Steaming into Spring

Steaming into Spring

Spring is officially here, even if the weather isn't, and with that in mind I like to change up the beers I brew to match the season. Soon the weather will be hot enough where an Ale just doesn't seem right unless it's something light like a Kölsch or an IPA. In a couple of weeks I will start making my annual batch of Strawberry Beer and this year I think I will add a Mango Wheat Beer as an additional batch (blog to follow later). In the interim I thought I would try my hand at a new style which has fascinated me, a Lager fermented at Ale temperatures, otherwise known as a Steam Beer or California Common.

The Steam Beer was born out of necessity for during the mid 1800's people flocked to California as part of the Gold Rush of the time. Used to the colder climbs where refrigeration was readily available and very much needed in the process of making Lager, brewers found themselves having to adapt to the demands of people still wanting a cool Lager the end of day. 

Gold rush fever 

The brewers being the resourceful kind decided to make a Lager fermented at Ale temperatures. Now the difference between Ale & Lager Yeast is the Former is top fermenting at higher temperature (13-24°C) and the later is bottom fermenting at cooler temperatures (9-14°C). All this has an influence on the final outcome (taste) of the beer so fermenting a Lager at a high temperature was a risk. Fortunately for the brewers it became a big hit and at one point as many as 27 different breweries were producing a Steam Beer. Sadly Prohibition wiped most of them out and only the best known survived which is made by Anchor Steam Brewing Co in San Francisco, They also trademarked the term "Steam Beer" which means any other brewers use the term "California Common". But hang on I hear you cry where did the term "Steam Beer" come from in the first place? well there a variety of different answers but I believe the simplest one to be correct. 

There is a type of German Beer called "Dampfbier" (literally "steam beer" in German) a traditional brew fermented in the same style. In my opinion it will have been a brewer of German descent or a German Immigrant who had knowledge or experience in the process of making Dampfbier and saw the circumstances were ideal in California to replicate the style. 

To the Brew

Name: Strasburg Steam

Style: Steam/California Common

About: Traditionally brewed in California with Lager yeast at Ale temperature 

Ingredients: 

WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast

1 lb 80L Caramel Malt

3 lbs Light LME

3 lbs Light DME

2 oz Northern Brewer Hops (Bittering)

2 oz Northern Brewer Hops (Aroma)

Additons:

Irish Moss

Yeast Nutrient

The Process: as usual I just do partial mash as I find I don't have the time for full grain at this point in time. 

I started out by bringing around 3 gallons of spring water up to about 68°C. After Milling the Caramel malt I added the grains to the pot and made sure the temperature stayed at about the same temperature. 

 I let the grains rest for about for 30 minutes ensuring the temperature never dropped below 65. After that I let the grains drain off before washing them in steeping water and removing. I brought the pot up to the boil before removing from the heat and adding in the LME & DME. Once the everything had fully dissolved I brought the wort up to the boil once again and added the 2 oz of Northern Brewer Hops. 

I Kept the boil rolling for 45 minutes before adding the Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient for the final 15 Minutes. Once the boil was done I removed it from the heat added the additional Hops and let it stand for 15 minutes. I cooled it for 30 minutes with a wort chiller before adding the wort to the Primary Fermenter. I took the OG reading as 1.048 which was around what I was hoping to achieve .

As Always the final part was to add the yeast, I had made a yeast starter the night before so added the slurry in the mix and decided it would be best to keep the fermenter in the basement to keep a cooler temperature.

I left the Beer in the primary for 6 days before deciding to move in into a secondary as the bubbling seemed to have slowed to a sufficient amount. 

Once the Secondary was filled the was a lot darker than I was expecting. Although this could be down to the lighting in the Basement. I looking to leave the brew in the secondary for around 2 weeks after which I will Keg it.

. If you've made it this far then thanks for reading and please add any comments or contact me at @EyeBeerHolder.

PROST!!