Which yeast for a steam beer?

So, I want to brew a steam beer. I have a good recipe going, I think, I just can't decide on the yeast. The White Labs San Francisco Lager seems to be the standard steam strain, but I was wondering what I'd end up with if I used something like the White Labs German Bock strain (WLP833)? Optimal fermentation temperatures are listed at 45*-55*, my ambient temps would be closer to 60*-65*. Any thoughts?

The only way to get the real steam beer profile is to use the San Fransisco Lager strain from White Labs or the California Lager strain from Wyeast. The proper fermentation temp is also key, if it runs too low or too high it won't produce the flavor profile you're looking for. The key characteristics of the steam style are accentuated by use of the proper yeast at the right fermentation temperature (not to high) otherwise you're likely to end up with Diacetyl which is not to style.

KAMMEE said:

The only way to get the real steam beer profile is to use the San Fransisco Lager strain from White Labs or the California Lager strain from Wyeast.

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That's if you're making an Anchor Steam clone, but originally there must have been more than one lager yeast used in making steams (and I've never found any evidence that Anchor has found a strain from back in the day, just one that works). I've made good steam beer with S-23, and right now I'm making a batch with 34/70 just to see what I get (some have reported good results, some not so good).

While I agree with Teacher, I will say that Anchor Steam is *the* reference beer for California Common for BJCP judging. So, if you are planning to submit to a competition, even though you could in theory use any lager strain or hops, you are better off using San Francisco Lager and Northern Brewer Hops because that's what is in every judge's brain when they are tasting your beer. In my experience, anyway.

Even according to style guidelines that shouldn't really be the case, but I think people tend to judge based on similarity to the commercial examples, and Anchor Steam is by far the most prevalent for that style.

I made a good california common with s-23 although i had ambient 68ish temps that is too high for that yeast, i got off flavors that took a few months to ware off, but turned out very decent. Next time i will not use that temp.60-65 will work well.
So if your not being too techinacal about a steam beer,s23 lager yeast does ale temps well below 67 deg at least though.

Just an update: I bottled my steam beer about four or five days ago, and it was quite delicious. I was surprised, as I simply left it in my basement at ambient temps (upper 60s), and there was absolutely no hint of diacetyl whatsoever. It still has to carb up, but it's looking like 34/70 might be a good possibility for those of us who would rather use dry yeast.

I think you have to be below 60 before diacetyl is a concern.

Yeah, you get diacetyl from LOW fermentation temps, not high. Among other things like poor pitching rate, low oxygenation, etc.

Teacher said:

Just an update: I bottled my steam beer about four or five days ago, and it was quite delicious. I was surprised, as I simply left it in my basement at ambient temps (upper 60s), and there was absolutely no hint of diacetyl whatsoever. It still has to carb up, but it's looking like 34/70 might be a good possibility for those of us who would rather use dry yeast.

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Yeah, your temps at 60 are what those lager yeast do to do a diacetyl rest,so you shouldnt have to worry about that.Im going to have to try that yeast out, have you used s-23 before? Be carefull doing upper 60's with s-23.I wont do above 65 with that again.

tgmartin000 said:

I think you have to be below 60 before diacetyl is a concern.

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weirdboy said:

Yeah, you get diacetyl from LOW fermentation temps, not high. Among other things like poor pitching rate, low oxygenation, etc.

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Diacetyl is caused by higher fermentation temps, not lower, among other causes. You raise the temp to encourage the yeast to keep cleaning up unwanted compounds. Good article in an old issue of Brew Your Own magazine

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Story Index - Brewing Science - Diacetyl: Homebrew Science

This is from the article

Higher temperatures lead to more diacetyl formation. For example, a lager beer that is fermented at 57° F can produce up to three times as much diacetyl as a similar beer fermented at 40° F.


Diacetyl removal is accelerated at higher temperatures. Some lager brewers raise the temperature of the beer to around 57–61° F for a day or so after primary fermentation and prior to cold conditioning. This is called a diacetyl rest. Ale brewers can also perform a diacetyl rest by waiting for a couple of days after primary fermentation is over before chilling the beer.

