Steam beer is a highly
effervescent
Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same lin ...
beer made by fermenting
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
s at warmer ale yeast
fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
temperatures. It has two distinct but related meanings:
*Historic steam beer produced in California, and in the East at the
James River Steam Brewery in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century;
*Modern California common beer, a competition category name for the beer family, which includes steam beers such as
Anchor Steam beer.
Historic steam beer comes from Bavaria Germany 1830, popularly associated with
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and the
U.S. West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
, was brewed with
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...
yeast without the use of true
refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
(by ice or mechanical means). It was an improvised process, originating out of necessity, perhaps as early as the
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
and at least 1860 in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
.
It was considered a cheap and low-quality beer, as shown by
references to it in literature of the 1890s and 1900s.
Modern steam beer, also known as ''California common beer'', was originated by
Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company is an American alcoholic beverage producer, operating a brewery on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California. The brewery was founded in 1896 and was purchased by Frederick Louis Maytag III in 1965, saving it from closure. ...
, which trademarked the term ''Steam Beer'' in 1981. Although the modern company has corporate continuity with a small brewery which has made beer since the 1890s, Anchor Steam is a modern craft-brewed lager. The company does not claim any close similarity between its present-day product and turn-of-the-20th-century steam beer.
Etymology
There have been various explanations for the use of the name "steam beer". According to Anchor Brewing, the name "steam" came from the fact that the brewery had no way to effectively chill the boiling wort using traditional means. So they pumped the hot wort up to large, shallow, open-top bins on the roof of the brewery so that it would be rapidly chilled by the cool air blowing in off the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Thus while brewing, the brewery had a distinct cloud of steam around the roof let off by the wort as it cooled, hence the name. Another explanation is that the carbon dioxide pressure produced by the 19th-century steam-beer-making process was very high, and that it may have been necessary as part of the process to let off "steam" before attempting to dispense the beer. It is also possible that the name or brewing process derive from ''Dampfbier'' (literally ''steam beer''), a traditional
German beer
Beer is a major part of German culture. German beer is brewed according to the '' Reinheitsgebot'', which permits only water, hops, and malt as ingredients; and stipulates that beers not exclusively using barley-malt, such as wheat beer, must ...
that was also fermented at unusually high temperatures and that may have been known to 19th-century American brewers, many of whom were of German descent; Dampfbier is an
ale
Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typicall ...
, however, not a lager.
Brewing process
![Dampfbier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Dampfbier.jpg)
In 19th-century California, brewers found a strain of
lager yeast
''Saccharomyces pastorianus'' is a yeast used industrially for the production of lager beer, and was named in honour of Louis Pasteur by the German Max Reess in 1870. This yeast's complicated genome appears to be the result of hybridisation bet ...
which would ferment at higher temperatures.
The flavor of beer is influenced by the strain of yeast and the fermentation temperature. Lager yeast is best used at temperatures from . Classic lagering of beers takes place over a period of time from weeks to many months at a temperature of . Conversely, ale yeast is best used at temperatures from . Fermentation by ale yeasts produces a beer that has a more distinct flavor. Steam Beer uses bottom fermenting lager yeasts at ale temperatures, which results in a very distinctive flavor profile that includes both ale and lager characteristics.
While steam beer is considered a specialty
microbrew
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
style of beer today, it was originally a cheap beer made for
blue collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and power ...
s. Wahl and Heinus's ''American Handy Book of Brewing and Malting'' (1902) describes California Steam Beer as “a very clear, refreshing drink, much consumed by the laboring classes", and while most modern California common beers are all-barley malt,
adjuncts were often used in the early days. Malt, grits, or raw cereals of any kind, and sugars, especially glucose, were added in the kettle and roasted malt or sugar coloring used to give the amber color of Munich beer.
In literature
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
refers to steam beer in his "alcoholic memoir", ''
John Barleycorn
"John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. ...
'', in a passage explaining how he started drinking in late-1880s San Francisco:
:The first day I worked in the bowling alley, the barkeeper, according to custom, called us boys up to have a drink after we had been setting up pins for several hours. The others asked for beer. I said I'd take ginger ale. The boys snickered, and I noticed the barkeeper favoured me with a strange, searching scrutiny. Nevertheless, he opened a bottle of ginger ale. Afterward, back in the alleys, in the pauses between games, the boys enlightened me. I had offended the barkeeper. A bottle of ginger ale cost the saloon ever so much more than a glass of steam beer; and it was up to me, if I wanted to hold my job, to drink beer.
As a budding writer, "a wild band of young revolutionists invited me as the guest of honour to a beer bust" and was challenged to a drinking contest.
:I'd show them, the young rascals.... These unlicked cubs who thought they could out-drink ''me!'' Faugh! It was steam beer. I had learned more expensive brews. Not for years had I drunk steam beer...
Frank Norris
Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. (March 5, 1870 – October 25, 1902) was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include '' McTeague: A Story of San ...
's 1899 novel ''
McTeague
''McTeague: A Story of San Francisco'', otherwise known as simply ''McTeague'', is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899. It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty and violence ...
