An Uncommon California Common

[AHarper]

OK since I usually get these things wrong I'm risking brickbats for this one - an attempt at a California Common.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1113906/tiggy-s-tipple

I read up about CC and the Anchor Steam Beer CC and what it requires. Using what I have - and, again, relying on the recipe Builder tracking the stats - I got green ticks for this as I tried to match the requirements for a CC.
I am still going to brew it and see how it turns out so I will let you know in a month how it tastes but I'd still be interested to hear from you more expert American brewers if this MAY produce something close to the flavour required. It's too far for me to pop back over to Sausalito and pop into Scoma's Restaurant and have a pint - I did the last time I was there but I can't remember the taste of it.

 

[thunderwagn]

I think it looks good!

 

[J A]

I doubt that you need flaked barley for head retention. It's out of style and I'd try the recipe without it or maybe throw in some Cara-foam or Cara-Pils. If you really have trouble with head retention, it's probably from something else in the process, not the grain bill.
Seems like you're brewing for a darker color, but I'd reverse the percentages of Maris Otter and Amber malt. Even at that, and especially with your mash temp, you're likely to come up with something that's more sweet-malty than the style properly calls for. A little more crispness in the finish rather than lingering, possibly cloying sweetness will make it a better beer, IMO.
As is, you won't have a bad beer but I'm reading the recipe as sweet and a little heavy rather than rich, flavorful and crisp as a good Common should be.

 

[AHarper]

I doubt that you need flaked barley for head retention. It's out of style and I'd try the recipe without it or maybe throw in some Cara-foam or Cara-Pils. If you really have trouble with head retention, it's probably from something else in the process, not the grain bill.
Seems like you're brewing for a darker color, but I'd reverse the percentages of Maris Otter and Amber malt. Even at that, and especially with your mash temp, you're likely to come up with something that's more sweet-malty than the style properly calls for. A little more crispness in the finish rather than lingering, possibly cloying sweetness will make it a better beer, IMO.
As is, you won't have a bad beer but I'm reading the recipe as sweet and a little heavy rather than rich, flavorful and crisp as a good Common should be.

Thanks for the advice J A. Fully taken on board and adjusted as advised. I left out the barley and, I didn't have any Cara Foam or Pils so ditched them and tweaked the Corn Sugar to keep the ABV up to 5%. Just remember - you're to blame.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1113906/tiggy-s-tipple

 

[J A]

That looks pretty good. The Vienna isn't doing a lot at that percentage, but it'll add some grainy sweetness to go with the fruity-candy sweetness of the British malts.It'll be good if you manage to eke out a little more attenuation and drop another couple of points. If you mash a little lower you might see something like 1.011 which I think would be about perfect for this. If you use plenty of yeast and pitch at under 17C and let it stay there for a couple of days and then bump up to 20C over a couple of days, you should finish out nicely in 7 days or less and attenuate pretty nicely.
If that yeast is like most California lager strains, it'll be very clean around 15C or less and ferment relatively slow like a lager yeast. At 20C it'll work fast and attenuate well and add a little fruity ester to the flavor. By starting low and rising, you get to take advantage of its best qualities.