Paul07293 said:

Diacetyl is caused by higher fermentation temps, not lower, among other causes. You raise the temp to encourage the yeast to keep cleaning up unwanted compounds. Good article in an old issue of Brew Your Own magazine

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Story Index - Brewing Science - Diacetyl: Homebrew Science

This is from the article

Higher temperatures lead to more diacetyl formation. For example, a lager beer that is fermented at 57° F can produce up to three times as much diacetyl as a similar beer fermented at 40° F.


Diacetyl removal is accelerated at higher temperatures. Some lager brewers raise the temperature of the beer to around 57–61° F for a day or so after primary fermentation and prior to cold conditioning. This is called a diacetyl rest. Ale brewers can also perform a diacetyl rest by waiting for a couple of days after primary fermentation is over before chilling the beer.

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Woops these statements seem to contradict each other, are these written exactly the way you wrote them? So this is saying doing a steam beer with lager yeast is going to get 3X more diacytle. Is this excludinig certain yeast that are good for steam beers? Because not all lager yeast are good for steam beers,from what i know.
Like the s-23 which is associated as making good beers at ale temps- i would think those above statments apply only to the lager yeasts that dont work well at ale temps.

I also throw my hat in for S-23 for steam beer

jonmohno said:

Woops these statements seem to contradict each other, are these written exactly the way you wrote them? So this is saying doing a steam beer with lager yeast is going to get 3X more diacytle. Is this excludinig certain yeast that are good for steam beers? Because not all lager yeast are good for steam beers,from what i know.
Like the s-23 which is associated as making good beers at ale temps- i would think those above statments apply only to the lager yeasts that dont work well at ale temps.

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You're right, it does seem contradictory. The difference is at what temp the initial fermentation occurs. The bulk of diacetyl is developed in the early stages of fermentation, then levels fall. It is a normal by product of fermentation. If the beer is fermented too warm it can sometimes lead to excessive diacetyl formation with both lager and ale yeasts. You will most definitely get more diacetyl from a lager yeast used at warm temps. If you get too much diacetyl even a d rest won't get rid of it. That's where your yeast selection is going to make a difference. I've used Wyeast 2112 Cal Lager for this style at 65F and still gotten a pretty clean product. Can't comment on the S-23, I haven't used dried yeast in 15 years

Paul07293 said:

Diacetyl is caused by higher fermentation temps, not lower, among other causes. You raise the temp to encourage the yeast to keep cleaning up unwanted compounds. Good article in an old issue of Brew Your Own magazine

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Story Index - Brewing Science - Diacetyl: Homebrew Science

This is from the article

Higher temperatures lead to more diacetyl formation. For example, a lager beer that is fermented at 57° F can produce up to three times as much diacetyl as a similar beer fermented at 40° F.


Diacetyl removal is accelerated at higher temperatures. Some lager brewers raise the temperature of the beer to around 57–61° F for a day or so after primary fermentation and prior to cold conditioning. This is called a diacetyl rest. Ale brewers can also perform a diacetyl rest by waiting for a couple of days after primary fermentation is over before chilling the beer.

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Right, perhaps I should qualify my previous statement. While you do most certainly get much higher diacetyl production at, say, ale fermentation temperatures compared to lager fermentation temperatures, but that is during the initial stages of fermentation. What then happens is the yeast cleans up the diacetyl along with other off-flavor compounds like acetaldehyde. This cleanup occurs MUCH better at higher temperatures than it does at low temperatures, so even though ale fermentation produces tons of diacetyl early on, by the time fermentation is done it is at much lower levels than the same beer fermented (consistently) at a lager temperature. The whole purpose of a diacetyl rest is to give the yeast a boost cleaning up that diacetyl left over from the earlier stages of fermentation.

jonmohno said:

Yeah, your temps at 60 are what those lager yeast do to do a diacetyl rest,so you shouldnt have to worry about that.Im going to have to try that yeast out, have you used s-23 before? Be carefull doing upper 60's with s-23.I wont do above 65 with that again.

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I have used S-23, and I think I prefer 34/70, especially given my setup.

Definatly on my list,probably will be my next lager sometime.Not shure if that one works well as a steam beer though? I should have done one last month,i have 50ish basement floor temps right now.