# Nottingham Ale Yeast



## altstart (26/7/06)

:beer: 
Gooday all
I have read with interest the comments made about Nottingham ale yeast by its supporters on this forum. I finally managed to get some <from Ross @ craftbrewer> and I decided to use it last thursday 20/7/06 I brewed 60 ltrs of Crouch Vale best bitter. I pitched 50 grams of Nottingham yeast @ 5pm on brewday. On Monday I took a reading with my refractometer when entered into Beersmith I was informed that my beer had reached 1005. I left the beer for an additional day simply because I did not believe the readings I had got. I kegged and filtered this beer today I have also sampled a pint tonight. I also brewed 60 ltrs of Bosuns best bitter today and pitched onto the yeast cake from the Crouch Vale best bitter. As the wort came out of my CFC the yeast cake jumped into action before the new wort had finished chilling. As I type Im into my second pint of this beer and I cannot believe the quality. I am now a fervent fan of this yeast. Batz I should have tried it sooner but I could not find a supply.

Cheers Altstart :chug:


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## Batz (26/7/06)

altstart said:


> :beer:
> Gooday all
> I have read with interest the comments made about Nottingham ale yeast by its supporters on this forum. I finally managed to get some <from Ross @ craftbrewer> and I decided to use it last thursday 20/7/06 I brewed 60 ltrs of Crouch Vale best bitter. I pitched 50 grams of Nottingham yeast @ 5pm on brewday. On Monday I took a reading with my refractometer when entered into Beersmith I was informed that my beer had reached 1005. I left the beer for an additional day simply because I did not believe the readings I had got. I kegged and filtered this beer today I have also sampled a pint tonight. I also brewed 60 ltrs of Bosuns best bitter today and pitched onto the yeast cake from the Crouch Vale best bitter. As the wort came out of my CFC the yeast cake jumped into action before the new wort had finished chilling. As I type Im into my second pint of this beer and I cannot believe the quality. I am now a fervent fan of this yeast. Batz I should have tried it sooner but I could not find a supply.
> 
> Cheers Altstart :chug:




It's a great yeast Altstart
Not for all brews but for Alts,or many other ales it's as good as some liquid yeasts.
As I have said before,you should have some in the fridge for a standby at the very least.
And Partial and even K&K brewers,try something different? Just try this yeast,easy azz

Batz


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## kungy (26/7/06)

Do you guys think that Nottingham brews with any discernible tartness to the brew?

I gave it a shot with Yeast from the Jovial Monk for two beers and they tasted slightly tart, which definately hindered my ability to drink it. 

I'm more inclined to think that the problem wasn't the yeast itself but the packaging of the yeast (it was done not to the standards of other yeast packagers) ie below standards

Will

PS I think you guys are swinging me back round to it though..........


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## Mr Bond (26/7/06)

Has any one done a split batch between nottingham and Us 56?

Could be an interesting comparo.


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## bindi (27/7/06)

Brauluver said:


> Has any one done a split batch between nottingham and Us 56?
> 
> Could be an interesting comparo.



Yep I have, twice now, I posted my results some time back Link and have also mixed the two yeasts in the same brew and all I could tell it was all Nottingham in taste [for me] it has a smell and taste you can't miss and it is very nice.
Love this yeast and the way the turb sets on the bottom, it also looks like the surface of the moon  ,
A half a cup from the turb pitched into a fresh wort and away it goes again.


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## altstart (27/7/06)

:beer: 
Jesus Ive just been over to my shed pitching directly on to this yeast cake is a big mistake. Its climbed out of the airlock. I believe Bindi is right a cup is all that is needed. I havent lost too much clean it up and keg on Tuesday next week.
Cheers Altstart


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## Jye (27/7/06)

I brewed 20L of IPA on the weekend with an OG of 1.070 and after 3 days at 17C and a nice 2 inch krausen the gravity had dropped to 1.022. All of the krausen has died away so I have raised the temp for the last few points but it sounds like I may not have needed to do this.

Another 10 days until I keg but the gravity samples taste good.

...and I pitched 20gm hydrated.