'', set in San Francisco, sets the stage with a reference to steam beer in its opening paragraph:
:It was Sunday, and, according to his custom on that day, McTeague took his dinner at two in the afternoon at the car conductors' coffee-joint on Polk Street. He had a thick gray soup; heavy, underdone meat, very hot, on a cold plate; two kinds of vegetables; and a sort of suet pudding, full of strong butter and sugar. On his way back to his office, one block above, he stopped at Joe Frenna's saloon and bought a pitcher of steam beer. It was his habit to leave the pitcher there on his way to dinner.... By and by, gorged with steam beer, and overcome by the heat of the room, the cheap tobacco, and the effects of his heavy meal, he dropped off to sleep.
When he marries, his wife convinces him to adopt more refined habits:
:She broke him of the habit of eating with his knife, she caused him to substitute bottled beer in the place of steam beer, and she induced him to take off his hat to Miss Baker, to Heise's wife, and to the other women of his acquaintance.
California Common beer
According to the
Beer Judge Certification Program
The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) is a non-profit organization formed in 1985 to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills. The BJCP certifies and ranks beer judges through an examination and monitoring process.
Purpose
The BJCP has ...
, the term California Common beer, is "narrowly defined around the prototypical Anchor Steam example", and other commercial examples include Skyscraper Brewing Company Lug Nut Lager, Moab Brewery Rocket Bike Lager, Southampton West Coast Steam Beer, Old Dominion Victory Amber, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager,
Schlafly's Pi Common, Linden Street Common Lager, Eagle Steam Beer and Cosmic Brewing Company Plead the Fifth common lager. The style "showcases the signature Northern Brewer hops (with woody, rustic or minty qualities) in moderate to high strength", is fermented with "a lager yeast, but one that was selected to thrive at the cool end of normal ale fermentation temperatures", and was traditionally fermented in open fermenters.
Other varieties of "steam beer"
Adam Wood Steam Brewery is listed as having been sold in 1859.
A British brewery, the Lincolnshire Steam Beer Co., derives its name from the steam-powered brewing machinery.
When Canadian brewer
Sleeman introduced a product called Steam Beer in Canada in 1999, Anchor sued for trademark infringement, since it had trademarked the term ''steam beer'' in Canada ten years earlier. Canadian courts dismissed the suit and subsequent appeals, ruling that Anchor's Canadian trademark was invalid, since the beer had not been marketed in Canada up to that time. After
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
bought Sleeman in a $400-million takeover in 2006, Sleeman's production of Steam Beer was discontinued.
In Richmond, Virginia, the remains of a former
Yuengling
D. G. Yuengling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewery, brewing company in the United States. In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest Craft brewery and microbrewery, craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery and l ...
brewery along the James River were once called David Yuengling Jr.'s James River Steam Brewery, located at (or near) 912 East Main St.
''The St. Louis Guide for Citizens and Strangers'' (1859) shows advertising copy for J.F. Boyd & Co. St. Louis Ale, Porter and Lager Beer Steam Brewery.
The 1865, New Orleans City Directory has an advertisement for the Old Canal Steam Brewery, "First Lager-Beer Steam Brewery in New Orleans", owned by Geo. Merz, next to the Ice House and Lager Beer Cellar.
Widmer Brothers Brewery
Widmer Brothers is a brewery founded in 1984 in Portland, Oregon, by brothers Kurt and Robert Widmer. It is part of the Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., the 12th largest brewing company in the United States in 2017.
Details
In 1986, the Widmer Broth ...
released Columbia Common Beer, a seasonal common ale which is brewed with lager and
hefeweizen
Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ...
yeasts and
Columbia hops
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
.
Derecho Common was issued by the
Port City Brewing Company
Port City Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the first production brewery to operate in Alexandria since Prohibition, when the Robert Portner Brewing Company closed its doors. Port City was named the 2015 '' ...
of Alexandria, VA after the power outages related to the
June 2012 North American derecho
The June 2012 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest derecho was one of the deadliest and most destructive fast-moving severe thunderstorm complexes in North American history. The progressive derecho tracked across a large section of the Midwestern United Sta ...
resulted in a tank of Port City's beer fermenting as a steam beer due to loss of refrigeration. Port City has since continued to release Derecho Common.
Steam beer may have developed in parallel in North Korea. Due to the scarcity of electricity, a
North Korean beer
North Korea has at least ten major breweries and many microbreweries that supply a wide range of beer products. The top brand is the light lager Taedonggang by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company.
The country's problems with goods di ...
style very similar to steam beer has developed because it does not require refrigeration.
Many brewing supply shops provide a Steam Beer/California Common kit, and recipes abound.
See also
*
Kentucky Common Beer
*
Tower brewery
A tower brewery is a distinct form of brewery, identified by its external buildings being arranged in the form of a vertical tower.
The purpose of a tower brewery is to allow this multi-stage flow process to continue by gravity, rather than lifti ...
*
Kölsch, a beer made in the opposite way of California Common
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steam Beer
American beer styles
Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area
California culture
Food and drink in California