California Common with w-34/70?

[nikkuchan]

I ordered a California common recipe kit on sale (among others), and by some mistake, I ended up with Saflager w-34/70 instead of the suggested s-23. I figured I'd just make it with that, but I'm not experienced with lager yeasts, so I'm having some reservations. What's the verdict? Should I make it with the 34/70, or play it safe and go pick up a pack of s-23?

 

[m00ps]

If you want a california common, you absolutely cannot use the 34/70. Thats a lager yeast from weihenstephaner, the famous weissbier brewery from germany. It will impart a lot of typical hefe phenols into your cali common that will be very out of place

 

[nikkuchan]

Darn. That's too bad. I have no idea what a California common tastes like, so I'd like to get it right.
I guess I'll have to pick up some S-23. That leads me to another issue: I don't normally lager, so I don't know what I would do with this pack of 34/70. I'll have to do some research on any uses it could have at non-lager temps.

 

[worlddivides]

Darn. That's too bad. I have no idea what a California common tastes like, so I'd like to get it right.
I guess I'll have to pick up some S-23. That leads me to another issue: I don't normally lager, so I don't know what I would do with this pack of 34/70. I'll have to do some research on any uses it could have at non-lager temps.

Ever had Anchor Steam?

That's the most famous California Common beer commercially available, so you should be able to find it at any liquor store with a decent selection of beers (outside of California, you aren't going to find it at supermarkets, gas stations, or corner liquor stores, but it should be easily found at any respectable liquor store).

It's an ale that tastes kind of like a lager, but obviously quite different.

 

[beersk]

If you want a california common, you absolutely cannot use the 34/70. Thats a lager yeast from weihenstephaner, the famous weissbier brewery from germany. It will impart a lot of typical hefe phenols into your cali common that will be very out of place

What? It will not and you know it. 34/70 would work for Cali Common fermented in the upper 50's to low 60's. It's a good clean yeast into the 60's. I brew with it almost exclusively.

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

If you want a california common, you absolutely cannot use the 34/70. Thats a lager yeast from weihenstephaner, the famous weissbier brewery from germany. It will impart a lot of typical hefe phenols into your cali common that will be very out of place

While Weihenstephaner is best known for their Wiessbier, they actually brew several types of beer, and have a famous yeast bank containing many different strains. I think you're thinking of the Weihenstephaner W68 (the strain sold by Wyeast as 3068 and by White Labs as WLP351), which is their best known weizen ale yeast. The strain W-34/70 is a true lager yeast, and produces a fairly clean fermentation.

As for California Common, the original name of the style was Steam Beer, but Anchor trademarked that term so the name 'California Common' was coined for the style. In any case, the original steam beers were fairly different from the modern Anchor Steam, being a low-gravity, rapid production beer sold at low prices - several writers of the time, include both Mark Twain and Jack London, mention it as something déclassé and of poor quality. The main character that modern Cali Common has in common with the older steam beers is the use of lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures.

 

[CarbonTom]

the 34/70 is my go to lager yeast. It makes some great clean beers. I cant see why you couldn't do a Cali Common Lager. Just make sure a Drest to drive off any diacetyl. I haven't encountered yet with this yeast, but I have heard of others getting it without a rest. Good luck!

 

[aslander]

I used 34/70 in a pilsner recipe for a family weekend for July 4th, and they all loved it and polished off the keg. And up until now I had never been able to get them to love homebrew. I plan on brewing it again for Columbus Day weekend.

Here's the recipe I created:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.92 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.053 SG
Estimated Color: 3.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 40.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 8.3 %
10 lbs 4.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 85.1 %
8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.1 %
4.8 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.5 %
0.75 oz Magnum [11.90 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 31.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) - 2014 [12.80 %] - Boil 10 min Hop 7 8.1 IBUs
0.30 oz Hallertauer - 2014 [3.80 %] - Boil 10 min Hop 8 1.4 IBUs
0.30 oz Saaz - 2014 [3.60 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 9 0.2 IBUs
2.0 pkg Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) Yeast 10 -

Mashed at 147. OG was 1.053, FG was 1.011, I fermented at 50 for a week, raised to 60 for a week, then lagered for 2 weeks.

 

[GotPushrods]

34/70 is my favorite dry yeast, it's wonderful. You could ferment anything with it. I've actually got an oatmeal stout chugging away right now with 34/70 at 52! Yeah kinda weird, but I love that yeast. I'm curious to see what it can do.

 

[beersk]

34/70 is my favorite dry yeast, it's wonderful. You could ferment anything with it. I've actually got an oatmeal stout chugging away right now with 34/70 at 52! Yeah kinda weird, but I love that yeast. I'm curious to see what it can do.

I concur! I use 34/70 for just about everything now except weissbier; that gets 3068. I did an oatmeal stout last fall with 34/70 and it was marvelous. I also love black IPA and IPA with it as it brings out the malt character a bit more and smoothens the overall flavor. Great yeast, so versatile.

 

[m00ps]

whoops yeah, I had no idea they made lagers. I thought they just had one house ale strain. My bad

 

[nikkuchan]

Thanks for all the great info. This has really piqued my curiosity, so I think I will take this opportunity to do a yeast experiment. I usually brew recipes with just the recommended yeast, so I never learned firsthand how different yeasts affect beer. I may just half the brew so I can ferment with both s-23 and w-34/70. That way I can note the differences and get some more experience.

 

[GotPushrods]

Thanks for all the great info. This has really piqued my curiosity, so I think I will take this opportunity to do a yeast experiment. I usually brew recipes with just the recommended yeast, so I never learned firsthand how different yeasts affect beer.

You will have fun, I promise. I split every 10 gallon batch into 2 fermenters and use different yeast. It can be a nuance or pretty wild. Wait 'till you get significantly different COLOR from just the yeast!

I may just half the brew so I can ferment with both s-23 and w-34/70. That way I can note the differences and get some more experience.

Don't let me talk you out of it... but S-23 is one of the few yeasts I have used exactly once. And it will stay at once. Forever.