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## PostModern (27/7/06)

So if I read right, the pitching rate is 1g/litre. For a 20l batch, I need 2x11g packs?


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## Jye (27/7/06)

PostModern said:


> So if I read right, the pitching rate is 1g/litre. For a 20l batch, I need 2x11g packs?



Yep, its easy to do and more cost effective with a 500g block.


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## Steve (27/7/06)

Jye said:


> PostModern said:
> 
> 
> > So if I read right, the pitching rate is 1g/litre. For a 20l batch, I need 2x11g packs?
> ...




Really? 2 Packs? - ive only ever pitched one 11gm pack of Nottingham without any dramas? But then again that has only been with kits and a recent Willamette Ale Partial.


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## Jye (27/7/06)

Steve, check out the Danstar website.



> *Proper Pitching Levels*
> 
> From: Ernie Baker
> 
> ...


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## crozdog (27/7/06)

When we went on the tour of the Lord Nelson during the AHB Sydney pub crawl a couple of months ago, the brewer there said that he uses Nottingham for ALL their brews, ranging from Wheat beer to Porter. it just goes to show the versatility of this yeast.

i gotta try some soon.

beers

Crozdog


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## Batz (27/7/06)

crozdog said:


> When we went on the tour of the Lord Nelson during the AHB Sydney pub crawl a couple of months ago, the brewer there said that he uses Nottingham for ALL their brews, ranging from Wheat beer to Porter. it just goes to show the versatility of this yeast.
> 
> i gotta try some soon.
> 
> ...




And so does another very well know micro brewery

Batz


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## altstart (27/7/06)

altstart said:


> :beer:
> Jesus Ive just been over to my shed pitching directly on to this yeast cake is a big mistake. Its climbed out of the airlock. I believe Bindi is right a cup is all that is needed. I havent lost too much clean it up and keg on Tuesday next week.
> Cheers Altstart



I cleaned up the mess this morning and re sanitised the fermenter lid and went off to work. Got home @ 5.30 pm and this beer is almost finished. This yeast is very aggressive I am very impressed. By the way the Crouch Vale best bitter is drinking very nicely. I will try to hold on to a keg for a while to compare how the beer ages.
Cheers Altstart


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## Aussie Claret (1/9/06)

I've used this yeast in two different batches, what are you thoughts on flavour?

To me it's not a clean as US56, has that kind of estery profile similar to Saf SO4. (may even be described as a bubble gum flavour)

Both batches one, an AG special bitter the other an APA have exactly the same flavour profile, and both have completely different hops and grain base. Both cool fermented the bitter at 14-15c the APA slightly higher around 17-18c.

Both were good fermentations and had good attenuation finishing at 1.010 and 1.008 respectively. Both beers have that dryish characterisitic.

I'd be interested in your thoughts and if further CCing is going to change the flavour profile?

AC


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## Ross (1/9/06)

I just did my first beer with Nottingham, my usual schwarzbier recipe.
Only been in the keg a few days, but I'm initially dissappointed. The beer lacks malt character IMO & finishes with a slightly astringent dusty taste. I'm reserving full judgement until it's had a little aging, but I don't think I'll be using in a dark ale for a while. 

cheers Ross


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## Batz (1/9/06)

Straight up this is not the yeast for an APA

Batz


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## Pumpy (1/9/06)

Altstart & Batz , What temperture would you ferment it at.

do you pitch it dry or how do you start it wet ?

I have a wort ready it is a strong English bitter should work out about 5.7% would it be suitable 

Pumpy


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## Batz (1/9/06)

Pumpy said:


> Altstart & Batz , What temperture would you ferment it at.
> 
> do you pitch it dry or how do you start it wet ?
> 
> ...



I ferment at 14c,during winter I don't ferment in the fridge so day time temp. may rise a little.Summer it's into the fridge at 14c.
I never pitch dry,my way of thinking is rehydration is important...only IMO  

This is not a yeast for all beers (what yeast is?),still works wells for the brews I use it in.

Batz


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## Pumpy (1/9/06)

Batz said:


> Pumpy said:
> 
> 
> > Altstart & Batz , What temperture would you ferment it at.
> ...




