Instruction with California Common state the Optimum temperature for the 2112 Cal Lager is 58-68F, The Wyest packet itself says 65-72F. Any comments on which is best?
Also activity started approximately 15 hours after pitching the yeast and stppoed after 2 1/2 days. Is fermentation continuing?
Depends on what characteristics you want the beer to have. If you want more lager like, stay colder. If you want more ale like, ferment on the warmer side. I would almost always recommend fermenting on the cooler side with most yeasts. And if your doing a CaliCommon, you are trying to get a lager style beer with an ale yeast… so I would stay colder. If your fermentation went for 3 days already and has slowed, the temperature now is almost meaningless. You really want to control fermenatation temperature for the first 3-5 days.
What temperature did you ferment at?
[quote=“Hubie van Meurs”]Instruction with California Common state the Optimum temperature for the 2112 Cal Lager is 58-68F, The Wyest packet itself says 65-72F. Any comments on which is best?
Also activity started approximately 15 hours after pitching the yeast and stppoed after 2 1/2 days. Is fermentation continuing?[/quote]
I believe you may have read the wyeast packet wrong. Or it’s printed wrong. This is straight from the Wyeast site.
YEAST STRAIN: 2112 | California Lager™
Back to Yeast Strain List
This strain is particularly well suited for producing 19th century-style West Coast beers with woody/minty hop flavor. It retains lager characteristics at temperatures up to 65°F (18°C) and produces malty, brilliantly clear beers. This strain is not recommended for cold temperature fermentation.
Origin:
Flocculation: high
Attenuation: 67-71%
Temperature Range: 58-68° F (14-20° C)
Alcohol Tolerance: approximately 9% ABV
I would have fermented at the low end 58F for maybe 2-3 weeks, then dropped it down to the 30’s to larger for a few more weeks.
Thanks for the reply. The package definitely states 65 - 72. It started fermentation @ 67 and droppped to 65 over the 2 days and is holding steady now. I plan to wait at least 1 week before racking. Is it better to let it go the 2 weeks?
My standard procedure is to primary for 2-3 weeks. 2 weeks for quicker beers (lower OG, wheats, etc). 3 weeks for all others. So, I’d wait at least 2 weeks. You definitely want to lager that for a few weeks if you have the capabilities. And next time you brew this beer or a similar style, you really want to keep it cooler if possible. You were at the high end of that yeasts temp range. I promise brewing it again, at a lower temp, will yield a better finished product.
Thanks. Puttting it in a cooler spot. I had planned on lagering this for at least 2 months in the secondary, glass carboy.
