Beer Forum

anyone ever used the san fran lager yeast for fermentation in the mid to low 50's? i'm brewing a rauchbier but i'm gonna try to use that yeast at a lower temp to decrease the esters. i'm gonna pitch more yeast and let it ferment longer but i've never used the yeast that low and was looking for others' experiences.

i do plan on mashing a little lower and maybe hopping a tad higher to account for the lower attenuation. i'm just a little worried that the yeast may attenuate even lower at colder temps. anyone got fritz's home number?

I haven't brewed lagers but if you want to keep esters down and have temp control to keep it in the 50's why not use one of the more traditional lager yeasts?

just trying something different

i used the cal lager yeast to make a bock, fermented @55*, didnt have a lagering system. the bock came out clean and malty, pretty much just like using another lager yeast but with higher temp. worked very well

My first attempt at a Cal Common, I pitcher a starter at around 65 degrees into a wort at 55 degrees (before I knew better). It shocked the yeast, and they bundled themselves up and flocked. After 3 days I slowly warmed the wort up to 64 degrees and they came out of slumber and began fermenting. These hybrid yeast are more like the debutant lager yeast then the easy ale yeast. Beer was OK, but had a strange mint/grass flavor. Doesn't answer a question about lower ester production, but beware to not shock the yeast.

The Fool.

sorry, wrong Fritz here.
From the one time I used it for a Cal Common, upper 50's/lower 60's was fine. Got a 41 in a comp doing so. Just give it plenty of time.
I fermented at around 59-60 for 3 weeks, racked to secondary and let it clear at 50 degrees for 2 more weeks.
Came out very clean.
Good luck, it is a fun yeast to use.