Hey Batz in simple terms how do you rehydrate it , I read instructions on site but tis too complicated for me ?


Pumpy


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## Hopsta (1/9/06)

The way i do it is..... boil some water pour it into a cup cool it to pitching temp and pour the sachet of yeast in, let it sit for ~15mins give it a stir with a sterile teaspoon and pour it into your fermenter.


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## Pumpy (1/9/06)

Thanks Hopsta i revisited the site and the instructionshave been simplified I understand now 

3. Usage 
When the recommended 1gm per litre of active dried yeast is used to inoculate, a yeast density of 510 million cells per millilitre is achieved. Brewer may experiment with the pitching rate to achieve a desired beer style or to suit processing conditions. 
Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of 10 times its weight of clean, sterilized (boiled) water at 3035C. Do not use wort, or distilled or reverse osmosis water, as loss in viability will result. DO NOT STIR. Leave undisturbed for 15 minutes, then stir to suspend yeast completely, and leave it for 5 more minutes at 3035C. Then adjust temperature to that of the wort and inoculate without delay. 
Attemperate in steps at 5-minute intervals of 10C to the temperature of the wort by mixing aliquots of wort. Do not allow attemperation to be carried out by natural heat loss. This will take too long and could result in loss of viability or vitality. 
Temperature shock, at greater than 10C, will cause formation of petite mutants leading to long-term or incomplete fermentation and possible formation of undesirable flavours. 
Nottingham British Ale yeast has been conditioned to survive rehydration. The yeast contains an adequate reservoir of carbohydrates and unsaturated fatty acids to achieve active growth. It is unnecessary to aerate wort. 
Good tolerance to low fermentation temperatures, 14C (57F), allow this strain to brew lager-style beer. Recommended 14 to 21C (57 to 70F) fermentation temperature range. 



pumpy


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## Pumpy (1/9/06)

I am fermenting tommorrow 

Four days at 14C cant wait 


pumpy


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## Batz (1/9/06)

Pumpy said:


> Batz said:
> 
> 
> > Pumpy said:
> ...




Sprinkle yeast on the surface of clean boiled water,10 times the weight of the yeast
11gm packet 110ml water...at 30-35C

do not stir.allow to sit 15 min

then stir

leave another 5 min.

add the wort,should be around 18c

Batz


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## Aussie Claret (1/9/06)

Batz,
What type of beer is this yeast specifically for? I did the Bitter and pitched on the yeast cake for the APA, I thought that this was perfect for an English style bitter.

The flavour at this stage is nothing like I expected; would be good to try someone else's beer.

You off to Ross's on Sunday?
AC


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## Pumpy (1/9/06)

Thanks Hopsta and Batz the knowlege on this site is better than you can ever read in a book 


Pumpy


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## Pumpy (12/10/06)

Wow , I have been fermenting this batch for two days at 13-14 C and the Krausen is about seven inches high ,its a monster cant wait for this one its in a high ish gravity beer 

Pumpy


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## Batz (12/10/06)

Pumpy said:


> Wow , I have been fermenting this batch for two days at 13-14 C and the Krausen is about seven inches high ,its a monster cant wait for this one its in a high ish gravity beer
> 
> Pumpy




Goes off hey Pumpy?

Aussie Claret,sorry I didn't see your post till just now.
Nottingham is good for any English ale,I use it in my Alt.

Batz


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## bindi (12/10/06)

Love this yeast, it's my first reserve [dry that is] .


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## Pumpy (12/10/06)

Batz said:


> Pumpy said:
> 
> 
> > Wow , I have been fermenting this batch for two days at 13-14 C and the Krausen is about seven inches high ,its a monster cant wait for this one its in a high ish gravity beer
> ...


 
Goes off alright Batz . :blink: 

I activated the dried yeast as you said .

left the fermenter overnight outside the fridge to get it started .

Set the fridge for 14C and , I have never seen a yeast go so well at that temp .

I reckon it would have climbed out of the fermenter at room temp .

Pumpy


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## InCider (12/10/06)

Screwtop gave me some of his to show me how it worked. Farken amazing!  Needs a seatbelt to hold it in the fermenter!


