19B California Common

Question 1

19B California Common - Overall Impression

Answer 1

A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing rustic, traditional American hop characteristics.

Question 2

19B California Common - Aroma

Answer 2

Typically showcases rustic, traditional American hops (often with woody, rustic or minty qualities) in moderate to high strength. Light fruitiness acceptable. Low to moderate caramel and/or toasty malt aromatics support the hops.

Question 3

19B California Common - Appearance

Answer 3

Medium amber to light copper color. Generally clear. Moderate off-white head with good retention.

Question 4

19B California Common - Flavor

Answer 4

Moderately malty with a pronounced hop bitterness. The malt character is usually toasty (not roasted) and caramelly. Low to moderately high hop flavor, usually showing rustic, traditional American hop qualities (often woody, rustic, minty). Finish fairly dry and crisp, with a lingering hop bitterness and a firm, grainy malt flavor. Light fruity esters are acceptable, but otherwise clean.

Question 5

19B California Common - Mouthfeel

Answer 5

Medium-bodied. Medium to medium-high carbonation.

Question 6

19B California Common - Characteristic Ingredients

Answer 6

Pale ale malt, non-citrusy hops (often Northern Brewer), small amounts of toasted malt and/or crystal malts. Lager yeast; however, some strains (often with the mention of “California” in the name) work better than others at the warmer fermentation temperatures (55 to 60 °F) typically used. Note that some German yeast strains produce inappropriate sulfury character.

Question 7

19B California Common - Style Comparison

Answer 7

Superficially similar to an American Amber Ale, but with specific choices for malt and hopping – the hop flavor/aroma is traditional (not modern) American hops, malt flavors are more toasty, the hopping is always assertive, and a warm-fermented lager yeast is used. Less attenuated, less carbonated and less fruity than Australian Sparkling ale.

Question 8

19B California Common - Comments

Answer 8

This style is narrowly defined around the prototypical Anchor Steam example, although allowing other typical ingredients of the era. Northern Brewer hops are not a strict requirement for the style; modern American and New World-type hops (especially citrusy ones) are inappropriate, however.

Question 9

19B California Common - History

Answer 9

American West Coast original, brewed originally as Steam Beer in the Gold Rush era. Large shallow open fermenters (coolships) were traditionally used to compensate for the absence of refrigeration and to take advantage of the cool ambient temperatures in the San Francisco Bay area. Fermented with a lager yeast, but one that was selected to ferment relatively clean beer at warmer temperatures. Modern versions are based on Anchor Brewing re-launching the style in the 1970s.

Question 10

19B California Common - Commerical Examples

Answer 10

Anchor Steam, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager, Schlafly Pi Common, Steamworks Steam Engine Lager

Question 11

19B California Common - OG

Answer 11

1.048-1.054

Question 12

19B California Common - FG

Answer 12

1.011-1.054

Question 13

19B California Common - ABV

Answer 13

4.5-5.5

Question 14

19B California Common - IBU

Answer 14

30-45

Question 15

19B California Common - SRM

Answer 15

10-14