AMERICAN BREWERS’ REVIEW 1898
The Preparation of California Steam Beer.
As a general thing, steam beer in California is made of malt. The mashing method is very simple, especially with the brewmasters of the old school. The malt grist is simply doughed-in with water of 55.58o R according to the season and mashed up to a final temperature of 52.53o R. It is preferable, however, to leave the mash at 52o R for about ten minutes, and then heat it to 56o R by steam. The mash is then left to rest for 45 minutes or an hour and the wort run off as in other cases. Of late years some breweries have been using raw grain for steam beer, the mashing method pursued being about the same as for lager beer. But the old Californian prefers a pure malt beer.
For the rest of the brewing method is the same as for lager beer. The finished wort is cooled to 12o R and started in the fermenting tank with ½ lb. of bottom-fermentation yeast of the Frohberg type for every barrel of wort. AT the expiration of 18 hours kraeusen have reached their full development when it is at once put into shallow vessels similar to surface coolers, called clarifiers. Here it stands at a depth of about 6-8 inches and remains until the principal fermentation is finished, which occurs in about 48 hours. From the clarifiers the beer is racked into casks of 5.10 barrels (puncheons) and remains until it is racked into the trade casks, which seldom is more than four days. Most brewers rack the beer straight from the clarifiers into the trade casks, which commonly are of half-barrel size, adding 2/3 gallons of kraeusen for every half barrel. After the cask is full, although the beer is foaming, it is fined, filled up complete, and bunged. It is ready for shipment. At the bar room it ought to remain quietly in storage for at least four days to give the kraeusen an opportunity to work properly and the yeast time to settle solidly on the bottom.
A beer properly treated has a fiery luster, is very rich in carbonic acid, sparkles like champagne in the glass, and at moderate temperature, keeps for months.
Nota bene – oR is Reaumur – an obsolete French scale with 0 as freezing and 80 as boiling point of water.
12o R = 59o F 52o R = 149o F 52.53o R = 150o F 55.58o R = 157o F 56o R = 158o F
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