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## Pumpy (15/10/06)

Ross said:


> I just did my first beer with Nottingham, my usual schwarzbier recipe.
> Only been in the keg a few days, but I'm initially dissappointed. The beer lacks malt character IMO & finishes with a slightly astringent dusty taste. I'm reserving full judgement until it's had a little aging, but I don't think I'll be using in a dark ale for a while.
> 
> cheers Ross



Ross, 

I am making a Strong English bitter with the Nottingham yeast with an original gravity of 1.059 it is down to 1.015 tasted it out of the fermenter and was really nice 

I always find it difficult judging a beer out of the fermenter as they change when carbonated really pleased with this cant wait , I will filter this one on Monday and get kegged as have an empty keg .

Will definately use in the Aidens Irish red just mashed . Pumpy


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## colinw (18/10/06)

When using Nottingham, I have mashed as warm as 68C and achieved relatively dry beers. I suspect the combination of a 65C mash and Nottingham would result in a dusty dry grainy sort of a a beer.

Best Nottingham beer to date was the 2nd brewing of the recipe attached. We split it between Nottingham & Windsor, and both halves were great beers.

cheers,
Colin 

View attachment 58_pale_ale.html


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## Jye (22/10/06)

Here is an interesting pic I took today showing that US56 flocculates better than Nottingham. Both yeast cakes were bottled yesterday arvo and have been in the fridge at 1C since.

Nottingham is on the left in a 2L bottle and US56 on the right in a 4L bottle.


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## Pumpy (22/10/06)

Jye said:


> Here is an interesting pic I took today showing that US56 flocculates better than Nottingham. Both yeast cakes were bottled yesterday arvo and have been in the fridge at 1C since.
> 
> Nottingham is on the left in a 2L bottle and US56 on the right in a 4L bottle.



Jye ,

I have been drinking the beer I made with the Nottingham yeast since Friday it has floculated well but I only had in secondary for three day a couple pof weeks and it would have been really clear .

I did not bother filtering it as it looked OK and was desperate ,I fermented at 14C and the attenuation was great , three pints of this and the picture on the wall keeps moving .so it has fermented out well would not wanted it to be real dry .


Pumpy


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## bconnery (22/10/06)

I've just put down a bitter with the slurry from the previous beer and the Nottingham yeast is happily working away again. 

I'm a big fan of this yeast's work.


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## bindi (22/10/06)

Now sounding like a broken record, I LOVE this yeast <_< Racked an Alt fermented at 15c made from it yesterday, and IMO it's a very good beer, went from 1062 to 1015 and at 6.1%, also used it in my wifes Ginger Beer and it is 3.8% when the usual yeast came in at 3.3-3.5% and the ginger taste seems stonger <_< .
Ferment it low [for a ale] and it gives a lager style to it, even with ginger beer which was a suprise.


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## Ross (25/11/06)

Brewed a Dark ale (Nottingham) an English bitter (Nottingham) & an APA (US56) on Monday - Sprinkled both yeasts without rehydrating onto the wort at 17c Tuesday lunchtime. Today the APA going well at 1022 but the Dark ale at 1014 & the English Bitter at 1006 both all finished... Nottingham a clear winner in the speed stakes...

cheers Ross


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## Screwtop (26/11/06)

Jye said:


> Here is an interesting pic I took today showing that US56 flocculates better than Nottingham. Both yeast cakes were bottled yesterday arvo and have been in the fridge at 1C since.
> 
> Nottingham is on the left in a 2L bottle and US56 on the right in a 4L bottle.




Don't care about any contest between the two Jye, both have their applications, and I like using both. Think to do a fair comparison thew would need to be active in wort of the same composition fermented at the same temp and allowed to finish and floc out to draw a good comparison. Lot of f'n about and


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## winkle (29/11/06)

Mark me down as a fan too. Pitched into a porter sunday afternoon 1048 OG @ ~18 C looks done already 1008 FG. Three days!! Bloody hell


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## warrenlw63 (17/9/07)

Tried Nottingham for the first time. Pitched 2 packs into 42 litres of dry stout (OG 1.042) on Friday night. Walk out this morning to the garage to find the foam has "just" climbed from the airlock and the fermentation is all but finished!!  

