AHS out of Nottingham

cnoyes · 02-05-2008, 10:13 PM

I just received an order from Austin Homebrew of a Fat Tire clone and a Raspberry Wheat. It was supposed to come with Danstar Nottingham dry yeast, but both were shipped with Cooper's dry yeast.

I called them to ask about it and talked to two people who both gave me attitude and said they were out, so apparently they took the liberty of substituting. When I asked if it would produce very similar results, all I got was that it will produce a "drinkable" beer. When I asked further whether that was the closest dry yeast to Nottingham, I got more attitude about there being only a "handful" of dry yeast strains. Apparently I'm a noob for not using liquid. Seeing as they carry 12 different dry ale yeasts, I hope they didn't just grab one out of the nearest bin to them when they were packaging me up.

Good thing I have this site to get my questions answered and don't have to rely on AHS:

Is this Cooper's stuff gonna get the job done as well as Nottingham? Should I make a run to LHBS to get a different strain?

**david_42** · 02-05-2008, 10:23 PM

It's not unusual for the Nottingham supply to run out. Cooper's has slightly lower attenuation and you need to keep the fermentation temperature down around 65F for a cleanest finish. You might want to keep the Wheat between 70-75F for a fruitier ferment. It's probably a better choice than Nottingham for a wheat anyway.

**Yooper** · 02-05-2008, 10:24 PM

The owner of AustinHomeBrew.com is a heck of a nice guy, and also a member here at HBT. I'm certain if he knew of your issues, he would do his best to make you happy and to answer your questions. You can send him a private message. His ID is austinhomebrew.

I've never had any issues at all with them, so I'm sure that this is something that Forrest would like to know about.

wildwest450 · 02-05-2008, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnoyes

I called them to ask about it and talked to two people who both gave me attitude and said they were out, so apparently they took the liberty of substituting. When I asked if it would produce very similar results, all I got was that it will produce a "drinkable" beer.

The last 2 times I have dealt with these people I have received the same treatment. They lost my order and acted like it was my fault. It was the same guy both times, and it really chapped my ass.

sirsloop · 02-05-2008, 10:31 PM

kinda sucks... im partial to nottys. I would have expected safale s04 for a replacement tho..

Soulive · 02-05-2008, 10:32 PM

IMO, Cooper is definitely not a suitable replacement for Nottingham. Definitely contact Forrest about it...

blacklab · 02-05-2008, 10:33 PM

Sort of off topic. I have had similiar issues with AHB. I bought a better bottle from them, and the spigot leaks. Not a lot, but a little. Mostly just annoying.

So I contacted Forrest here at HBT and he sent me to his 'tech'. The tech said, "I've never heard of that, you should look at the Better Bottles website".
No troubleshooting help, no offer of a new spigot.

I have another BB which does not leak, so I know this one is faulty. It was pretty disappointing after all of the good stuff I have heard about them on this forum.

That being said, Forrest does sound like a nice guy and sometimes will give HBT members a discount(I took advantage of one last week). Hard to say what's going on here.

cnoyes · 02-05-2008, 10:44 PM

Interestingly, just searched for the Fat Tire clone on AHS. It's not there anymore. I wonder why.

sirsloop · 02-05-2008, 11:29 PM

i just emailed AHS about not receiving tops to a case of fliptops I ordered... I got a UPS tracking number in like 30 minutes for them. First time I had to email them about anything... so far I'm glad I spend my homebrew cash there.

SuperiorBrew · 02-05-2008, 11:38 PM

I got one of those 7 gal conicals from them and they shipped it with the thermometer installed. Needless to say it arrived with a broken glass and bent stem and one leg of the conical was bent. I sent an email with pictures and some guy replied and told me that I should file a claim with UPS.
I wrote back and explained that the package was in perfect shape and what did they expect with no padding ect. they shipped a new thermometer but never said sorry your $320 fermenter was bent up and you had to wait for a new thermometer.

I wasnt realy dissapointed but not real impressed either.

My last order went off with no hitches though