New bad lot of Nottingham yeast ???

It was in the garbage over night, i pulled it out earlier to check the batch number... so who knows if the smell is legit. In fact I have no idea what it smells like!

it smells like the started, I know that. Which sort of smelt like your average liquid yeast pack I guess.

I've got minimal activity going on in mine... coming up on the 24th hour. The amount of yeast icebergs as I've heard them called has doubled. Little packets of what look like white bubbles, which is typically what your beer will look like after you rack it to a secondary for instance.

Is this a sign of things happening?

Oh poop, I'm a noob and have been using this batch for all of my brews so far. I thought it took rather long to get going from my wine experience, but maybe it only worked out due to my poor sanitation...
Well I guess I'll be spending an arm and a leg for liquids from now on... unless my wilds work out really well.

For anyone who might be in my similar situation... I woke up this morning had had krausen in my carboy.

So it took between 24-36 hours... at the 24 hour mark i could see that things were starting to happen.

I rehydrated at 90-95, sprinkled on top and let it sit 15 minutes. Stirred and let it sit another 5. I couldn't pitch right away, so I think it sat another 25 minutes until I pitched.

Hopefully everything turns out alright.

wookiemofo said:

Brewed up a Fat Squirrel Clone with Notty last night... at what point do I pitch a packet of S-05 that I have laying around? 36 hours with no drop in gravity?

Click to expand...

I would pitch after 24 hours. The two Notty batches that took longer than 24 hours tastes very yeasty, drinkable but yeasty, it lost the taste after two months but that messes up the pipeline. I too brewed up a Fat Squirrel clone three weeks ago. I pitched the Notty batch in question, and while holding my breath I pitched the yeast. It must have worked because the brew tastes unbelievable with a week to go before bottling.

So I have a new theory on how to make this batch work..... Hold your breath before pitching.

So far I have made 4 batches with notty (all with the bad lot), and they have all fermented as well as one could expect. I am something of a noob, but I definitely got some aromas and flavours during transferring and bottling that I found pretty unsettling. I'm trying to identify it as some of the things that are being mentioned like bandaids (which I've never tasted, oddly enough) or phenols (I do enjoy peaty single malt, so I can spot a phenol). The best thing I could describe it as is 'three day old beer tent', or maybe 'scuzzy bar with extra ass'). Now I fermented many beers with coopers yeast, and some with US-05, and I have never experienced this particular aroma before.

The good news is that almost all of this nastiness was gone after a month long bottle condition. So before you dump that beer, you may want to consider giving it a bit more time. Now I don't know if this stuff will age out in a keg like it does in bottles, but for me, this went from an undrinkable hydrometer sample (which for me is rare) to an OK beer in only a month.

Don't get me wrong, I will not be buying notty again, but I just hate to see all of this poor defenceless beer watering lawns prematurely.

Man that makes me strained that even though my batch is fermenting away, that the quality may be subpar. But I guess that's the case with any beer I haven't brewed before!

Time will tell...

is this the only batch of nottingham available? or is there many different batches? should I buy it if its a different batch #? ima go to brew mart soon

nope. Not the only batch available. I just got an order last week from Rebel and the current batch they shipped is lot 0671001V Exp. 11-2012.

Well the one I used that started just fine seems to be crawling along. It's about 10 days and it's still slowly fermenting. I raised the temperature about 5 degrees to hopefully kick it up some.

Just a bit of info for you guys.

First off, I'm not knocking Austin Homebrew Supply or saying that any of their products are bad. Anyways, I went to my LHBS today, DeFalcos in Houston, because some Nottingham that I got shipped to me from AustinHomebrewSupply last week didn't take off after 3 days. When at the LHBS, I asked them why they didn't have any Nottingham in their fridge. He proceeded to tell me that Danstar called them and recalled all of the Nottingham in the area not b/c it's infected, but b/c it's dead or something. When I got home, I called AustinHomebrew and told them about what I'd heard. They didn't know about it yet, and the guy I was talking to on the phone was yelling at people around the store to see if they'd heard of it, but apparently this was new to them. After he thanked me for letting them know, he said they would contact their Notty distributor and see what the deal was. With that said, they said that they would

Well there is something up with the Nottingham yeast, my LHBS had a box of it, they had to go through all their extract kits etc... odly enough I did have a successfull brew/fermentation with the Notigham yeast 2 weeks ago, so I think its a certain batch number thats bad. I wish I have kept my old yeast sachet, I could have posted a batch that had good yeast... Bummer,

A month ago I brewed Orfy's Hobgoblin & a Columbus & Willamette IPA with that certain lot # and date. Both took off in about 24 hours & seemed to ferment normally. At bottling both tasted delicious with no discernable off flavors. Guess I was lucky.

Bithead said:

A month ago I brewed Orfy's Hobgoblin & a Columbus & Willamette IPA with that certain lot # and date. Both took off in about 24 hours & seemed to ferment normally. At bottling both tasted delicious with no discernable off flavors. Guess I was lucky.

