Amber and Brown American Beer - California Common - Beer Recipes | Brewer's Friend
Brew your best beer EVER. Save 10% on Brewer's Friend Premium today. Use code TAKE10. Sign Up ×

Amber and Brown American Beer - California Common


A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing rustic, traditional American hop characteristics.

Flavor Profile: Moderately malty with a pronounced hop bitterness. The malt character is usually toasty (not roasted) and caramelly. Low to moderately high hop flavor, usually showing rustic, traditional American hop qualities (often woody, rustic, minty). Finish fairly

Ingredients: Pale ale malt, non-citrusy hops (often Northern Brewer), small amounts of toasted malt and/or crystal malts. Lager yeast; however, some strains (often with the mention of "California" in the name) work better than others at the warmer fermentation tempera

BJCP Style Guide

Top 10 California Common Recipes

Title Size ABV IBU OG FG Color Method Views
Steam Beer
23 L 5.03% 31.61 1.054 1.015
All Grain 3457
Californian Common
19 L 5.31% 34.7 1.048 1.007
BIAB 2904
Sörli
23 L 5.65% 43.4 1.054 1.011
All Grain 2338
California Lager
5.5 gal 4.79% 40.75 1.045 1.009
All Grain 2267
California Common
3.25 gal 4.79% 30.7 1.052 1.016
All Grain 2197
NEIPA?
12 L 4.73% 80.54 1.049 1.013
Partial Mash 2120
19B1. California Common
5.5 gal 4.79% 34.35 1.052 1.015
All Grain 2055
Obsidian Steam Beer
5 gal 4.69% 37.89 1.046 1.010
All Grain 1906
California UnCommon Bastard
5 gal 5.81% 38.39 1.058 1.013
Partial Mash 1829
California Common
500 L 6.56% 0 1.067 1.017
extract 1434

Newest California Common Recipes

Title Size ABV IBU OG FG Color Method Views
Brianza Common
15 L 4.69% 0 1.048 1.012
BIAB 9
Steamworks
5 gal 5.52% 29.97 1.051 1.009
extract 38
#42 Anchor Porter Clone
6.5 gal 7.54% 27.55 1.067 1.010
All Grain 14
#41 Anchor Steam Clone
6.5 gal 6.84% 30.27 1.061 1.009
All Grain 14
Anchor Me Down V2
5.5 gal 4.85% 39.69 1.053 1.016
All Grain 325
DOZE Team Comp Cal Common
18 gal 5.5% 46.46 1.056 1.014
All Grain 74
California (where nothing is) Common
5.5 gal 4.08% 39.76 1.044 1.013
All Grain 17
Steam Ale
21.5 L 4.93% 35.38 1.050 1.013
BIAB 37
California Common
5.5 gal 5.11% 32.74 1.048 1.009
All Grain 53
Low Country Common
4.5 gal 4.94% 21.54 1.046 1.009
All Grain 67

Fermentables Used In California Common Recipes (View More)

Name Recipes Country Category Type Color PPG Avg. Usage Usage Range
US - Pale 2-Row 172 US Grain base malt 1.8°L
37 71% 1% - 100%
American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 125 American Grain crystal malt 40°L
34 8% 2% - 21%
Caramel / Crystal 60L 113 Grain crystal malt 60°L
34 8% 1% - 19%
Munich - Light 10L 101 Grain specialty malt 10°L
33 13% 0% - 100%
American - Victory 89 American Grain roasted malt 28°L
34 6% 0% - 24%
United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale 56 United Kingdom Grain base malt 3.75°L
38 61% 9% - 100%
United Kingdom - Pale Chocolate 43 United Kingdom Grain roasted malt 207°L
33 1% 1% - 2%
American - Chocolate 40 American Grain roasted malt 350°L
29 1% 0% - 5%
American - Pilsner 35 American Grain base malt 1.8°L
37 64% 14% - 95%
American - Pale Ale 33 American Grain base malt 3.5°L
37 63% 14% - 94%