Scary part is it was a 60 litre fermenter so I had around 20% headspace... What a crazy yeast! :super: 

Flavour is perfect for dry stout. Dry and roasty.  

I'm sold!!!

Warren -


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## devo (17/9/07)

mmm maybe I should have gone the Nottingham in my IPA instead of the Wyeast Thames Valley!?! I have only 5 days left to finish secondary and keg it before heading OS :blink:


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## warrenlw63 (17/9/07)

Leave me the keys Devo and I'll try a litre a day for evaluation whilst you're abroad.  

Warren -


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## T.D. (17/9/07)

Sounds good Warren, I reckon Nottingham would be a good yeast for a stout. This reminds me, I saw an interesting thread a while back that asked if anybody had done a side by side test between dry Nottingham and liquid Nottingham. Unfortunately I don't think anybody replied so maybe nobody's done it (I'll try and find the thread though and post a link in case anybody has any comments). I recently went on a tour of a Microbrewery in Sydney which uses dry Nottingham in all of their beers, regardless of style, I guess just out of convenience. The beers were good, but were pretty lifeless and a bit, dare I say, "boring". That also got me wondering if the liquid culture would be any different. I know a lot of people claim there is a difference between US-56 and WLP001/WY1056, so maybe there are some advantages to the liquid alternative??? Anyone tried both types? :unsure:

edit: here is that thread I mentioned... http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=16661


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## warrenlw63 (17/9/07)

T.D. Which Whitelabs or Wyeast strain is the Nottingham equivalent? :unsure: 

(Time to go and change that blackened airlock :blink: )

Warren -


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## devo (17/9/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> Leave me the keys Devo and I'll try a litre a day for evaluation whilst you're abroad.
> 
> Warren -




Hahaha noice try warren  

One thing fer sure is that I'm going to have a well lagered Schwarz and a couple of well conditioned Ales by the time I get back.


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## SpillsMostOfIt (17/9/07)

Screwtop said:


> Don't care about any contest between the two Jye, both have their applications, and I like using both. Think to do a fair comparison thew would need to be active in wort of the same composition fermented at the same temp and allowed to finish and floc out to draw a good comparison. Lot of f'n about and



Agreed.

I'm about a week into such an experiment - double batch of my boring house ale, one half pitched with US-05 and the other with Nottingham. Both pretty much done now, but for that week of invisible activity...

There's stuff I like about both yeasts and although I might favour one over the other (and probably flip-flop between them and try others now and again), I *probably* won't constrain myself to just the one. I mean, you wouldn't only ever use just one hop variety, would you?


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## T.D. (17/9/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> T.D. Which Whitelabs or Wyeast strain is the Nottingham equivalent? :unsure:
> 
> (Time to go and change that blackened airlock :blink: )
> 
> Warren -



WLP039 by the looks of that thread I attached the link to. Haven't checked that though to make sure...


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## devo (17/9/07)

just out of curiosity, would Nottingham be the same yeast that coopers use? I found that the coopers yeast performs in a very similar manner?


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## brettprevans (17/9/07)

I like nottinham. Ive used a few times (stouts). I pitched 3 packs into my RIS 2 weeks ago (OG of ~1.15-1.2). No airlock action for a bout 1 week. took an SG ~1.040ish. Not a bad little yeast to chew through that in about a week. FG is still to high so i pitched some champaigne yeast last night. God the SG sample had some kick :blink: :excl: 

go nottingham.


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## therook (17/9/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> Leave me the keys Devo and I'll try a litre a day for evaluation whilst you're abroad.
> 
> Warren -




and you'll need a buddy Wazza

 

rook


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## Snow (18/9/07)

T.D. said:


> WLP039 by the looks of that thread I attached the link to. Haven't checked that though to make sure...



I always thought that Coopers use their own strand they've had for over 100 years. Might've had the same origins, though, I guess....

