IPA fermented with California Lager yeast?

Hypothetical question here. What would happen if you fermented an IPA with a California Lager yeast, like WLP810? How would it compare to the same beer fermented with an American Ale yeast like Wyeast 1056?

Also, assume that they're both fermenting at about 65-68F, with the possibility of reaching temps around 70/low 70s for the first few days of primary. (any cheap (<$20) suggestions to keep fermentation temps lower?)

Thanks.

well lagers tend to not produce esters and phenols since they ferment so cold.

when you ferment a lager yeast at ale temps, especially the low 70's, you'll get esters, phenols, probably more sulphur...and it won't taste at all like a lager.

Now if you use a california common (i.e. steam beer) yeast, it'll be more forgiving of the higher temps.

Swamp cooler will keep temps down a bit.

malkore - Thanks for the quick reply. So does that mean that if you tasted these beers blindfolded then the IPA brewed with American Ale yeast would be a typical IPA...but the IPA fermented with lager yeast would be more like an Imperial Lager, i.e. a completely different beer?

Does that also mean that california lager yeast will produce the best of both worlds?

I think he means that the IPA fermented with lager yeast at ale temp.... will most likely taste like garbage.

dancness said:

I think he means that the IPA fermented with lager yeast at ale temp.... will most likely taste like garbage.

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And I'm betting it will come out fine, especially if you can keep fermentation temps in the 60's. Give it a shot and see how you like it. Even better would be to split the batch and try one with ale yeast, say US-05, and the other with the California Lager yeast.

Dancness - ...except I'm asking about California Lager yeast, which is meant to be used at around ale temperatures. And there are other people on the board here who have had success making a steam beer with IPA level IBUs, except with a standard california common malt base.

brewit2it - Good idea, that might be the only way to get a definitive answer, I'll try to stay in the low 60s for fermentation


Anyone else? You have 10 gallons of wort for an IPA, you ferment 5 gallons with American Ale yeast and 5 gallons with California Lager yeast. Seeing as how California Lager yeast is meant for lower ale temperatures, what difference in taste would there be?

Keep in mind I'm not asking about a standard lager yeast that would without a doubt perform horribly at ale temperatures, I'm asking about a lager strain that performs well at ale temps.

Thanks.

I've been really interested in this idea--basically trying to make a super clean double IPL with san francisco cal common yeast. Of course the idea being that you don't have to actually logger it, and the short fermentation time would let the hops come out really strong.

Anyone tried this?

Just did this on accident this weekend. I brewed NB's Dead Ringer IPA kit and mistakenly pitched the yeast from a California Common kit. So instead of Safale S-05 I put in Saflager S-23. It started fermenting almost immediately, bubbling from the airlock in about an hour. It's at about 60 degrees now and in the basement, bubbling away. I'll let you know how it turns out in about a month ...

BranDJ,

Do you have an update for us? I am thinking about brewing an California common and bumping up the IBUs. How did your brew turn out?

Cheers!

Not sure if this is still a relevant thread, but you can definitely use California Common yeast to produce ales!

I brew for a local brewery here in San Francisco and we always have at least 3 California Common Lagers on tap. It's an amazing yeast strain that can do a lot. We just did a collaboration with 21st Amendment where they gave us Mosaic hops and we gave them California Common yeast and brewed essentially the same recipe (with very slight modifications) at each brewery. 21st Amendment brewed theirs with slightly more hops in the boil and fermented theirs at a warmer mid 60 degrees and got an IPA. We brewed ours and fermented it at the same temperature that we do with all our lagers, and we ended up with a hoppy lager/IPL. The beers are similar, but completely different brews. We're holding a mini workshop here in the next week or two to help explain how important and vital fermentation temp is.

Doing something like this got me thinking about doing a stout, or a Scotch ale with the California Common strain and see how it turns out.

Happy brewing!