California Common - Steam Beer

grain:
- 22 pounds Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 1 pound 4 ounces crystal 40 malt
- 1 pound Dingmans Carapils malt

hop:
- 3 ounces Northern Brewer 60 minutes (whole hops)
- 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer 30 minutes (whole hops)
- 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer flame out (whole hops)

yeast: White Labs San Francisco Lager Yeast

comments:
Finally a California Common true to style. Big body from Pale Ale and Carapils malts with an assertive bouquet of Northern Brewer hops.

ambient outdoor temperature: 25 degrees Fahrenheit
ambient basement temperature: 55 degrees Fahrenheit

mash notes:
- (1:15 PM) mash start @ 152 degrees Fahrenheit
- (1:45 PM) @ 150 degrees Fahrenheit (stir and add 2 - 3 quarts hot water)
- (2:20 PM) @ 152 degrees Fahrenheit (stir and add 2 - 3 quarts hot water)
- (2:50 PM) first sparge @ 19.5 degrees Brix
- (unknown) second sparge @ 15 degrees Brix
- (unknown) third sparge @ 13 degrees Brix (estimating about 6% abv)

boil notes:
- (4:30 PM) boil start
- (5:45 PM) boil end

brew date: 2/6/2010
keg date: 2/23/2010 (half); force carbonate under 10 PSI at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit
secondary date: to be determined
bottle date: to be determined

photos:
- from left to right: two Steam Beer (Commons), Common, Baltic Porter, and another Common. Fermentation of the Steam Beer has started. Notice the blow off hose setup. Required for sure in the 5 gallon but probably not the 6 1/2 gallon (update: blow off in 6 1/2 gallon proved wise. Krausen grew close to the top). Fermentation is slow but growing about 36 hours after pitching the yeast.

notes:
- very good Common ... continue to use Northern Brewer hops in the future