Cheers - Snow


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## therook (19/9/07)

I pitched a packet of Nottinghams yesterday morning at 6:00am and still had not activity this morning at 6:00am, am i being to impatient or should i try pitching another packet.

Temp of wort is at 18c

Rook


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## Ross (19/9/07)

therook said:


> I pitched a packet of Nottinghams yesterday morning at 6:00am and still had not activity this morning at 6:00am, am i being to impatient or should i try pitching another packet.
> 
> Temp of wort is at 18c
> 
> Rook



patience  I'm assuming you just sprinkled & didn't rehydrate first. This will always take a little longer.

Cheers Ross


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## winkle (19/9/07)

therook said:


> I pitched a packet of Nottinghams yesterday morning at 6:00am and still had not activity this morning at 6:00am, am i being to impatient or should i try pitching another packet.
> 
> Temp of wort is at 18c
> 
> Rook


Patience, grasshopper.


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## Hutch (19/9/07)

therook said:


> I pitched a packet of Nottinghams yesterday morning at 6:00am and still had not activity this morning at 6:00am, am i being to impatient or should i try pitching another packet.
> 
> Temp of wort is at 18c
> 
> Rook


Any sign of Krausen yet?
It can't hurt to pitch another rehydrated pack, to be sure.



> just out of curiosity, would Nottingham be the same yeast that coopers use? I found that the coopers yeast performs in a very similar manner?


I'm pretty sure they're different strains. They have very different taste/smell. The Nottingham has a distinct smell of many a pub Ale in the UK, while the Coopers yeast is more a woody/fruity banana sandwitch type of character


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## brettprevans (19/9/07)

Hutch said:


> he Nottingham has a distinct smell of many a pub Ale in the UK, while the Coopers yeast is more a woody/fruity banana sandwitch type of character



funny you should say that, I gave my old man a choc mahogony stout Monday night that I'd used nottingham in and he said it reminded him on the UK beers/pubs. well the first thing he said after tasting it was that it was like road tar! but by the end of the bottle he was really enjoying it. but then again at 6.3% he should have been!!

re delay in nottingham kicking off, I would think that 24-48 hours is ok. my last one kicked off in about 3 hours, but i'd areated the crap out of it, had 3 packs of yeast and over 4kg of fermentables.


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## clean brewer (9/3/09)

Dragging up an old Topic, but was one of the first results of a search..

Just put Batz Altbier into fermenter tonight and tried rehydrating yeast(danstar nottingham) as per instructions and did ok, question is... Is this yeast fine just to pitch dry without any adverse affects????

Also after reading this topic and the effects this yeast has on a brew, and also pitching a 2ltr starter of Wyeast 3068 - Weihenstephan on a wit tonight also, maybe my fermenting fridge could end up a complete f--king mess with these 2 brews in there at the same time... :huh: 

 CB


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## Gavo (9/3/09)

I have used Nottingham dry pitched straight on top of the wort and not stirred in. No problems at all. Great yeast flocks out like concrete in the bottom of the fermenter.

Cheers
Gavo.


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## bindi (9/3/09)

OK CB, what temp is the fermenting fridge set at?


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## clean brewer (9/3/09)

bindi said:


> OK CB, what temp is the fermenting fridge set at?



18 degrees, wort is at 18 and I pitched yeast rehydrated at about 24degrees....


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## Bribie G (9/3/09)

I have had some issues with Notto. I regularly brew a fake lager "Bribie Bitter". The last- but- one brew I pitched Notto direct from the packet (one side of a 'two pack' from Ross). It took three days to get a decent krausen and I actually got a bit of sulphur that just ain't notto. Maybe something else started fermenting before the notto took hold.

The beer turned out not too bad but a bit estery. (18 degrees <_< )

So for the next brew I did a good healthy starter from the other side of the pack and the beer was in high krausen within 24 hours. 

I'm actually quaffing one now as I type, or attemgrt to type,  and it's sweet as. 

No problems in getting Notto off and running in a starter, not knocking Ross but considering Nottingham comes half way round the world there may be differences in the quality of batches ????


