I'm looking at doing a steam beer type brew for my next batch. Actually using wort from a local brewery, for a contest they're doing. I'm wanting to go completely off the wall is why I chose this route. Just wanted to see if anyone has any experience with brewing steam beers and could glean any knowledge you may could provide from your experiences with the style. I've got WL San Fran lager yeast and plan to ferment at 60 F.
Style Guide for California Common from http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/ Amber Hybrid Beer 7B. California Common Beer Aroma: Typically showcases the signature Northern Brewer hops (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. No diacetyl. Appearance: Medium amber to light copper color. Generally clear. Moderate off-white head with good retention. Flavor: 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 Northern Brewer qualities (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. No diacetyl. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium to medium-high carbonation. Overall Impression: A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing the signature Northern Brewer varietal hop character. History: American West Coast original. 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 thrive at the cool end of normal ale fermentation temperatures. Comments: This style is narrowly defined around the prototypical Anchor Steam example. Superficially similar to an American pale or amber ale, yet differs in that the hop flavor/aroma is woody/minty rather than citrusy, malt flavors are toasty and caramelly, the hopping is always assertive, and a warm-fermented lager yeast is used. Ingredients: Pale ale malt, American hops (usually Northern Brewer, rather than citrusy varieties), 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) used. Note that some German yeast strains produce inappropriate sulfury character. Water should have relatively low sulfate and low to moderate carbonate levels. Vital Statistics: OG 1.048 - 1.054 FG 1.011 - 1.014 IBUs 30 - 45 SRM 10 - 14 ABV 4.5 - 5.5% Commercial Examples: Anchor Steam, Southampton West Coast Steam Beer, Old Dominion Victory Amber, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager For me, I wouldn't think it would be a stretch to add some Willamette hops but you would not want to overwhelm the Northern Brewer to remain true to the style.
Unfortunately, the California Common style is very well defined. Probably the most well defined style we have. Anchor is the standard, for decades the only, and therefore everything else is going to have to be a comparison to Anchor Steam. Duvel might be the only other style that is so well defined. So... Changes to the standard recipe may result in a great beer but it will be less of a Cali Common style and more something else. Because this is a competition you should consider how your beer will be judged. Also, fwiw, many brewers shrug their shoulders when presented this style challenge. It's just not that great. I would personally change either the hops to something similar to NB or change the yeast but not both. The 2112 strain is supposed to present near lager yeast characteristics but you might have fun with something that has more character. Cheers.
Thanks for the input guys. Just to let y'all know, the wort is for a black Lager. I believe their grain bill consists of pils and munich. already hopped with fuggles and hallertaur at close to 30IBUs. I'm planning on a 10 minute boil to re-pasteurize, and pitching 1oz German Perle, to add that minty character. Thinking pitching at 5 min. Going to pitch with WL810. As far as the contest goes, it's a go wild with ideas type thing, so I tried going as far out of the box as I could. Will let y'all know how it turns out. Thanks again.
Sounds like a Schwartzbier http://beersmith.com/blog/2010/11/16/schwarzbier-recipes-german-black-beer/
I did something similar to this: http://www.beersmith.com/Recipes2/recipe_120.htm and it came out excellent. I used a little Centennial as well. C hops blend really well with the yeast profile, (spicy, metallic)?
Big Ditch Brewery in Buffalo makes a Schwartzbier using (IIRC) the Anchor/San Fran strain. It's quite good.
For clarity, it is Schwarzbier, no T. Schwarz is German for black. A minor correction to be sure, but the idea of Schwartzbier reminds me Spaceballs. May the Schwartzbier be with you.
If you want this beer judged as a cal common, a black lager base beer will lead you to a not-to-style score. If the point of the contest is to "go wild," I think most judges will not consider this a very wild approach to using the wort. If the point is merely to make a delicious beer, I won't discourage you from using this yeast. I have made a few delicious beers with it, and most beers that try to go "wild" are disappointing, imo. I agree with vike that a schwarzbier could be the category to go with.
