# Woo Hoo...Now we can get good beer in South Carolina! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [May 12, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786 "2007-05-12T01:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786/21 "2007-05-12T18:47:12Z")
Don’t foget the granddaddy of all craft beers: Anchor Steam! ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786/22 "2007-05-12T19:16:31Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] Don’t foget the granddaddy of all craft beers: Anchor Steam! [/QUOTE] “Steam” is just the style of beer. “Anchor” is the name of the company. However, they were able to get a trademark because they were the only ones brewing it for a long time after prohibition ended. Steam beer is a very old style of beer: > **[Steam beer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_beer)** > > Steam beer, also known as California common beer, is made by fermenting lager yeast at a higher than normal temperature. Historically steam beer came from Bavaria, Germany, and is associated with San Francisco and the West Coast of the United States. It was an improvised process, originating out of necessity, and was considered a cheap, low-quality beer, as shown by references to it in literature of the 1890s and 1900s. Modern steam beer originated with the Anchor Brewing Company, which trademar... ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786/23 "2007-05-13T06:45:13Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re forgetting about a damned high percentage of the microbrews, home brews, and imported beers. I’m not forgetting them, they’re just not the most common ones. Fans of high-alcohol craft brews make up a pretty small portion of the total beer market, but there are finally enough of us to get these laws repealed. When they were passed, that market share was pretty much zero. The laws are very specifically aimed at malt liquor. High-alcohol craft beers are just collateral damage. > [@](#): > > 6% in NC was repealed in mid-2005. The grassroots group, formed from beer fans, Pop the Cap was the driving force behind it. Right after I moved back to KY, of course. 🙂 I had no idea such laws existed until I went out that first November to stock up on Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, only to find that no one knew what the hell I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786/24 "2007-05-13T08:06:39Z")
Okay, somebody explain how 14% beer is possible. I have only a rudimentary understanding of the fermentation process, but I always understood it to be hased on the fact that yeast eats sugar and pees alcohol. I was also given to understand that when the yeast’s environment is over 12% [del]pee[/del] alcohol, the yeast dies, essentially stopping the production of more alcohol. Hence, wine tends to be 12% alcohol by volume. Is there some kind of process that turns the dead yeast into zombie yeast so it can continue putting alcohol into the vat? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786/25 "2007-05-13T11:39:36Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Okay, somebody explain how 14% beer is possible. I have only a rudimentary understanding of the fermentation process, but I always understood it to be hased on the fact that yeast eats sugar and pees alcohol. I was also given to understand that when the yeast’s environment is over 12% [del]pee[/del] alcohol, the yeast dies, essentially stopping the production of more alcohol. Hence, wine tends to be 12% alcohol by volume. Is there some kind of process that turns the dead yeast into zombie yeast so it can continue putting alcohol into the vat? [/QUOTE] You can add yeast nutrient to strengthen the yeast cell walls, but the most common method is using a yeast with a higher alcohol “tolerance.” Microbiologists have been working hard over the years to produce different strains of yeast, and for some, alcohol “tolerance” is a selected-for characteristic. Specifically, many brewers creating high-alcohol beers will use a standard yeast type at the start, then add a new, “high octane” yeast strain when fermentation begins to slow down. For instance, [going to this page](http://www.northernbrewer.com/whitelabs.html) and searching for “ABV” turns up descriptions like “more alcohol tolerant (up to 15% ABV).” Depending on the beer style, I’ve seen some recipes that call for a _series_ of yeast additions during fermentation to push the brew as far as it can go. Obviously you need to pick yeasts appropriate for your beer style as well, else you’ll make a mishmash of flavors that just don’t work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-now-we-can-get-good-beer-in-south-carolina/403786.md?page=1)