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## TidalPete (9/3/09)

BribieG said:


> So for the next brew I did a good healthy starter from the other side of the pack and the beer was in high krausen within 24 hours.



I hope you pitched your starter at 40 deg c Bribie?  

CB,
Try fermenting Notto on the cool side --- 16 deg c for a cleaner finish. As mentioned previously you will get better results from making up a starter of Notto than chucking it into the fermenter dry.

TP


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## katzke (10/3/09)

TidalPete said:


> I hope you pitched your starter at 40 deg c Bribie?
> 
> CB,
> Try fermenting Notto on the cool side --- 16 deg c for a cleaner finish. As mentioned previously you will get better results from making up a starter of Notto than chucking it into the fermenter dry.
> ...



Just a note here on the term Starter.

A Starter is when the yeast is added to some wort and allowed to grow more cells.

Dry yeast out of a packet should never be used with a Starter as it depletes the reserves built in the yeast by the lab.

Dry yeast can be rehydrated with water.


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## white.grant (10/3/09)

katzke said:


> Just a note here on the term "Starter".
> 
> A "Starter" is when the yeast is added to some wort and allowed to grow more cells.
> 
> ...



Never say never.  I think it's best to think of dry yeast starters as unnecessary when it is cost effective to drop another sachet in if required. I have had good results however from using slurry from nottingham when stepping up from a mild ale to an IPA. The mild basically acted as a starter.

cheers

grant


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## Jakechan (10/3/09)

Ive never rehydrated a dry yeast in my life. I just dry pitch every time and never had any problems. And I use Nottingham for every 2nd brew these days.


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## geoffi (10/3/09)

If you've never done it in your life, I suggest you give it a go. I've done both. Dry pitching works well enough, but rehydrated yeast takes off much, much faster. I suggest you give it a go just to see the difference. 



Jakechan said:


> Ive never rehydrated a dry yeast in my life. I just dry pitch every time and never had any problems. And I use Nottingham for every 2nd brew these days.


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## TidalPete (10/3/09)

Geoffi said:


> If you've never done it in your life, I suggest you give it a go. I've done both. Dry pitching works well enough, but rehydrated yeast takes off much, much faster. I suggest you give it a go just to see the difference.


+1
You will find that re-hydrated dry yeast gets your fermentation off to a much quicker start. 
Manufacturers of dry yeast who recommend re-hydrating their products haven't wasted their time & money in product testing for nothing. 
They want you to be happier with their yeasts than the oppositions & to come back & buy their product again.



> A "Starter" is when the yeast is added to some wort and allowed to grow more cells.
> 
> Dry yeast out of a packet should never be used with a "Starter" as it depletes the reserves built in the yeast by the lab.
> 
> Dry yeast can be rehydrated with water.


You are quite correct there Grantw. I am so used to starters these days that I just rattled the word off without thinking.  

I'm another who manages to get around 32 brews from one dry yeast sachet (8 tubes X 4 generations). Am currently on generation 3 of Nottingham without any perceived changes in taste, fermentation, etc. *Long Live Yeast Farming*. :super: 

TP


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## reviled (10/3/09)

FWIW I reckon Nottingham surpresses hop character quite a bit, good for malty english beers, not so cool for an IPA imo


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## Jakechan (10/3/09)

Geoffi said:


> If you've never done it in your life, I suggest you give it a go. I've done both. Dry pitching works well enough, but rehydrated yeast takes off much, much faster. I suggest you give it a go just to see the difference.


I'll give it a go next time. Ive just needed a shove I spose


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## Jakechan (10/3/09)

TidalPete said:


> I'm another who manages to get around 32 brews from one dry yeast sachet (8 tubes X 4 generations). Am currently on generation 3 of Nottingham without any perceived changes in taste, fermentation, etc. *Long Live Yeast Farming*. :super:


Bloody hell! Must be something in this yeast farming business. Could certainly save some money there. Is it easy? Time consuming?


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## TidalPete (10/3/09)

Jakechan said:


> Bloody hell! Must be something in this yeast farming business. Could certainly save some money there. Is it easy? Time consuming?



