This beer has an interesting story and some changes were applied along the way. We see craft brewing as a course of experimentation, and repetition. The more you brew, the more you will improve the recipes and apply the necessary changes to come up with the ideal final product. Sometimes it takes months, sometimes takes years, all fine!
We used to brew small home-brew batches when we decided to come up with a California Common recipe, a style that was quite difficult to find in the bottle shops around the country. A California Common style is roughly a beer brewed with lager yeast but fermented at ale temperature (20 to 23 °C). However, we changed the water profile, and added some extra hops to the recipe, turning the beer into an IPL – India Pale Lager. Surprisingly, the final result was better than the previous original one.
When we opened the brewery in 2017, we decided to release the California Common we had brewed at home. As the beer wasn’t fitting into the California Common profile, we came up with the idea of calling the brew “California Uncommon”, and asked the designer for an artwork inspired by the iconic California flag for the can, featuring a bear ‘uncommon’ to the state – unlike the official brown bear mascot. The beer was first released in 440ml cans.