Hops Used In California Common Recipes (View More)

Name Recipes Average AA Avg. Usage Usage Range
Northern Brewer 341 7.8 32% 1% - 100%
Cascade 53 7 28% 6% - 67%
Chinook 30 13 28% 7% - 72%
Magnum 27 15 25% 4% - 81%
Saaz 17 3.5 27% 7% - 84%
Perle 17 8.2 29% 8% - 67%
Centennial 17 10 32% 6% - 100%
Willamette 14 4.5 28% 4% - 78%
Amarillo 14 8.6 25% 5% - 45%
Crystal 13 4.3 21% 5% - 67%

Steeping Grains Used In California Common Recipes (View More)

Name Recipes Country Category Type Color PPG Avg. Usage Usage Range
American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 9 American Grain crystal malt 40°L
34 71% 23% - 100%
Caramel / Crystal 60L 8 Grain crystal malt 60°L
34 64% 33% - 91%
American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) 5 American Grain crystal malt 1.8°L
33 33% 10% - 50%
American - Victory 4 American Grain roasted malt 28°L
34 28% 20% - 33%
American - Caramel / Crystal 20L 3 American Grain crystal malt 20°L
35 26% 20% - 35%
American - Chocolate 3 American Grain roasted malt 350°L
29 10% 7% - 13%
Aromatic Malt 2 Grain specialty malt 20°L
35 27% 20% - 33%
American - Caramel / Crystal 80L 2 American Grain crystal malt 80°L
33 75% 50% - 100%
American - Caramel / Crystal 120L 2 American Grain crystal malt 120°L
33 93% 86% - 100%
Special B 2 Grain crystal malt 115°L
34 20% 7% - 33%

Yeasts Used In California Common Recipes (View More)

Name Recipes Laboratory Type Alcohol Tolerance Flocculation Attenuation Min. Temp Max. Temp
Mangrove Jack - Californian Lager M54 118 Mangrove Jack Lagers n/a Med-High 79.5% 64°F 68°F
White Labs - San Francisco Lager Yeast WLP810 117 White Labs Lagers Med-High High 67.5% 58°F 65°F
Wyeast - California Lager 2112 99 Wyeast Lagers 0.09 High 69% 58°F 68°F
Fermentis - Saflager - German Lager Yeast W-34/70 31 Fermentis / Safale Lagers .105 High 83% 48°F 72°F
Imperial Yeast - L05 Cablecar 24 Imperial Yeast Lagers Medium High 71% 55°F 65°F
Fermentis - Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05 21 Fermentis / Safale Ales Low Medium 81% 54°F 77°F
Fermentis - Saflager - German Lager Yeast S-23 16 Fermentis / Safale Lagers .105 High 82% 48°F 72°F
White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001 9 White Labs Ale High Medium 76.5% 68°F 73°F
Wyeast - German Ale 1007 8 Wyeast Ale 0.11 Low 75% 55°F 68°F
Fermentis - Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04 3 Fermentis / Safale Ale .0975 High 75% 54°F 77°F

Other Ingredients Used In California Common Recipes (View More)

Name Recipes Type Use Avg. Usage Usage Range
Gypsum 87 Water Agt Other 24% 0% - 100%
Whirlfloc 48 Fining Boil 63% 0% - 100%
Irish Moss 39 Fining Boil 75% 0% - 100%
Calcium Chloride (dihydrate) 38 Water Agt Other 21% 0% - 80%
Lactic acid 33 Water Agt Mash 65% 1% - 100%
Epsom Salt 27 Water Agt Other 8% 0% - 43%
Calcium Chloride (anhydrous) 23 Water Agt Mash 21% 0% - 71%
Yeast Nutrient 14 Other Boil 25% 0% - 50%
Baking Soda 14 Water Agt Mash 10% 0% - 29%
Wyeast - Beer Nutrient 11 Water Agt Boil 41% 0% - 100%

Photos