Days of the Beer, August 17

The beer for today is Anchor Steam.

On August 17, 1807, Robert Fulton's first American steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, which was the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

The trip was 150 miles. It made the trip in 32 hours, and had a 20 hour stop at the home of Robert Livingston.

The first run was led by Captain Andrew Brink, it had not regular passengers, but invited guests. The regular scheduled service began on September 4. The boat left New York on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and left Albany on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. There were stops at West Point, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Esopus and Hudson. The boat traveled at about 5 mph.

The steam engine was first made by a French inventor in 1690. Denis Papin later built a ship powered by his steam engine in 1704. Fulton's North River Steamboat (often called Clermont) was the first commercially successful steamboat. The second one was Vermont, in 1808.

Currently there are only six major commercial steamboats that are on U.S. inland rivers.

Steam beer, was originally made in California from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s. Historically, it may or may not have been a really crappy tasting beer. It is a lager style beer, where it is fermented at ale temperatures.

*trivia* How many kinds of beer are there?

2, Lager and Ale (although lambics don't fall under either... so 3?)

*trivia #2* What is the difference?

Yeast.

Ale yeast works (ferments) at higher temperatures. Ale works at temps from 55 to 75. Ale yeast is top fermenting, so after it gots done working, it goes to the top of the beer. Lager yeast is best at temperature from 55 to 32. Lager yeast settles to the bottom as it gets done.

Steam beer uses the lager yeast at ale temperatures, which results in a unique flavor. The lager yeast was more common and available for the California brewers. Additionally, cold storage was almost impossible to come by, as was cold water, which added to the interesting flavors.

Anchor Steam is a California Common beer, by the Anchor Brewing Company, in San Francisco, California.

San Francisco's famous Anchor Steam®, the classic of American brewing tradition since 1896, is virtually handmade, with an exceptional respect for the ancient art of brewing. The deep amber color, thick creamy head, and rich flavor all testify to our traditional brewing methods. Anchor Steam is unique, for our brewing process has evolved over many decades and is like no other in the world. Anchor Steam derives its unusual name from the 19th century when "steam" seems to have been a nickname for beer brewed on the West Coast of America under primitive conditions and without ice. The brewing methods of those days are a mystery and, although there are many theories, no one can say with certainty why the word "steam" came to be associated with beer. For many decades Anchor alone has used this quaint name for its unique beer. In modern times, "Steam" has become a trademark of Anchor Brewing.

So for the first commercial steam boat, have the current commercial steam beer.