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone knows what percentage of this yeast is really "bad". But even if only 10% of the yeast packs are bad, I don't think it's worth it to me to take that chance.

Not suggesting anyone should use it. Just posting my experience with it.

I just pitched some in a side by side with Sierra Nevada pale ale dregs. I'll see in a few weeks.

HalfPint said:

Just a bit of info for you guys.

First off, I'm not knocking Austin Homebrew Supply or saying that any of their products are bad. Anyways, I went to my LHBS today, DeFalcos in Houston, because some Nottingham that I got shipped to me from AustinHomebrewSupply last week didn't take off after 3 days. When at the LHBS, I asked them why they didn't have any Nottingham in their fridge. He proceeded to tell me that Danstar called them and recalled all of the Nottingham in the area not b/c it's infected, but b/c it's dead or something. When I got home, I called AustinHomebrew and told them about what I'd heard. They didn't know about it yet, and the guy I was talking to on the phone was yelling at people around the store to see if they'd heard of it, but apparently this was new to them. After he thanked me for letting them know, he said they would contact their Notty distributor and see what the deal was. With that said, they said that they would

Click to expand...

Sorry about that. I have a brand new guy answering the phones and several new guys on the sales floor.

We had replacement yeast as quick as possible. I explained it to key people but I didn't want to alarm customers and employees.

Once there is a problem with any product, people will forever be looking for problems with that product.

Thanks for letting me know you had a problem with the yeast. Just drop an email to the store at [email protected] and we can refund the price you paid for the Nottingham.

Forrest

Austinhomebrew said:

Sorry about that. I have a brand new guy answering the phones and several new guys on the sales floor.

We had replacement yeast as quick as possible. I explained it to key people but I didn't want to alarm customers and employees.

Once there is a problem with any product, people will forever be looking for problems with that product.

Thanks for letting me know you had a problem with the yeast. Just drop an email to the store at [email protected] and we can refund the price you paid for the Nottingham.

Forrest

Click to expand...

I have no problem knocking Austinhomebrew.
I really don't like the patronizing attitude of their posts reguarding the people who really have experienced problems with Danstar Nottingham yeast.
Telling people that they should contact the manufacturer was also not helpful, since I don't know of anyone who tried to contact them who actually got a reply.

You all got a reply, they pulled the yeast. Let it go!

DrJerryrigger said:

I just pitched some in a side by side with Sierra Nevada pale ale dregs. I'll see in a few weeks.

Click to expand...

So the Sierra Nevada was only from one 24oz bottle, and I didn't do the best job getting it going. When I pitched there was a lot more going on in the Notty starter cup. This morning, Notty:3 to 5 bubbles per min, SN: 0, and right now; the same.
But once (if) the SN gets going, I'll be interested to compare finishing time and SG.

just pitched a package i got at morebeer yesterday. It looked goodin the cup. rehydrated, and sank to the bottom within 15 minutes with smallbubbles. we will see how long it takes to start.

RavenChief said:

Telling people that they should contact the manufacturer was also not helpful, since I don't know of anyone who tried to contact them who actually got a reply.

Click to expand...

I received a reply and they requested I ship back the bad satchels. I plan to do so soon and Lallemand is aware of the problem as per the recall.

...this sucks. I thought I was in the clear. Apparently after 4 weeks my luck ran out. I spy with my little eye something that looks like an infection. UGH.

Thank goodness I'd been drinking before I opened the lid.

Quite unfortunate. I was wondering why it took 48hrs to begin fermentation until I saw this thread. I had really begun to like Nottingham and had used it on quite a few good beers up until it ruined my first AG Centennial Blonde I made. Taste was and is sour, I've determined that it is definitely infected as there are little round bacteria specks that appeared very shortly after bottling.

Not to mention Nottingham was only like $1.99/pack vs. Safale's $3.99 for S-04/05 (at least at my LHBS).

Guess that just means it's time to get another batch of something going !

Shooter said:

You all got a reply, they pulled the yeast. Let it go!

Click to expand...

You are right. I need to just let it go.

RavenChief said:

You are right. I need to just let it go.

Click to expand...

I understand your frustration if you're having problems. I'm not sure much more's going to be done at this point. Here's to better brewing days ahead!

I pitched 2 yesterday about 6 pm . 1 Danstar Munich I bought from CHI, 1 Danstar Knottingham I bought from MoreBeer Riverside. 8 am this morning, both are bubbling nicely

IO mentioned this on the other Nottingham thread also. Seconding what was mentioned on the previous page, my LHBS has none in their refrigerator - it has all been recalled, I was told.

I'm hoping they get things straightened out - I used it for years and loved it. If they fix it, I'll use iot again. I was not pleased that Safale jacked their prices up in response to this event.

SteveM said:

IO mentioned this on the other Nottingham thread also. Seconding what was mentioned on the previous page, my LHBS has none in their refrigerator - it has all been recalled, I was told.