I started off by using Chiller's excellent yeast farming method -- HERE --- Print it out for future reference if you are interested. FWIW I think Chiller was a little conservative in his estimates of yeast life in the fridge.

Not too time consuming if you do it during the TV ads at night.  

TP


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## Screwtop (10/3/09)

Like all yeasts Nottingham has it's applications, personally I don't like it in pale or subtle ales. Green beer fermented using Nottingham has a distinct Nottingham yeast profile. Good in dark ales though especially Porters.

Rehydrating dried yeast proof's it (you know before you pitch if it's stuffed) and shortens lag time.

Flame suit on: Dried yeast contains higher levels of "other/wild yeasts and bacteria" than liquid yeasts. This is why the yeast companies provide such high cell counts per pack. Repitching is fine so long as the recovered yeast is in good condition. Racking arms in fermenters in commercial operations allow selection of clean yeast from the centre of the yeast cake, in most cases fermenters used for homebrewing do not suit this practice. Timing of brewing to suit repitching will help as the yeast can be repitched without lengthy storage, to avoid overpitching use the recommended rate of 5 - 6 grams of crop yeast per litre of wort. As yeast multiplies 4 or five times during fermentation I used about 1/4 of the yeast trub or 200ml. 

If you repitch dried yeast and the beer has that "yeast issue" flavour then you've learn't it's better to pitch an inexpensive new pack of dried yeast, just like I did. 

Screwy


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## SpillsMostOfIt (10/3/09)

TidalPete said:


> Not too time consuming if you do it during the TV ads at night.
> 
> TP



I'm usually making room for beer during the ads...


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## Jakechan (10/3/09)

TidalPete said:


> Not too time consuming if you do it during the TV ads at night.


Damn, I dont watch TV. Whatever shall I do?


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## Ross (10/3/09)

Screwtop said:


> Like all yeasts Nottingham has it's applications, personally I don't like it in pale or subtle ales. Green beer fermented using Nottingham has a distinct Nottingham yeast profile. Good in dark ales though especially Porters.
> 
> Rehydrating dried yeast proof's it (you know before you pitch if it's stuffed) and shortens lag time.
> 
> ...



Screwy, do dried yeast manufacturers advise to add higher yeast counts than when using liquid? I don't think the pitching rate advised has anything to do with bacteria levels, but happy to be educated? - Otherwise, I agree with your comments whole heartedly  


Cheers Ross


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## chappo1970 (10/3/09)

TidalPete said:


> I started off by using Chiller's excellent yeast farming method -- HERE --- Print it out for future reference if you are interested. FWIW I think Chiller was a little conservative in his estimates of yeast life in the fridge.
> 
> Not too time consuming if you do it during the TV ads at night.
> 
> TP



Cheers for the linky TP :icon_cheers: . I had stumbled over that thread before ages ago but wasn't there with my brewing but now has a lot of relevance.

Very interesting post on farming yeast. I might to to invest some more time into that side of my brewing I feel.


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## Bribie G (10/3/09)

Much as I love Notto I have recently gone onto US-05 for the reasons that Reviled pointed out above. Especially as I'm no-chilling as well I'm trying for a bit more hop flavour and aroma.

Yeast farming: yesterday morning I racked a bitter into secondary and put about 200 ml of yeast cake into each of two 1.5L V8 glass juice jars that I use for starters. Added about 600 ml of a wort made from two dessertspoons of LDME boiled then cooled.

Shook them to buggery to aerate.

By tea time both jars were in vigorous krausen. Pitched one into an Australian Old at 21 degrees and the other into a Bribie Bitter at 16 degrees. And both are going gangbusters this morning. I've done this with Notto as well in the past, but usually stop after generation 3 and get new packets.


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## kirem (10/3/09)

I quite like Nottingham, it gives beers a husky taste/mouth feel when the beer is still green, but calms down with proper maturation. It has a strong place in my yeast collection. It isn't for every beer and it works very well with oak and darker beers

I always rehydrate my dried yeast and acclimatise them as per manufacturers instructions. I never make a starter using dried yeast. IMO it defeats the purpose of dried yeast on a small scale.

A little OT, but what is everyone thoughts on Windsor?


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