Description

Festival US Steam Beer Kit

Festival US Steam Beer is a high-quality premium 3kg beer kit. Everything you need to brew a superb Steam Beer is included in the box (except water).  Festival US Steam Beer has a light copper colour with a white fluffy head. It has rounded toffee and caramel notes with a herbal hop character. The overall taste is a light’ earthy character finished with a firm bitterness provided by Northern Brewer hops.

A 100g sachet of hop pellets is included so that a background hop aroma can be achieved. A 150g sachet of priming sugar is provided to ensure bottles or barrels are properly conditioned.

Hop bitterness of the US Steam Beer is 4.5 (on a scale of 1-5). The kit produces a target alcohol content of 5% ABV (approx)

What is US Steam Beer?

The California Common, or Steam Beer, is a hybrid style unique to the US. It is usually brewed with lager yeast that works better at warmer (ale-like) temperatures. The most famous steam beer is Anchor Steam Beer from San Francisco. Historically, steam beer, popularly associated with San Francisco and the U.S. West Coast, was brewed with lager yeast without the use of true refrigeration (by ice or mechanical means). Thus while brewing, the brewery had a distinct cloud of steam around the roof released by the wort as it cooled, hence the name.

Final flavours of beer are influenced by the strain of yeast and the fermentation temperature. Lager yeast is usually used at temperatures from 48 to 58 °F (9 to 14 °C). Classic lagering of beers takes place over a period of time from weeks to many months at a temperature of 37 °F (3 °C). Conversely, ale yeast is best used at temperatures from 55 to 75 °F (13 to 24 °C). Fermentation by ale yeasts produces a beer that has a more distinct flavour. Steam Beer uses bottom fermenting lager yeasts at ale temperatures (13-24°C, which results in a very distinctive flavour profile that includes both ale and lager characteristics. This beer (in a similar way to Vienna Lager) is often overlooked by brewers as it is not a mainstream style. However, we feel that it is well worth a try and our customers have been pleasantly surprised by the results that they have achieved.

What’s included?

• Premium Liquid Malt Extract, Barley Extract ( Gluten)
• 10g Genuine Brewer’s California Lager Yeast Sachet
• 100g Califonia Common Hop Pellets Addition
• 350g Dextrose Brewing Sugar
• 150g Priming Sugar

            Allergy Advice: May include barley and other cereals, containing gluten

Specifications

• Kit weight: 3.5kg
• Makes:- 40 pints / 5 gallons
• ABV Approx:- 5.0%
• Target Finishing Gravity: 1.008 (approx)
• Fermentation time:-7 days (approx)
• Conditioning time:-4 weeks

What equipment do you need?

Basic beer making equipment (5g fermenter, airlock, syphon tube with sediment trap, hydrometer, Suresan sanitiser, bottles or barrel). These are available under the starter kit section on this website.

Food Pairing

In general terms, Steam Beer goes best with chicken or spicy Mexican dishes. It also works well with pork, grills, and with Lasagne, and mild cheese dishes.

Tips

We strongly recommend using Pure Brew with this kit in order to achieve a commercial quality. Pure Brew is a professional beer enhancer. It feeds the yeast with essential nutrients, which supercharge the fermentation and support yeast development (even in limited oxygen conditions). Pure Brew also treats brewing water to eliminate problems caused by Chlorine and Chloramine (which can create a medicinal or as it is sometimes referred to, a “homebrew” taste) The condition of brewing water is critical to achieving optimum results but this important area is often overlooked. By using Pure Brew, you can effectively and easily condition brewing water, and maximise effective fermentation.

The addition of beer finings will improve the final quality of your beer. Finings such as Harris Beer Brite will help your beer to clear quickly and the sediment will be more likely to stay at the bottom of bottles or barrels. If you are using Corny Kegs then it is important to clear the beer as much as possible before kegging. Beer Finings will promote a faster and more efficient fall out of sediment and haze particles prior to kegging. Harris Starbrite is a highly effective vegan-friendly beer fining, which is rapidly becoming a firm favourite with home brewers.