8 replies to this topic

[Joe]

Has anyone tried brewing lagers with ale yeasts at relatively cool temperatures (~58F-60F degrees)? Can anyone post results if they have?I would love to brew lagers (specifically the maltier lagers like bocks, dunkels, oktoberfests, etc.) However there seems to be a lot of effort and/or potential equipment involved (huge yeast starters, fermentation coolers, lagering, etc.) and I have avoided taking the leap because of this.Most of the ales I brew I ferment at around 58F (the average temp of my basement floor) and this creates a very crisp almost lager-like effect with neutral ale yeasts like 1056. I am thinking about experimenting with say a Bock or Dunkel fermented at this temp with a german ale yeast like 1007 or 1226.Any thoughts/feedback?

[DieselGopher]

Before I had good temp controls, I made a few lagers with 1056 at cool temps 56-58. They were not bad, but definitely not lagers. I heard others had better 'cleaner' tasting beers using 1007, but I never tried that yeast. Good luck.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I would say pick a clean ale yeast and ferment at the low end of its recommended strain. Don't just ferment at a lower temp to get lager characteristics, because if you are below the yeast range you will end up with an underattenuated beer. Once the fermenation is completed store for an extended time as cool as possible (inside a fridge is ideal) and see if you like those results.

[denny]

WY1007 at 55-58 F has worked well for me. If you get much above 60, you'll lose a lot of the "lager" character you're going for. And no matter what, for the best results you'll still need to cold condition or "lager" the ale when it's done fermenting.

[Howie]

White Labs WLP029 Kolsch and Wyeast 2112 California Lager have both worked well to produce those types of hybrid beers for me.Not lagers, but nice and clean with some lager characteristics.

[Joe]

I probably won't be able to condition any colder than 58F, but I'd plan to let them condition for 5-6 months (any concern with conditioning at that warm of a temperature for that long?)

[Steve Urquell]

I would suggest using W-34/70 or WLP830 as cold as you can get it. I brewed a NB 1554 clone awhile back and fermented it at ~ 62F with w-34/70, and it came out too clean--like a lager. I did another batch and had to let it rise to 70F to get any ale-like esters out of it.So, my $.02--don't brew a lager with ale yeast at all. Use lager yeast.

[BarelyBrews]

I Can't answer for the lager beer, but i made an ale W/ Cry Havoc yeast(WLP 862) a couple of times it was good. Its supposed to be lager or ale yeast.Lagers 55-58,and ale temps.

[gumballhead]

I Can't answer for the lager beer, but i made an ale W/ Cry Havoc yeast(WLP 862) a couple of times it was good. Its supposed to be lager or ale yeast.Lagers 55-58,and ale temps.

what he said...I have a Cry Havoc to use up this weekend and not sure what to make with it.