Lager brewing with White Labs San Francisco yeast question

Gentlebrewers - I'm looking to make a Vienna lager using White Labs San Francisco yeast. The guy at my LHBS suggested this for summertime Lagering. Yet I forgot to ask what the best temp range should be for this. What's the crowd's experience with this? FWIW, I'm going to keg this and use it to augment my Oktoberfest I bottled in March. TIA. Can this overlap with ale temps? I have an APA in primary at low 60s. Can I put my Vienna with this safely, or do I need to find cooler temps?

It'll do fine in the 60's. That strain you want to ferment at ale temps.

From White Labs:

A super clean, super-fast fermenting strain. A low ester-producing strain that results in a balanced, neutral flavor and aroma profile. Alcohol-tolerant and very versatile for a wide variety of styles. Similar to California Ale Yeast WLP001 but it generally ferments faster.

Optimal Fermentation Temperature: 65-68F

I just did an IRL (India Red Lager) with the San Francisco yeast and it turned out great. I kept it at 59-62f, right next to a batch with S-05 yeast. The above post has confused San Francisco yeast with San Diego Super yeast.

WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast
This yeast is used to produce the "California Common" style beer. A unique lager strain which has the ability to ferment up to 65 degrees while retaining lager characteristics. Can also be fermented down to 50 degrees for production of marzens, pilsners and other style lagers.
Attenuation: 65-70%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 58-65°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High

Damn, my bad, guess I should have read the post closer!!!

I made Yooper's Anchor Steam clone a while back and used the SF Steam yeast. I fermented around 52* for 3 weeks then cold-crashed for another 24-48 hours (can't remember which ). Beer was very clean and crisp. One of my best yet.

Thanks for the feedback, gents. You've confirmed what I thought. I have the Vienna lager in its primary sitting next to my APA (American ale II yeast) in its primary and they're both chugging along at 60-65 deg just nicely. Any experience with Lagering the San Fran yeast at colder temps (like kegerator temp)?

As long as primary fermentation is completely done, lagering it would probably turn out well.

Yeah, so I'll let ferment two weeks before dropping the hydrometer in. Once done, I'll keg it and stick it the kegerator for a month or two. I'm hoping to forget about it so I don't drink it before Oktoberfest.

Older thread, but curious about this strain right now. Does the SF lager require a D-rest?

tonyc318 said:

Older thread, but curious about this strain right now. Does the SF lager require a D-rest?

Click to expand...

I always do one. Of course, all of my beers get a rest for a few days at a temp slightly warmer than the initial fermentation temp. It encourages the yeast to stay in suspension and do a bit more work cleaning up after themselves, just like a D-rest does.

I bring it up to room temp for 2 days then rack off to keg usually and let it sit for a few weeks at serving temps (or longer if you can). Obviously lagers get better with conditioning, but I've found my beers with SF to be great after 2-3 weeks in the keg.