Fullsteam Southern Lager

Brewed by Fullsteam Brewery
Style: California Common
Durham, North Carolina USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Interesting beer given I come from the land of Anchor California Common: San Francisco. ;-) Got this beer as a bonus from a trade. It was a bottle fill from a growler. This is Fullsteam’s take on the Cal Common style using the same hops and (I strongly suspect) the same yeast. The Fullsteam version has a deeper, richer caramel malt character. Anchor’s version has more emphasis on the Northern Brewer hops and just enough malt to balance. Fullsteam also has more fermentation character. The Cal Common yeast is a hybrid: a lager strain selected to ferment at ale temps. As such, it likes to through more esters than a typical lager yeast mostly in the form of isoamyl acetate or banana. In Fullsteam, it yields an interesting aroma most reminiscent of banana bread. Aroma: Sweet banana bread with woody mustiness from the Northern Brewer hops. Appearance: Light copper and mostly clear. Some fine suspension, but no chill haze. Thin white head the persists only along side of glass. Taste: Initially malt forward, then quickly moves to a fairly bitter finish that is somewhat balanced by the malty caramel sweetness. The banana bread carries over into the flavor as well, but although quite unusual, is not unpleasant. The woody hop flavor adds a dimension that helps balance the caramel. Palate: Medium body with mod/low carb. Smooth with no astringency. Overall: An interesting take on a regional style. The additional caramel malt sweetness with the elevated fermentation character adds a dimension to the beer that takes it in a completely different direction than Anchor’s Steam Beer. Fairly firm bitterness but with some residual sweetness in the finish that competes for dominance. A good solid beer.

Pours light amber with small white head, low carbonation. Aroma of some bitter hops and bread. Tastes a bit of earthy hops, some breads and cereals and finish was surprisingly watery.

On tap at the Busy Bee in Raleigh. Pours light clear amber with small foamy white head. Not a huge amount of carbonation here. Nose is earthy, some mild bitter hops, caramel and bread. Tastes even more earthy with a surprisingly bitter kick at the end.

UPDATED: OCT 8, 2010 Growler from Weaver Street Market, Carrboro. Cap was really difficult to get off, I almost called the owner to ask if their was a special trick. Luckily, Ethan was around and could get it. Pours a relatively translucent golden amber with little a foamy white head that fades leaving a solid white lace around my fullsteam jar with a handle. Carbonation seemed low on my first pour, but I got much more of a head (to begin with) and it feels more carbonated overall now. Aroma of caramel malts, banana bread, light menthol, light hops. Slightly sweet, mostly bitter finish.

On tap at Tyler’s Taproom in Durham - pours a an amber color with little head. Aroma of caramel malt and breadiness - with a faint hoppy scent (didn’t really notice any of the mint). Taste is malty - caramel & bread - with some earthiness to it. Picked up some spruce hoppiness as well. Medium bodied - nice brew.