I'm hoping they get things straightened out - I used it for years and loved it. If they fix it, I'll use iot again. I was not pleased that Safale jacked their prices up in response to this event.

Click to expand...

Safale jacked up their prices prior to the Notty recall. I don't know why but I hope it's just supply and demand... This may push more people to go to liquid yeast and then it's likely demand will drop and prices should follow. If prices stay high long enough then a new supply of yeast may be introduced to the market. And prices will drop.
I love capitalism. It's a great and glorious thing.

RavenChief said:

Safale jacked up their prices prior to the Notty recall. I don't know why but I hope it's just supply and demand...

Click to expand...

Prior to the recall, yes, but not prior to when Nottingham's problems were coming to light.

I should not be the least bit surprised. When Baxter Labs had a problem with their heparin and had it all recalled, their main domestic competitor (whose name I won't mention) reacted in exactly this way - they saw a market bonanza and jacked up prices. I know this from someone who sat in on the market strategy the discussions (and was disgusted, but not in a position to say anything). Why should Safale behave differently?

Austinhomebrew said:

Sorry about that. I have a brand new guy answering the phones and several new guys on the sales floor.

We had replacement yeast as quick as possible. I explained it to key people but I didn't want to alarm customers and employees.

Once there is a problem with any product, people will forever be looking for problems with that product.

Thanks for letting me know you had a problem with the yeast. Just drop an email to the store at [email protected] and we can refund the price you paid for the Nottingham.

Forrest

Click to expand...

Thanks,
I wrote you guys an e-mail.

Just used a pack of the so called bad batch. Activity within 12 hours, violent fermentation with blow off in 24 hours.

Well, I posted a few pages back about getting a bad sachet from AustinHomebrewSupply.com, and having to re-pitch a S-05 4 days after the Nottingham had not taken off. With that said, my Thunderstruck is FREAKING AWESOME after only 4 days of S-05 doing its thing. Although it is early to tell, I don't think the Nottingham contributed any off flavors and the S-05 took the brew from 1.054 to 1.014 in 4 days.

Cheers,
J

I've had 4 or 5 bad packs of notty in the last 3 or 4 months. I just repitched after 4 days or so if no change in reading and haven't had any off flavors at all. As cheap as Notty is, i'm okay with getting a bad pack/lot every now and then. I'm going to continue using it. I can get 4 packs of notty for the price of wyeast or white labs. I'm sure there's still a lot of the recalled lot hanging around lhbs everywhere and they'll keep getting bad feedback, but they've addressed it and i'm sure they'll fix it. I know a lot of people got upset about everyone ragging notty but this is the place to talk about it. Anytime you get a bad pack of yeast someone should post it. I had 3 bad packs and didn't say a thing until someone else did.

wildwest450 said:

Just used a pack of the so called bad batch. Activity within 12 hours, violent fermentation with blow off in 24 hours.

Click to expand...

1.056 to .016 in 5 days.

I brewed 2 brews (CDA and Surlyfest clone) with 2 different packets of the supposedly bad Nottie. Beers came out great. Fermentation was great.

4 packs of Notty from "the lot of doom" and 4 quick fermentation starts along with normal fermentation times and results.

I still plan to buy and use their yeast.

TokyoRoad said:

4 packs of Notty from "the lot of doom" and 4 quick fermentation starts along with normal fermentation times and results.

I still plan to buy and use their yeast.

Click to expand...

Well aren't you special!

Sorry, but every cocky response of "mine worked out fine nah nah nah!" brings out painful mourning for my lost batch...

porteridontknowher said:

well aren't you special!

Sorry, but every cocky response of "mine worked out fine nah nah nah!" brings out painful mourning for my lost batch...

Click to expand...

+1

I picked up 10 packs of Notty with this batch number a few months back and have had consistent results until this weekend. I did a 10g batch of 1.044 cream ale, split it into two fermenters, and pitched at the same time/temp.

One took off within 12 hrs as usual, and the other took almost 48 hrs to get started. Neither have risen to more than 1/2" krausen, which I know isn't a bad sign, but not normal from my experience with Notty.

I also used a pack of this on a pumpkin ale a couple of weeks ago. It didn't have a decent krausen either, but did get down to 1.006. I still need to transfer, spice, and condition before final results are in on this brew, but samples are tasting good.

The smaller krausen has been my only noticable change from previous experience. Before it was always a short lag time, very active, large krausen fermentation, and part of the reason why I picked up 10 packs. Now it is not as active, but seems to be attenuating lower than I was getting before. I've never gotten to 1.006, and have now on 3 brews in a row.

I typically use it on the cream ale I keep on tap, and haven't noticed any change in flavor. I'll see what happens with this batch. Seems like a good test.


Edit: After rethinking, all three of the batches that got down to 1.006 have been all grain batches (I was doing extracts before and getting to 1.010-1.012) so maybe this played a role in the lower attenuation?