Page 20 - BT1_FlipBook_V1_060721_Final

watch season 1 now: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/beertastic

episode 2

TOURIST INFORMATION
completely new style of beer was created: “Steam
Chico Creek Nature Center
www.chico.ca.us/visitors Beer”. This form of beer quickly became a Western
specialty, par cularly in California, where it enjoyed
long popularity. It originated, apparently, as an
inven on born out of necessity: on the West Coast, it
was difficult – o en impossible – to obtain the ice
necessary to provide the low temperatures at which
lager needed to ferment and be cleared. Steam beer,
then, according to an expert wri ng in 1898, is
“bo om-fermen ng [like lager], and the
fermenta on proceeds at the high temperature of
from 6o° to 68°” – which is the average temperature
in the bay area all year round. In those fast-moving
thirsty mes, it had a special advantage of being
ready to drink within ten to twelve days from the
mash tub to glass. None of that long, careful, cool rest
required for a mature lager beer! But a er the Gold
Rush, things tended to slow down a bit, and that local
style was replaced by lager beers (like it had replaced
california and beer porter before). In 1971 Anchor Brewing was the first
In the 19th century, California was one of the fastest- brewery to re-introduce bo led “Steam Beer” – and
growing regions on the planet: At the start of the it was also one of the first to bring heavily hopped
Mexican War in 1846, San Francisco was home to ales and high gravity barley wines to the market.
7,000 US ci zens – three years later, when the Gold Many other breweries have tried to copy the success
Rush was in full spate, the popula on had risen to of Steam Beer – but that term is now a brand name
100,000. The beer of the me was porter, but the owned by Anchor. Nowadays, the style is called
customers demanded the golden lager beers they “California Common” and is doing well on markets as
had seen on the east coast and in Europe. So a far away as Israel!