I’m thinking of doing a Baltic Porter with ale yeast rather than lager yeast. In the winter, my basement drops reliably into the mid and upper 50s. The first yeast that jumps to mine is Chico. What would you recommend as ale yeast for fermenting in the upper 50s?
Wyeast 1007 works very nicely at 58F.
That is the yeast I use for my Altbier, and it works great in the 50s.
+1. Works really well at those temps. It would accentuate the malt nicely in a Baltic Porter, but attenuate well enough not to leave it too sweet.
WLP810 San Francisco lager yeast
WY1007
or Chico work very well at cool temps.
+1 on WLP 810 SF larger yeast. Works great between 58-62.
I’m somewhat intrigued by WLP 810 SF lager yeast. Would I have to double the size of my starter relative to an ale strain? Would I need to do a diacetyl rest? I’ve never worked with lager yeasts before.
I like Kolsch yeast for Porters. Might be a bit too cool to get full attenuation. I bet you would be fine with a good sized starter.
I’ve got it fermenting strongly at 52F right now.
My experience is that it isn’t as clean as 1007. The pseudo lagers I’ve made with it have been fruitier than I would like.
You don’t necessarily need to do a diacetyl rest with any yeast IMO. Taste the beer towards the end of fermentation when you take a gravity reading, and base your decision in that.
You can also try Cry Havoc (WLP862). I did a Oktoberfest at 58F which was very clean.
I’m in a similar boat as you with my winter basement temps. I used WY2007 last year in the mid 50’s ambient for a hoppy helles that was quite clean. Could be mind over matter, but I definitely picked up a Bud-like flavor in the finish. Otherwise it was almost too clean for how I like my lagers. I’ve also heard 2124 works suitably for lagers at higher temps. I’ve heard the same about 34/70 and I plan on giving that a try myself this winter.
I think the main reason I’ve had success with lagers even with less-than-optimal temperature control is pitching as low as I can manage. I shoot for 45F for a pitching temp whenever possible. I don’t brew a lot of lagers, but I find that the lager yeasts I’ve worked with can be pretty forgiving of warmer temps as long as you let them start off as cold as you can manage.
WY1007 all the way. It’s as lagerish an ale yeast you can get.
I brew lager-ish beers with Nottingham in the mid to upper 50’s. Cheap, clean and dependable
I’m a big fan of this yeast and it is really reliable at those temps. No you do not have to double your starter IMO, i never have and have not had any issues at all. You’ll get a nice clean beer for sure! I can’t say that 007 would be bad either, I like that one a lot also!
In Gordon Strings book he says that 810/2112 is is secret weapon in Baltic Porters.
Denny, I think Leith says he has gone lower, 58F is what I have done, and it worked for me.
Get yourself some of EAST COAST YEAST’s “Old Newark Beer” strain (as opposed to their “Old Newark Ale” strain).
It purports to be the same yeast that the Ballantine Brewery (Newark, NJ) used for their “lager” beers (including their bock beer).
It is actually an ale strain, but a very neutral one.
It’s a terrific yeast.
Available periodically from Princeton Homebrew (in Trenton, NJ) as well as Love2Brew (North Brunswick, NJ)
Both shops do mail order.
disclaimer: I don’t work for any of these companies.
I’ve seen SA-05 work well at 58-60. Or, consider 2124 Bohemian Lager yeast. I’ve used it a couple times at those temps or higher. My latest with that yeast is a beautiful black lager. I didn’t make a starter and fermented happily around 61F.
Any thoughts about using Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)? It ferments cold and Wyeast recommends using it for Baltic Porters.http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=143. I’m concerned I might get a smoky flavor from the yeast. It would be convenient for me as I am making Scottish Ale before the Baltic Porter.
I used the WLP028 (Edinburgh) which is equivalent to the Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast for a blonde that turned out very clean even with ferm temp set at 67F. That beer was very lager like.