Who was up at 5AM this morning making a yeast starter? Well, I was. I am pretty excited to be using the WLP810 San Francisco Lager yeast strain. I made a 5 liter starter with 500g of dried malt extract to have enough healthy yeast to plow through the California Common beer that I have planned to brew up this weekend.
For a hybrid beer, I was under the notion that this strain would be some kind of hybrid as well. It’s actually a lager strain that performs well at higher temperatures than the typical lager temperature range.
It is given a high rating for flocculation so I wasn’t surprised at how it was sticking to the sides of the vial. I had to give it a good shake a few times to get the yeast moving.
The fermentation temps for this strain are between 58° and 65°F, so my basement will be fine for the primary fermentation. I may get the heating pad out to see if I can maintain the temperature at 62°F.
Peter Baker
Just used it myself. Only did a 2.5l starter for 10g and it kicked off right away. Great yeast. Will go past your FG if you let it. I am also doing a diacetyl rest at the end but I am not sure if it is needed.
Jim
This sounds like a great product to get my hands on. Sounds like a perfect yeast.
Chuck
I don’t believe this is actually a lager yeast at all. I would like to see a DNA comparison between this yeast and the Dusseldorf altbier yeast – I’d be willing to bet it is far closer in genetic makeup to the altbier yeast than it is to any true lager strain.
John
According to White Labs, this is a lager strain.