Steam Beer

In this week's blog post, I sort of wanted to pay homage to a style of beer that you don't hear a lot about anymore: Steam Beer.

This style is now referred to as California Common because Anchor Co. has trademarked the name, 'Steam'. The style was invented in the late 19th century in the western United States during the early days of the gold rush. It was made using a lager yeast but, due to lack of refrigeration, had to be fermented at warmer ale temperatures. For those who don't know, lager is usually fermented at around 10 C while ale is fermented at around 20 C. This resulted in a lager that had a lot more fruity esters that are typical of many ales but not traditional lagers. This became an incredibly popular style around the west and was consumed with great gusto by the miners and other labourers. It was seen as a cheap beer made for hard working people. It also became a popular style in the Yukon during the days of the gold rush and through the early 20th century. O'Brien Brewing and Malting Co in Klondike City, YK made, 'home grown steam beer' from 1904 to 1920.

There are several explanations as to why it was called Steam Beer. The one that I find most likely is that when the brewery would cool down the wort to 20 C in shallow open fermenters, water vapour would rise off the hot liquid, giving the appearance of steam. Another explanation is that when the wooden barrels of steam beer were vented before dispensing, a hiss would be emitted from the excess CO2, which sounded like a steam engine.

Today, there are few commercial examples of the style and Anchor Co. continues to be the most popular one. There are very few styles of beer that originated in the 'New World', but this is one that is pretty unique to the wild frontier of the American west. So, Cheers!

Here's a bit more on the history of the beer in San Francisco:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0xq0ETO3wc