White Labs Sanfrancisco Yeast

This yeast says it has a higher tolerance for heat (up to 65 degrees). That's almost the exact temp I ferment my ales at. Anyone have experience with this strain? Do I still "lager" after primary fermentation, like other strains? I have never brewed a lager, and this yeast would seemingly work for me as I do not have a lager fridge. Cheers!

What are you planing on brewing with it? Some people say its to fruity to make a real lager. but i have had great results fermenting it at 50 degrees and i got no fruity tones from it what so ever. But i never fermented with it at 65. At temp i would make a California common or something similar nothing to light. This yeast is supposedly a hybrid yeast not a true lager yeast. But like i said i have got good results from it at lager temps.

bratrules said:

What are you planing on brewing with it? Some people say its to fruity to make a real lager. but i have had great results fermenting it at 50 degrees and i got no fruity tones from it what so ever. But i never fermented with it at 65. At temp i would make a California common or something similar nothing to light. This yeast is supposedly a hybrid yeast not a true lager yeast. But like i said i have got good results from it at lager temps.

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I was planning on something in the way of Stella Artois. I could lager in my garage, as this time of the year is perfect for it in Green Bay. My problem is the initial fementation at 50 or so degrees. Prolly have to think on this one for a bit...

If you have a ice chest your not using that will hold you temp just fine. If its big enough to hold your fermenter. Just use the swamp cooler method. 50 degrees is fine. Just keep it at that temp for 2 weeks or so. You can also try wyeast 2124 I hear good things about that yeast also.

Oh and yes you should lager if the style calls for it. Hey IMO most beer taste cleaner after a good period of lagering be it a ale or a lager.

bratrules said:

Oh and yes you should lager if the style calls for it. Hey IMO most beer taste cleaner after a good period of lagering be it a ale or a lager.

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I don't have the ability to keg at this time, and everything is bottle conditioned. Would "lagering" an ale for a period of time interfere with the carbonation?

Nike_Eayrs said:

I was planning on something in the way of Stella Artois. I could lager in my garage, as this time of the year is perfect for it in Green Bay. My problem is the initial fementation at 50 or so degrees. Prolly have to think on this one for a bit...

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The thing is, that strain is not really well suited to "real" lagers. I used it a couple of times, and found it weirdly fruity even at 60 degrees. I prefer Wyeast 2112 for California common, but neither for lagers.

If you want something like stella atois, I'd consider something like nottingham ale yeast and ferment as low in the high 50s as you can. You can go to say, 60 degrees, and make a lager-like beer with nottingham ale yeast. It won't be exactly as clean and crisp as something like a real lager, but it wouldn't be too bad. The San Francisco strain would be fruity, and not really like stella at all.

Nike_Eayrs said:

I don't have the ability to keg at this time, and everything is bottle conditioned. Would "lagering" an ale for a period of time interfere with the carbonation?

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No. You'd be fine for several months before worrying about carbonation being an issue.

So not going too far off point.....If I cold crash an ale for a few days there would be no issues regarding carbing up in the bottle?

Nike_Eayrs said:

So not going too far off point.....If I cold crash an ale for a few days there would be no issues regarding carbing up in the bottle?

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No. You could go a few MONTHS and not have an issue, but a few days is nothing at all to even consider a problem.

I have to disagree with the point that San Fran lager yeast is too fruity. I have used it a couple times, fermented at about 62 degrees, and the beers came out great. one was a cali common, the other was an American lager. neither one had fruitiness from the yeast. I did lager for a few weeks after primary fermentation, at about 35 degrees. It is actually the yeast I have had the best results with when making lagers. I have also used White labs American Lager strain, which was fruity, and White Labs Budejovice strain, which for some reason killed off all the hop aroma in the beer I made with it, as well as Wyeast 2112 cali lager, which worked almost as good as the San Fran yeast.

Hogarthe said:

I have to disagree with the point that San Fran lager yeast is too fruity. I have used it a couple times, fermented at about 62 degrees, and the beers came out great. one was a cali common, the other was an American lager. neither one had fruitiness from the yeast. I did lager for a few weeks after primary fermentation, at about 35 degrees. It is actually the yeast I have had the best results with when making lagers. I have also used White labs American Lager strain, which was fruity, and White Labs Budejovice strain, which for some reason killed off all the hop aroma in the beer I made with it, as well as Wyeast 2112 cali lager, which worked almost as good as the San Fran yeast.

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+1 as I stated above I fermented it around 50 degrees and I got no fruity tones what so ever. Btw I used it in a helles. And I did pitch a large starter also.

bratrules said:

+1 as I stated above I fermented it around 50 degrees and I got no fruity tones what so ever. Btw I used it in a helles. And I did pitch a large starter also.

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Yes, but at 50 degrees, that's lager fermentation temperatures. I'm pretty sure we're talking about fermenting at ale temperatures. That's a huge difference.

Yooper said:

Yes, but at 50 degrees, that's lager fermentation temperatures. I'm pretty sure we're talking about fermenting at ale temperatures. That's a huge difference.

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Very true Yooper 10 degrees of temp does make a big difference. In a earlier post on this thread I did state if fermenting at ale temps I would stick to brewing a California common.

I agree with the experience that lagers come out great with this yeast. I did a 6% American Pilsner with 6-row malt and lagered for 12 weeks at 32F. It is spectacular and very "lager" in characteristics. I primaried at about 60 F.

Drinking a Cali common made to style presently using the san fran yeasties. Wouldn't describe anything as fruity. Temp was out of the standard lager range at around 63 or so. Personally I think this yeast benefits from some lagering time bringing out a crispness generally associated with a lager.