Minimum "Safe" Notty Fermentation Temp?

I've got a special bitter fermenting downstairs right now with Nottingham. The carboy temp is about 59f right now. Since I don't want too many esters in there, I'm inclined to keep it low, but how low is "safe" for this yeast before it stalls? It's got a nice little fermentation going right now, but I usually don't ferment with notty any lower than 65f---hell, I've used the yeast a dozen times in the past, just not this cold. Anyone had Notty stall out on you because of low temps? If so, how low did you go to cause it to stall? Should I warm it up a few degrees or just wait and raise the temps later to finish it out? I keep waiting for the aerobic activity to bring the temp up a few degrees, but nothing so far. Whaddayathink?

I've gone down in the low 60s...around 62 degrees with out an issue but no experience w/ lower temps than that.

I've had it in the high 50s before, and it was great. Slow, but steady. My house isn't even 62 degrees in the winter, so all of my ales are fermented that cool and nottingham has been a champ. (I've also used Pacific Ale yeast successfully at those low temps, but WLP001 gave me a little trouble). As long as it's plugging along (and above 58 degrees or so), I say let it go!

I read a post at least a year ago so I forget where but whoever it was fermented Nottingham at 55° regularly with good results. I don't know whether that was wort temp or ambient temp.

brewt00l said:

I've gone down in the low 60s...around 62 degrees with out an issue but no experience w/ lower temps than that.

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+1...the only difference I noticed was it took slightly longer to finish

Cool, thanks---I'll let it do its thang then. I suspected as much, considering it's chugging along, but it never hurts to double check, right?

I have my ESB going right now. I started in my 58 degree basement and it seemed to go dormant. I guess maybe it was still working slowly, but it stayed steady for about three days above FG before I moved it. After moving it to about 62 degrees, and giving it a swirl, it picked back up and finished off.

Cant say for sure that it wouldn't have finished at 58, but it seemed to like it just a little higher.

The recommended fermentation temperature range of this strain is 14° to 21°C (57° to 70°F) with good tolerance to low fermentation temperatures (12°C/54°F) that allow this strain to be used in lager-style beer. With a relatively high alcohol tolerance, Nottingham is a great choice for creation of higher-alcohol specialty beers!

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So I guess you're fine right now.

I'm fermenting with Notty at 65 degrees and ambient is 52 due to the heat generated. It's taking much longer to finish compared to fermenting simply at room temp. (It's in a freezer with a digital controller sensor taped to the bucket).

same here...i've fermented it at 58F and it did just fine