I’m looking for a recipe for an American Light Lager that can be brewed and then fermented with ale yeast at ale temperatures. Has anyone heard of such a thing?
Yes…I have heard of such a thing. It’s called CREAM ALE.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=6089.0
You can use WY1007 German ale yeast for this.
But to really be successful, you need to ferment it at pretty low temps and be able to cold condition it when it’s done.
Haha. Newbs, like me. I guess I should read the style guidelines. 
Thanks!
Or steam beer. But cooler than average fermentation is still better.
+1 to cream ale, done cool and cold conditioned.
The important parts are as Denny mentioned. You still need strict time temp control. You still need to lager at close to freezing temps for a period of time. But WY1007 at, say, 56 degrees makes as close a lager as you can get with an ale yeast. And you could probably pull it off with WY1056 at very low 60s. Otherwise - ain’t gonna get nothin’ like a lager.
How low can you maintain, temperature-wise? Some lager yeasts will stay pretty clean up to 60ish. WY2124, 34/70, and WY2007 all come to mind. The key is to pitch a crap load of yeast, and pitch at as low of a temp as you can manage. Like close to 40F, if you can manage it. You can go through the lager phase in the bottle if you don’t have a way to cold condition in the fermenter.
You can certainly brew a lager-type ale, but it’s still going to taste like an ale. Although lager yeasts are noted for clean fermentations, they still have a distinct flavor profile.
[quote=“erockrph, post:8, topic:16794, username:erockrph”]
Agreed. Lager and Ale yeast just taste different. You can have a “clean” ferment from either one and they will give a different flavor profile. If you want something to taste like a lager, use a lager yeast and ferment it at the right temperature. If you want to brew a beer with an ale yeast but you want to hide some of the ale features, use wy1056 or an equivalent and start fermentation around 60 degrees. It won’t taste like a lager, but it will hide some ale-like qualities.
I agree with these guys 100%, but I will add two points. Wy1007 is so close when handled properly that you can fool some seasoned beer drinkers.
And Chico strain (wy1056/wlp001/us05) can be very clean even in the high 60s. It won’t be a lager, but it will be the closest you can get, and if that’s all you can do if say go that route.
I brew a blonde ale, fermenting with WLP-001 at 60F then lager for a month. Macrobrew lager drinkers swear by it - I think that’s a compliment :o
Yep, 1056 @ 60F and especially cold conditioned afterward is very clean, surprisingly so.
Can’t go wrong with the Blonde at 60-62. I did that using WLP051 Cali V, which is just as clean as 001, but leaves some residual sugar. I also think a California Common (AKA - Steam beer) or a Cream Ale would prove to your liking. I’d even consider using Wy2112 California Lager or Wy2565 Kolsch, while following the kolsch, cream ale, or common beer guidelines.