American ale
California Common
Steam beer: a lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures, which is what happened in San Francisco before refrigeration. Woody Northern Brewer hops and a firm, dry finish.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.048 - 1.054
1.048 - 1.054
Final gravity
1.011 - 1.014
1.011 - 1.014
Bitterness
30 IBU - 45 IBU
30 IBU - 45 IBU
Colour
9 SRM - 14 SRM
9 SRM - 14 SRM
Alcohol
4.5% - 5.5%
4.5% - 5.5%
Colour also 18-28 EBC
What goes wrong
Using an ale yeast for convenience. The whole style is defined by what a lager strain does when it is fermented warm, and an ale strain produces a different beer.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
Plan a batch to these numbers.