An amber lager brewed with lager yeast at warm ale temperatures, fermented in wide shallow open vessels. San Francisco's native beer style, invented during the Gold Rush.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
California Common, popularly called steam beer, originated in San Francisco in the 1850s when Gold Rush brewers fermented lager yeast at the only temperatures available without ice, on wide shallow rooftops cooled by Pacific fog. Anchor Brewing on Mariposa Street, founded 1896 by Ernst Baruth, registered Steam Beer as a trademark and preserved the style for over a century. Anchor ceased production in July 2023; Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya bought the brand in 2024 and a relaunch is in the works but the Potrero Hill brewery has not resumed brewing. SF craft brewers including Fort Point and Magnolia still pour the canonical California Common style.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. The yeast strain is the dish, not the recipe. WLP810 and Wyeast 2112 are the only yeasts that hold the California Common's slight woody-mineral note when fermented warm; any other lager yeast will fault at 17C.
Fort Point Beer Company in San Francisco is the Presidio-born brewery with a Valencia Street beer hall, a strong KSA Kolsch and a sharp west-coast pilsner.
Tip: Order the KSA Kolsch on draught; the wood-fired pizza kitchen runs from 17:00 nightly.
Magnolia Brewing in San Francisco is the Haight-Ashbury brewpub since 1997, with a British-leaning ale lineup and the city's longest-running cask programme.
Tip: The Smokestack Lightning porter on cask is the order; ask at the bar about real-ale Thursdays.
Cellarmaker House of Pizza on Mission Street pours the SF craft brewery's tap list alongside Detroit-style pies with caramelized cheese crust.
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