Top to bottom: Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Cameo

Amber Lager and California Common

STYLE NOTES: Malt makes the first impression in amber lager and California common, related styles with many similarities and a few key differences. In both color and aroma, these beers show the influence of caramel malts: a darker hue (typically amber to copper), fuller body, richer flavor, and toastier aroma than one finds in a pilsner or standard American lager.

Both of these styles hover around 5 percent alcohol, moderate enough for midday enjoyment. Any higher and they would be venturing into bock territory. Hops aroma may or may not be apparent; the most famous California common—Anchor Steam—shows some. Bitterness balances the malty sweetness and boosts the refreshment value, although neither style is ever aggressively bitter. Amber lagers typically tally below 30 IBUs; California commons can climb higher.

Other differences reflect the hybrid nature of California commons. Although made with lager yeast, these beers aren’t strictly lagers. Custom calls for fermenting them at the warm temperatures used for ales, so the finished brew tends to have more of the fruity aromas that ale fermentations elicit.

This offbeat process emerged out of necessity, not by design. California common traces its origin to the Golden State’s gold rush, when fortune-seekers came west in droves. These thirsty prospectors wanted to brew lager but lacked the necessary ice or refrigeration. So they improvised with lager yeasts and shallow fermenters to keep the wort cool. Their adaptations yielded what came to be known as steam beer—a highly effervescent brew that fused lager ingredients with ale technique. Some trace the origins of the name to the steam-whistle sound the kegs made when tapped. Others say these gold rush beers were fermented on cool San Francisco rooftops, and when the fog lifted in the morning, steam would rise.

Anchor Steam, still brewed in San Francisco, has preserved and popularized this style. Today, “steam” is a registered trademark of the Anchor Brewing Company, so other brews made in that fashion are marketed as California common.

BEERS TO TRY: Abita Amber; Anchor Steam; Brooklyn Lager; Flat Earth Brewing Element 115; Flying Dog Brewery Old Scratch Amber Lager; Samuel Adams Boston Lager; Steamworks Steam Engine Lager.

CHEESE AFFINITIES: These malt-forward beers appreciate cheeses with a hint of sweetness, although not the full-blown caramel flavor of, say, an aged Gouda. Asiago, Piave, and similar aged cow’s milk cheeses come to mind. Moderate in alcohol, bitterness, and intensity, amber lager and California common pair better with mellow cheeses than with sharp, stinky, tangy, or otherwise extreme types.

Extra-Aged Asiago from Sartori, a Wisconsin producer, does not have the peppery bite you might expect in a year-old wheel of this type. Instead, the extra time in the cellar renders this cow’s milk cheese more nutty and mellow. Straw to pale gold in color, with a Cheddar-like appearance, it feels crumbly on the tongue at first but dissolves to a creamy, almost buttery finish. The nuttiness reinforces the toasted-malt aroma of amber lager and California common; and the moderate flavor intensity of cheese and beer align.

A celebrity among American cheeses for its multiple “Best of Show” ribbons in competition, Wisconsin’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve sets the standard for alpine-style cheeses in the United States. Initially modeled after France’s Beaufort, this farmstead cheese from raw cow’s milk has now established its own identity, characterized by profound aromas of roasted peanuts, caramel, and bacon. Produced only when the cows are on pasture, a fourteen-month-old wheel has a rich golden color and a lingering mellow, meaty, nutty flavor. A malty amber lager or California common amplifies its core of sweetness.

Redwood Hill Cameo, like its better-known sibling, Camellia, is a bloomy-rind California goat’s milk cheese in the Camembert style. But Cameo is twice the size of Camellia—8 ounces versus 4—and ripens more reliably. When it gives to slight pressure, it is likely at its peak: silky and voluptuous inside, with mushroom aromas and a peppery fragrance imparted by the pink peppercorns that decorate the surface. Unlike many goat cheeses in this style, it is more nutty and sweet than tangy, a profile that complements the malty nature of an amber lager or California common.

MORE CHEESES TO TRY: Capriole Julianna; Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold; Garrotxa; Montasio; Montcabrer; Murcia al Vino (Drunken Goat); Piave; Juniper Grove Farm Tumalo Tomme.