This is the third iteration of my “house” California common (steam beer) recipe, following previous brews in 2015 and 2021. The 2025 version is pretty much identical to the others, except I swapped Imperial Yeast’s Cablecar for White Labs’ equivalent`, based on what the homebrew shop had on-hand. Also, I decided to make a 3 gallon batch on this round; I enjoy the style, but it’s more of a 3-gallon enjoyment than a 5-gallon enjoyment these days. As mentioned previously, this fits into my “make more small batches” Brew Year’s Resolution, too.

Clonal Common 2025

• 5.75 lb. 2-row brewer’s malt (Great Western)
• 11 oz. Viking caramel 100 (crystal 40) malt
• 6 oz. special roast malt (Briess)
• 0.5 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (6.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (6.1% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 0.5 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
• 1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (6.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1 pkg. Cablecar liquid yeast (Imperial Yeast #L05)

Target Parameters

• 60 minute infusion mash at 150° with 168° mash-out, full volume mash
• 1.050 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 5.1% abv, 36 IBU, 11 SRM
• Claremont tap water, with Campden tablet

Procedure

• I collected 4.75 gallons of Claremont tap water and added a Campden tablet, heating the water to 155° before I mashed in with the grains. I added 4 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust pH and held the mash temperature at 150° for 60 minutes before raising the temperature to 168° for 10 minutes.
• I removed the grains, collecting a total of 4.1 gallons at a gravity of 1.039, for 65% mash efficiency.
• I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled the wort to 73° with an immersion chiller.
• Next, I transferred the wort to my small stainless steel fermenter and chilled it all to 64° in my fermentation chamber.
• Finally, I pitched the yeast and held the fermenter at 64°
• I brewed this beer on 17 May 2025; starting gravity was 1.050.
• I pulled the fermenter to ambient (~68°) on 24 May 2025.
• I kegged the beer on 1 June 2025, with 1 oz. of corn sugar added to the keg to encourage natural carbonation and reduce oxidation. I held the keg at ambient for a few weeks, before putting it into my conditioning chamber, force carbonating to final CO2 volume (~2.8 volumes) and lagering at 34°.
• Final gravity was 1.012, which works out to 5.1% abv. I really hit my numbers on this one!

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Light amber, clear beer with a slight chill haze. Pours with a creamy off-white head of good persistence.
• Aroma
  • Light caramel malt aroma, light resiny and woody hop aroma, clean profile for yeast aroma.
• Flavor
  • Medium-high bitterness with a resinous, woody profile, against a medium-low caramel and lightly grainy malt. Very low level of fruitness, almost imperceptible.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium carbonation, medium body, slightly dry finish accentuated by the hops.
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This is a solid recipe! I think it is a bit too bitter in this iteration, and I noted something similar in past batches. So, I think my next batch of this recipe will aim for around 30 IBU. The chill haze is annoying; I think some gelatin would be appropriate in the next batch.
• Overall
  • 7.5/10