cream ale/pseudo lager yeasts

what have been your experiences with cream ale or pseudo lager yeasts? ive done a bunch with us05 and notty, in the 60s, with good results but am thinking of trying some others now.

wyeast 2112 california lager (58-68F)
wlp029 kolsch/german ale
wlp080 cream ale blend (65-70F)
wlp810 san francisco lager(not that interested in this one because i heard its pretty fruity/estery but figured i would include it in the list)
wlp862 cry havoc (55F-74F)
us05
notty
maybe pacman also?

What is your reasoning behind pacman as a choice? I've never head of it being used like that, also never used it myself though.

WLP011 European Ale yeast is AWESOME in pseudo-lagers. It's a slow mover, but I let it rip at about 57-59 degrees and it makes super clean beers. I used it for a kolsch and after being pleasantly surprised, tried it in a fake schwartzbier. Turned out awesome!

shot0rum247 said:

What is your reasoning behind pacman as a choice? I've never head of it being used like that, also never used it myself though.

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Rogue uses it at 60f and gets a very clean ferment

I like pacman at 60 degrees, nottingham (dry) at 58-60 degrees, and even WLP001 at 60 degrees. The WLP might stall a bit that cool, but if you make a bit enough starter and pitch it at 62ish, it should ferment well.

Those yeast I mentioned are super-clean at 60 degrees, and will definitely give you a lager-ish feel.

California lager yeast isn't as "clean" as you'd think at 58-60 degrees. I like it for steam beer, but won't use it for an ale that I want lager-like.

I liked Wyeast 1007 at cool temperatures, but it isn't very flocculant and you may need extended crash cooling or gelatin to get it to clear. It's a very "clean" ale yeast at 55-60 degrees, and improves with lagering.

I've never used the cream ale blend, and White Lab's kolsch yeast tends to stall out below about 64, so that's not one I would try for anything except a warmer ferment. (The Wyeast can ferment colder, but I haven't tried it).

I do NOT like S05 at cold temperatures. Maybe I'm just susceptible to the power of suggestion, but a while back Pseudochef mentioned picking up peach esters in S05 fermented under 64 degrees. I tried it after that, and found that at 60-62 degrees, I also picked up some unwanted esters in the beer. It happened to me twice. So, S05 is my favorite all-purpose ale yeast if I'm fermenting at 65-70 but for lower temps I pick one of the others I mentioned.

so california lager gives off esters/fruity flavors even in the 60s?

bkov said:

so california lager gives off esters/fruity flavors even in the 60s?

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Yes, that's why the steam beer has a distinctive flavor. Definitely lightly fruity.

After reading a few similar threads I decided to try the Pacman yeast...its been fermenting for 2 weeks and it SMELLS like a lager. So, here's hopin!

YooperBrew said:

I like ... nottingham (dry) at 58-60 degrees

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I recently brewed a cream ale with nottingham at 58º and was amazed at how clean it was, and how brilliantly clear the beer became after lagering for just two weeks. I think that the beer could have definitely passed for an American lager if I wasn't a little heavy handed with the hops.

decided to order some cream ale yeast. will report back in this thread on my impressions in a few weeks.