Doing an Anchor Steam clone; been in primary for about a week @~64F. Just tasted some and i am not pickng up any diacetyl and i think fermentation is done. So what next? do i cold crash? lager? or simply keg, force and serve?
Steam Beers are my favorite. You can really do any of the above. They are meant to be served fresh, but a few weeks of lagering does good things. I’d leave it in primary for another week, keg for 2 weeks, carb and serve. Then make another and lager it for a few weeks. See the difference.
Dave
Like Dave says, you could go either way, drink it fresh or lager it. Personally, I think a Steam beer really shines after 3-4 weeks of lagering, but that’s just my opinion.
I agree as Steams are a regular brew here. Personally I ferment mine at 58 and leave in primary for 3 weeks total. The third week I allow to self rise to 62 and then package. They turn out crystal clear and really tasty!
I always leave mine on the yeast for 3 weeks. You can drink these fresh if you want to but in my opinion they are best after 8 weeks. I recently found 2 bottles from 10 months ago and they still tasted great!