Brewin' In The Boys Room
Proclamation Ale Company

The California Common is a fantastic lager/ale style morph beer. Only have ever had the OG Anchor steam beer but this was great. A cool collaboration between female brewers of 3 Rhode Island breweries. An awesome amber beer with fluffy head that gives off fruity ale like aromas. Has a nice malty amber lager like taste. Toasty caramel notes and nice and easy to go along with a burger. Enjoyed this in Harvard Square at Alden & Harlow.

Canned 9/1/21. “Common ground” stamped on the bottom of the can

It's been a minute since I've had anything new from Proc, and when I saw they had a California Common I had to pick it up; I've only had Anchor's Steam Beer so far for the style, so they're not very common these days (no pun intended). Anyhow, I liked Anchor a decent amount so I'm wondering how this one will hold up. Let's find out

Pours a cloudy amber gold with 3 fingers of soapy off white head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

Well there’s not much going on in the nose here, but its simplicity is wonderful. I’m picking up on aromas of brown bread, floral hops, lemon rind, doughy malt, toasted grain, and light toffee

There’s more to it in taste, and it’s super smooth. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting rich toffee, earthy hops, caramel malt, apple skin, and light toast. The swallow brings notes of brown bread, caramel malt, toffee, floral hops, and light general citrus

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in an easy drinking beer. Finishes a tad sticky but not overly sweet

This is actually better than I expected. It’s crushable and I think I’ll have to pick up more very soon

On-tap 11/13/2021 at the brewery’s taproom in Warwick, RI, served in a snifter glass.

A: The beer is a light golden brown color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains caramelized malts, lager yeast, some citrus and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of caramel and citrus. Then a nice breadiness comes in from hearty but not too heavy malt character, nuts and lager yeast. The hops presence is mild overall but strong for the style and brings a very good balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and very crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

O: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, decent kick, very good representation of style. This is a very solid beer to drink for a long time if you’re in the mood for the style.

Pours a fairly hazy amber color with a light tan colored head that falls to an even layer of bubbles that cling tenaciously to the glass. I think it looks like it should, but was expecting more clarity.

Smell of sweet, clean malt, slightly fruity, a bit of caramel/toffee, some herbal earthiness. The fruit seems citrus, very light lemon that is definitely there but hard to pin down.

This beer tastes great. Straightforward malt, slightly sweet with a hint of caramel. The herbaceous earthiness in the smell is nicely reinforced in the taste and the lemon emerges significantly on the aftertaste. A very pleasing bitterness on the finish counterpoints everything else. Nothing fancy, but damn it tastes good!

Feel is medium body with just enough liveliness from the carbonation. Carbonation I'd say is lively but not annoying. It is smooth, slightly creamy, with a building citrusy and slightly resinous hop kick. It makes me think of the hoppy lager category, but more on the malty side. The bitterness is respectable and helps dry out the finish.

I know I have had the OG of the style, but probably before I started keeping notes or reviews so how this stacks up I can't say for sure. I can say on its own it is a very tasty, thoroughly enjoyable, straightforward beer. It ticks most of the style markers. I guess I should factor out my gut reaction that's telling me I how much I dig this beer. It seems old school to me...no frills or complications, just a good, solid, tasty beer to drink.