so anything else should be called California Common. It's a nice beer and I enjoy brewing it.

 

[evanvine]

It's a nice beer and I enjoy brewing it.

Bet it's full of "C" hops!

 

[phettebs]

Mine's not. Only Northern Brewer.

 

[Darcey]

I stand corrected!

 

[artiums_enteri]

Being a native Californian and living in northern CA now, I can tell you it's not my favorite style, but it's a good beer nonetheless. The only reason it's not my favorite is because it's pretty uneventful. I like super west coast hoppy beers or dark chocolate stouts. Something that really awakens my palate. The CA common is a good beer when you want something light, easy going, and don't want to think about your beer.

I'm going to digress a bit here to clarify this. On top of craft brew, I also love good pipe tobacco. I often times pair the two. I really enjoy sitting back and pulling the flavors and aromas out of a good Latakia or Virginia. I do the same with beer. I want to analyze by beer like I do my tobacco. I can spend about 90 seconds doing that with a CA common.

That being said my wife loves brewing this beer because it's pretty much army proof. The yeast she uses is wyeast 1056 at 61 degrees. The beer is clean but still gives off some fruity esters it's known for. For a more traditional example I think I'd use a lager yeast fermented at 61. This would produce more fruity esters.