Fermenting Cali ale yeast on the cool side - Any Hints?

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I've been feeling pretty inspired to brew a dusseldorf alt and ferment it on the cool side with Cali ale yeast. Does anyone have experience fermenting with Cali on the cool side that they can pass on? I still want to get good attenuation and finish out clean with no diacetyl. I was thinking of starting at 60-62 and ramping to 68 at the end for a few days followed by the traditional cold conditioning phase. Thanks in advance!

[Ozwald]

I use 001 and my house yeast which started out as 001 almost exclusively. I consider my 'normal' fermentation temp 64 and I've gone as low as 62. Performs great, super clean, add a couple days on primary. No worries. It's a pretty rare circumstance that I get above 66 at all.

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

Hey Oz, that's a good start, thanks. How about attenuation? Should I expect noticeably less, or just a couple of points? Should I adjust pitch rate or oxygen levels at all?

[BDawg]

I've gone down that low with 001 and it's really clean, almost lager-like.

[Evan B]

I usually use 001 in the 62-65 range for my american ales. I'd do the same thing you'd do for lagers: pitch a bit more than you typically would, use oxygen, and give it some extra time to do its thing in the fermenter.

[herbaljoe]

I too ferment this yeast (and Wyeast 1272) at low temps, especially at the start of fermentation. I really like to raise the temp up to 70F at the end though because I want to make sure there's no diacetyl and this really finishes out the beer nicely. I always get great attenuation by doing this. The main logistical issue you may run into is that the yeast will take a little longer to ferment at the cooler temps. But that's nothing to worry about unless you have a time crunch.

[Ozwald]

Hey Oz, that's a good start, thanks. How about attenuation? Should I expect noticeably less, or just a couple of points? Should I adjust pitch rate or oxygen levels at all?

I had one oddball batch that only attenuated 76%, otherwise I hang in the 79-82% range.

Pitch a bit more than you typically would, use oxygen, and give it some extra time to do its thing in the fermenter.

I culture & propagate all my yeast, so cost isn't an issue. I'm probably pitching the equivalent of 2.5-3 vials per 10 gallons, maybe a touch more at times. I just know how full the growler has to be versus how clear the 'beer' on top of the cake is (basically a density/volume estimation).

As for O2, my starters are well oxygenated from the propagation phases they've been through but the cooled wort from the kettle just gets a good splashing when I pump it from the kettle - no shaking, no tanks, no aquarium pumps, just going through the pump at max gpm and dropping a few feet to the bottom of the fermenter.