Dear beer drinkers, brewers and appreciators,
During the mid-1800s, after a long day’s work panning for gold, I might have asked if you wanted to “grab a steam” at the local bar. If you had accepted, we would have indulged in a West Coast classic: California Common Beer, as mentioned in last week’s column. Perhaps it is an unfamiliar name for a style which most of you have likely enjoyed on more than one occasion. The style is known more commonly (no pun intended) as “steam beer” and is defined by the crisp golden beverage produced by San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery.
There is still debate as to exactly where the slang term first originated, but some theories offer reasonable answers: Due to the early cask-conditioned serving style, a massive amount of naturally occurring pressure was relieved prior to pouring the first glass. The accompanying hissing sound and sight of the relieved vapor resembled steam. In my opinion, a more likely explanation comes from the process of brewing the beer. After boiled, the wort (unfermented beer) was quickly cooled in long shallow vats on the rooftops of the San Franciscan breweries. This method, which made use of the mild climate, resulted in the production of a tremendous amount of steam billowing high into the sky.
This method of cooling not only may have defined the style’s name, but is also significant to the taste, as it was the best method of cooling at the time. Not surprisingly, early in the 19th century, German immigrant brewers were highly influential to the industry in California. They brought many of their practices with them as well as their particular strands of brewing yeast. These lager yeast strains, which were traditionally fermented at cold temperatures, were now forced to do their work in our warm, sunny state. Without any other means of cooling, the rooftop solution was a compromise and steam beer’s unique flavor profile was born.
The contemporary style of steam beer is still fermented warm (~60°F) with lager yeast. It is this characteristic that defines it as a hybrid beer, showing characteristics of both an ale and a lager. The color is medium-amber to light copper and is translucent in appearance. The beer is meant to be well balanced with malt characteristics of caramel, grain, and toastiness. Northern Brewer hops are used almost exclusively in the style and give some lingering bitterness as well as what some describe as a subtle woody or minty flavor to the beer. The beer should be medium-bodied with an off-white, creamy head.
Nearly 30 years ago, Anchor Brewing trademarked the term “steam beer.” Fritz Maytag, who is now considered to be the father of the craft brewing movement, was responsible for this. Maytag’s founding idea for revitalizing Anchor brewery was that beer should be brewed using old practices with only fresh and traditional ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast. Followed by many craft breweries in the near future, this was a massive step away from the few dominating American breweries. These corporate giants brewed (and still brew) with up to 40 percent rice or corn and minute quantities of hops, producing a weak, flavorless beer that you may often refer to as “piss-water,” and rightfully so.
If you haven’t yet tried the delicious “steam beer” that you now know so much about, go get a pint. Big Sky Café consistently supplies it on draught at the low price of $3, so grab a friend and go enjoy.
Until next week,
Nico Chiarito
Cal Poly Brew Crew
For all fellow brewers or those who would like to get involved, here is a recipe that I have created and found to be reasonably true to style:
49er’s Dream Steam (All Grain):
9.75lb American 2 Row (For extract brewers this equates to 6.8 lbs of liquid malt extract or 5.7lbs of dry malt extract)
1.50lb Caramel Malt 40L
9.00oz Cara-Pils Malt
9.00oz Biscuit Malt
Hops:
1.00oz Northern Brewer (60min)
0.50oz Northern Brewer (20min)
0.50oz Northern Brewer (1min)
Other:
Whirlfloc Clarifier (20min)
WYeast 2112 California Lager Yeast
Brewing Instructions:
Heat water and Mash Grains at 154°F. Bring wort to rolling boil and add first hops. Boil for 60 minutes adding hops according to above times. Recipe is designed for 6-gallon batch at 70% Brewing efficiency. Original gravity should be ~1.050 and final should be ~1.012.