California Common Recipe
Taste: Caramel, Rustic, Toasty
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Ingredients
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Grains and Hops
Method
Brewing Process
- 1
Mashing
In a large brew kettle, heat 3 gallons of water to 165°F (74°C). Add the pale malt and caramel malt to the water, stirring well to ensure there are no dry clumps. Maintain the temperature at around 150°F (65°C) for 60 minutes.
- 2
Sparging
After mashing, heat an additional 3 gallons of water to 170°F (77°C). Slowly pour this water over the grains in the mash tun to rinse out the sugars. Collect the wort in the brew kettle.
- 3
Boiling
Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Once boiling, add 1.5 oz of Northern Brewer hops. Boil for 60 minutes, adding the last 0.5 oz of Cascade hops in the last 5 minutes of the boil.
- 4
Cooling
After the boil, quickly cool the wort to around 70°F (21°C) using a wort chiller or an ice bath.
- 5
Fermentation
Transfer the cooled wort to a sanitized fermentation vessel. Pitch the yeast and seal the vessel with an airlock. Allow the beer to ferment for 1-2 weeks at around 65-70°F (18-21°C).
- 6
Bottling
After fermentation is complete, prepare a priming solution by boiling 3/4 cup of corn sugar in 2 cups of water. Add this solution to the bottling bucket, then siphon the beer into the bucket, mixing gently to avoid oxidation. Bottle the beer and cap each bottle.
- 7
Conditioning
Allow the bottles to condition at room temperature for 1-2 weeks before refrigerating and enjoying.