Danstar Nottingham Slow starter???

Brewed 2 batches yesterday, used SafeAle US-05 in the pale ale and Notty in the Amber. The pale is bubbling away in the primary and has been since early this afternoon (about 18 hours after pitching). The amber has yet to show any movement in the airlock (I know this isn't the best measure of fermentation, but it should be moving a bit, eh?). I rehydrated the yeast at about 86F and let it stand for 15 mins until it got down to a similar temp as the wort- about 72F. There seems to be some slight krausening, but I could be wrong.

Anyone else experience slow starts with Notty? I've heard great things about this yeast, but its our first time using it. Just want a little assurance our beer isn't shot. Thanks!

EDIT: We did not rehydrate the SafeAle, never have and it has always worked great.

Notty does not HAVE to be rehydrated either. It will work fine straight in.

Yes, sometimes Notty will take a while to discernably kick in. Relax. it will do its job. I have had buckets sit 3 days before they kicked in. I have also had batches finish without every seeing a bubble (cracked in seal releasing CO2).

Your beer is fine. Patience. Leave it alone. Stop looking.

If you see crausening but no activety in the airlock im betting on a leak somwhere

Notty is usually a pretty quick starter for me, but there was a lot# a while back that had serious lag problems. I had several packets that took 80+ hours to show any signs of fermentation, but they all turned out great in the end.

I appreciate all the responses. One thing I forgot to mention: this is the first time I'm using a new 8 gallon BrewCraft fermenting bucket that has a surprisingly loose fitting lid (normal?). Perhaps that's the cause?

Cheers!

i have used notty twice, the first time I had fermentation in 6 hours. today I pitched at 3 pm and at 10:30 pm I have fermentation starting(1 bubble every few seconds).

The lid on my bucket has a rubber gasket and fits extremely tight,once it's on its almost too hard to get off.

well... i've checked it multiple times, which i know goes totally against previously given advice :cross:... the results: certainly some krausen and the bubbles from it are breaking, indicating gas is being released. also, the temperature overnight (coolest time of day) actually increased by about a degree to 72F or so (it's starting to warm up here in the Central Valley of California), which i believe is also indicative of yeast hard at work. plus, it smells like fermenting beer! i did move the fermenter into the garage this morning to try to get the temp down just a bit, but i'm happy as long as i stay below 75, which i should. my final determination is that the brewcraft lid, by design, simply sits loosely on top of the bucket, though tight enough not to let any critters in. i'm okay with this, though it would have been nice to know ahead of time.

thoughts?

I've always had fast starts with Notty and very controlled fermentation as far as size of Krausen of about 2 inches. By the third day or even 36-40 hours after first airlock activity it is mostly done with a bubble every minute or so. It also has excellent attenuation with all my ales finishing around 1.010-1.012. It takes awhile for floccuation though and at the end of the first week my beers are still completely cloudy. By 3 weeks it is better but still clears significantly in the bottle or keg.

If you are fermenting between 72 and 75 air temperature, I would recommend trying a batch cooler: sit the bucket into a rubbermaid tub, add water until it is level with the wort. add frozen 20oz soda bottles and keep the water temp at 65 degrees.

Or build a son of fermentation chamber.

But try fermenting cooler... you might like your beer even more. Temp control of fermentation is key.

My experience with notty has been that it starts quickly and is a relatively quiet (very mild activity) fermenting yeast.

Additionally, I will echo the advice chefmike has given relative to fermentation temperature. The recommended temperature range for fermenting with notty is between 57F and 70F. Personally, I typically set my fermentation cabinet between 60F and 62F.

Yeah, I'd like some sort of fermentation temp control, especially since it can get to 100+ here during summer. Son of fermentation chamber??? Never heard of that. Any other (cheap) ideas besides ice water in buckets?

I've used this yeast a few times and results vary! Some take a while to get going and ferment calmly, others make use of blow off tubes around 36 hours in. Above 72 isn't great for this yeast, you'll get loads of banana from it, try and keep it in the 60's

HappyHeadBrew said:

Yeah, I'd like some sort of fermentation temp control, especially since it can get to 100+ here during summer. Son of fermentation chamber??? Never heard of that. Any other (cheap) ideas besides ice water in buckets?

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The options are pretty limited, you can use refrigeration (best option, most expensive, evaporation, or heat transfer by putting it in an ice bath. Building an Insulated box with ice inside is also an option and sort of like poor mans refrigeration. Most folks who don't have an extra fridge use the fermenter in a large bucket with water and frozen 2 liter bottles with awet towel on the fermenter for a combination of evaporation and heat transfer.

HappyHeadBrew said:

Son of fermentation chamber??? Never heard of that.

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I believe chefmike was referencing this (from the DIY section): https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/smaller-son-fermentation-chiller-79556/

I also brewed yesterday and it was my first time pitching the notty yeast and I believe it was from the latest batch of lot number that was questionable. My was slow to start but after about 18 hours a krausen has started to form and I can see the bubbles breaking too. I had the same worries as you but now I can see it working because I'm fermenting in a better bottle. I've got my room temperature around 62* so I figure it my be a little slower at that temp anyway. I'm looking forward to how it turns out. How long does everyone usually let this yeast go in primary?

dmelt11 said:

I also brewed yesterday and it was my first time pitching the notty yeast and I believe it was from the latest batch of lot number that was questionable. My was slow to start but after about 18 hours a krausen has started to form and I can see the bubbles breaking too. I had the same worries as you but now I can see it working because I'm fermenting in a better bottle. I've got my room temperature around 62* so I figure it my be a little slower at that temp anyway. I'm looking forward to how it turns out. How long does everyone usually let this yeast go in primary?

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3 weeks here, but no secondary and have just made regular ales.