Anchor Steam Clone Recipe
In the late 1800s, there were at least 20 – 30 breweries in and around San Francisco making a style of beer called “Steam beer”. Today the term “steam beer” is a registered trademark of Ancor Brewing Company.
Combining lager and ale brewing techniques steam beer or California Common is a product of early US west coast brewing before refrigeration. To produce a lager-like beer to supply the tens of thousands of people who travelled to the American west in search of fortune and new opportunities.
Entrepreneurial brewers, especially German emigrants bought their knowledge and techniques for brewing lager and adapted to the conditions of California and the result is Steam beer. As time moved on and refrigeration became widely available lager became more dominant until steam beer became a thing of the past.
Anchor Brewing which has existed and nearly disappeared multiple times introduced Anchor Steam in 1971 which was based on the pre-prohibition recipes of the late 1800s. Showcasing Northern Brewer hops and fermented with lager yeast at ale fermenting temperature Anchor Steam is a truly unique beer.
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 L | 60 min | 49.1 IBUs | 12.4 EBC | 1.066 | 1.013 | 7.0 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt (2 Row) US | 4.5 kg | 76.66 |
| Pale Malt, Maris Otter | 1.15 kg | 19.59 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L | 220 g | 3.75 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial | 34 g | 45 min | Boil | Pellet | 10 |
| Centennial | 20 g | 15 min | Boil | Pellet | 10 |
| Centennial | 20 g | 5 min | Boil | Pellet | 10 |
| Centennial | 25 g | 1 min | Aroma | Pellet | 10 |
| Centennial | 50 g | 5 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 10 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Ale (WLP001) | White Labs | 77% | 20°C - 22.78°C |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 65.56°C | 75 min |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
The “Steam” In Steam Beer
There is a lot of discussion about the name steam beer. There are multiple theories as to what the steam in steam beer means.
Steam was the nickname used to describe these beers brewed without refrigeration. This meant that the breweries would have to find a way to quickly cool the boiling wort in order to transfer to the fermenter.
Cooling without refrigeration would involve transferring the beer into shallow, open vessels called cool ships. The cool ships would be located near or on the roof of the breweries to allow cool air to pass over them which would send out huge billows of steam, hence the name steam beer.
Another theory is that the beer was served highly carbonated. In order to pour such a highly effervescent beer, you would have to let off the excess CO2 or “steam”.
Once refrigeration was introduced steam beer fell out of favour and the meaning seems to of disappeared in the mists of time.
Malt Extract Version
To brew a malt extract version of this beer substitute the pale malt for one of the following:
3.8kg (8.4lb) Pale Liquid Malt Extract
or
3.1kg (6.8lb) Pale Dry Malt Extract
Steep the crystal malt in a grain bag for 20 minutes, add a third of the malt extract at the start of the boil and the remaining 2/3rds a few minutes before the end of the boil.
Recipe Notes
- Anchor Brewings own website details the ingredients very simply as 2 -row and caramel malt and Northern Brewer hops.
- A clone has appeared in The Brew Your Own Big Book of Clone Recipes and seems to be a pretty close approximation
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