yetanothersteve

Recipes 

According to the instructions on the tube, "add to 5 gallons of aerated must or wort at 70-75F. Keep at this temperature until fermentation begins."

I saw my first bubble in the airlock about 14 hours after pitching, 72F inside fermenter, and left it in the 68F kitchen until 22 hours had passed and it was around 70F inside the fermenter. The bubbling was around 1 bubble per 3 seconds at 22 hours.

At 22 hours I took the fermenter to the garage and it was down to 68F inside fermenter after about 30 hours. Continuous bubbling now.
Inside fermenter temperature has slowly worked down to around 58F. as I approach day 6 after pitching. Bubbles are about once every 3-4 seconds again.

Did I keep it above 70F too long? Should I have moved it to the cold of the garage on sight of the first bubble at 14 hours?

I plan on dumping trub after primary and leaving in the garage until 4 weeks have passed after fermentation began and then I will bottle and let bottle condition for 3 weeks. It is a California Common (Steam beer) by the way and chosen for my first lager from my hope that it would handle some mistakes better than a pilsner or German lager and those yeasts would.

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Some things I do not own: hydrometer, wort chiller.

Some things I do own: 2 stainless steel conical fermenters, stainless brewpot with welded ports for ball valve and thermometer, refractometer.

RunBikeBrew

Recipes 

I did a California Common with that yeast a little while ago. I held fermentation at 62F for a couple of weeks, then racked to secondary for another 3 weeks at roughly the same temp (per Jamil's guidance in "Brewing Classic Styles").

My understanding is that a steam beer should be fermented cool (but not as cool as a "real" lager). Regardless, you've already finished and you've made beer. I'm sure it will be good.

samc

Recipes 

For the future! I think you would have been better off making a big starter and pitching into a cooler Wort. Any off flavors you might get from the warm ferment should fade over time.

My Lager attempts never came out that good because I did pitch and start ferment too warm as per advice of LHBS, which may possibly be where you are shopping. Then I realized I don't really like lagers all that much so I stopped trying.