Anchor Steam Beer appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
California Common (Anchor Steam) · San Francisco
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.
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.
Where to eat in San Francisco:
- Fort Point Beer Company
- Magnolia Brewing
- Cellarmaker House of Pizza