Steam Entropy Lager/Ale

I don't know anything about cali commons, but I think you'll be pleased with NB hops. Everything I've made with them, I liked it.

 

Agreed about Northern Brewers. I think typically Commons contain some Crystal in there too, but I don't see any problems here...

What kind of fermentation schedule are you planning? I like to give this style a bit longer to condition, then cold crash the whole thing to clear it up a bit.

 

NB is required for traditional steam beers.

 

i'd mash it a bit higher but otherwise it looks pretty good. i'm doing a cal common next and i'm planning on mashing it around 154.

 

Traditional in the sense of recent beer awareness. Steam beer was brewed from the California Gold Rush, times mid 19th century. NB hops were developed in the UK in the 1930s IIRC. Traditional from the time of Anchor and Fritz Maytag for sure.

 

Good point, didn't even think about time lines... were they originally brewed with Cluster in the U.S.?

 

Probably. Cluster was what was raised in CA for years, but I would have to look up when hops were first grown there. During the Gold Rush the hops may have been shipped in like everything else.

 

The Flint family supposed imported the first hop roots (from Vermont) into California winter '55-'56. First grown by Wilson Flint, his brother Daniel soon established a long-lived hop ranch and wrote an early history, The Hop Industry in California for the state Ag society. According to Tinged with Gold (which happened to be sitting here ) "Throughout the 1860's California brewers continued to rely on eastern hops..."

Supposedly the reputation of California hops grew from awards giving at 1867's Paris Exposition to the porter and ale of NYC's Smith Bros. brewery, brewed with "Croton Water, with California hops and barley."

 

I agree that crystal is usually included in california commons recipe that I see, presumably because they are trying to imitate Anchor. I'd probably put half a pound of C40 in this, but it could be very good without any, too..

 

Your usual informative post, from a book that I am not familiar with.

If you have never read http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-English...&qid=1357567875&sr=1-1&keywords=the+hop+atlas it is a comprehensive history. We checked out the copy from MSUs library a few years ago. At $150 or so to purchase, finding it from the state library system was the way to go for a read.

 

I have homebrewed a number of solely Northern Brewer hopped California Common beers. I enjoyed them but found them to be a bit one dimensional.

I have always used crystal malt in my California Common beers: 1 lb. of 40L Crystal.

Below is something I posted in a previous thread:

I have used Cascade many times in making California Common beers to complement the classic hop for this style of Northern Brewer:

· 2 ounces Northern Brewer for 60 minutes of boil
· ½ ounce Northern Brewer & ½ ounce Cascade for 15 minutes of boil
· ½ ounce of Cascade at end of boil

I always thought the above hopping schedule made a tasty California Common.

I hope to be able to obtain California Cluster (Ivanhoe) hops someday to make a California Common beer. That hop sounds like it would be perfect for a California Common from a taste and historical perspective:

“California Ivanhoe Organic Whole Hops

8% AAU. 4.6% Beta. The original California Cluster variety has been rejuvenated for the first time in more than a half century. Similar in profile to a Cascade with a moderate alpha in the 8% range, it has a nice aroma with mellow hints of citrus and pine and the strong floral/herbal notes typical of English aroma hops. The exact origins of the Ivanhoe hop are unknown but the original California Cluster hop parent was a cross between English and American varieties. Great for American style ales, California Common, stouts, and IPA's. Try in recipes that call for: Galena, Cluster, Northern Brewer.”


Cheers!