Recipe Advice/Help - California Common

[EBrewerPDX]

Hello!
Looking to make a more interesting steam beer than a typical 2-row, Chocolate, and Crystal.

How does this sound? Any suggestions or feedback highly welcomed.

5.5 Gal AG

4.6 lb. 2 Row Pale Malt. (41%)
4.6 lb. Maris Otter Pale (41%)
9 oz. Brown Malt (5%)
11 oz. Victory Malt (6%)
.5 lb. Crystal 10L (5%)
.25 lb. Chocolate Malt (2%)
Northern Brewer hops…
Mash ~150
Imperial Cable Car yeast @60

 

[Wrendelar]

Looks interesting, I would ditch the Maris Otter and go 9.2 lbs Pale Malt, and go from Crystal 10 to crystal 40 to get a little sweetness. not sure if you need the brown malt as you have the chocolate malt.

if you are looking to hit the high end of the spectrum on all of the measurements ... you can ignore me

what is the hop schedule you are looking to do?

as for temp ... I would suggest 152-154 to get some additional sweetness

feel free to ignore .. just my 2 cents

 

[tracer bullet]

I'd like to answer, but weary of quoting an attachment that doesn't work from a first time poster.

The attachment's working for me now, I see it's just a screen shot. Yesterday Chrome was giving me a warning.

Seems like the recipe will make a decent beer, but it won't be anywhere close to a California Common.

* I'd consider all Maris Otter with no Victory, or no Maris Otter and keep the victory. You might be able to tell that both are used if the grain bill stopped there but with the brown and chocolate I really doubt you'll get any nuances of having them both.
* I'm not sure you're going to notice that you put in C10. I'd consider going to C40.
* 5% brown and 2% chocolate is going to give you a brown ale for sure. That sounds fine if you want a brown ale, but if you do I'd start thinking about Fuggles or Willamette for hops and an English yeast, maybe 1098 or 1968, maybe 1275 (Wyeast #'s, there are others that would be similar). Ttotal recipe change. If you want a Cali Common, neither really belongs but if you put one in I'd do it with a little more subtlety. Maybe 3% brown and no chocolate, or no brown and 2% chocolate perhaps.

 

[AlexKay]

Seconded on the darker crystal. I use English medium in mine.

And chocolate rye instead of chocolate. And 50/50 Crystal with the Northern Brewer. But that’s just me.

 

[Dr P]

Do a search for "Uncommon Common", recipe by Jamil Z. I have it on tap right now, it is excellent.

 

[Albionwood]

My recipe for CaliCommon had 2-row, Munich, and C40. I don't think either Brown or (especially) Chocolate are appropriate - roasted notes aren't characteristic of the style.
To make it really pop though, change the hopping schedule. Delete the bittering charge and hopburst it with large quantities of NB added in the last 5-10 minutes.

 

[jdauria]

Mean Brews recipe for a Common is pretty good, brewed it last year. If not familiar with the site, he takes award winning recipes and dials in a mean average recipe.

 

[tracer bullet]

Yeah, love the Meanbrews videos. It's a fantastic starting point for the first time a recipe is brewed. You might tweak to your tastes the 2nd time brewed but always a solid start.

I did the 20/60 caramel combo on my last Cali Common, I liked it a lot but the C60 and Victory (I think for these reasons) gave me an ESB vibe (not saying this is bad or wrong or anything else, it was quite yummy). I ended up deciding to go closer to Anchor Steam the next time. I'll be doing straight C40 the next one and maybe a little more than 10% as well, thinking this will get me closer.

I also find Northern Brewer to be a funny hop, maybe I'm getting lame crops but I never seem to get a lot of flavor from it. I'm edging closer to using it IPA style, putting most of it in late and even whirlpooling some of it after boil (20min at 170F or something similar). I feel like I have pretty good practices, closed transfers and such, my IPA's are quite hoppy and stay that way a long time so I think it's just my personal preference to have more of that hop. Funny enough it takes me away from Anchor Steam most likely...

 

[MicroMickey]

Generally, when people speak of California Common, they mean Anchor Steam. While I really enjoy Anchor Steam (and still have a few bottles of it) it isn't necessarily the proper target for the style.
Read what I've found through some research:
https://crescentcitybrewtalk.com/california-steam-beer/

 

[EBrewerPDX]

My recipe for CaliCommon had 2-row, Munich, and C40. I don't think either Brown or (especially) Chocolate are appropriate - roasted notes aren't characteristic of the style.
To make it really pop though, change the hopping schedule. Delete the bittering charge and hopburst it with large quantities of NB added in the last 5-10 minutes.

I'm going to make this beer again & will give this a try. First round was a success - but some room for improvement. Details will follow soon

 

[EBrewerPDX]

Mean Brews recipe for a Common is pretty good, brewed it last year. If not familiar with the site, he takes award winning recipes and dials in a mean average recipe.

Oh, excellent reference - thank you for that. Bookmarked!

 

[jdauria]

Oh, excellent reference - thank you for that. Bookmarked!

You're welcome! Actually brewing it again this weekend with some minor tweaks! Same grain bill but increasing IBUs some and adjusting my water profile to amber bitter instead of amber balanced. Scored a high of 40 last year in comps, but judges felt in could be a little more bitter.