Anyone having success with Nottingham dry yeast?

[msa8967]

Brewed an all grain brown ale last weekend and used a fresh packet of Nottingham dry yeast purchased from Northern Brewer. My OG stated at 1.058 (on target of predicted 1.056) and after a week the gravity still reads about 1.054. No appearance of a krausen or bubble activity but this is the forst time I have used Nottingham. The fermenting bucket has been at 66-68 F for this time.

Anyone have recent succes with this yeaqst strain? I feel like giving it more time because i don't know what I would try repitching.

Thanks for any input you might have.

 

[Dunerunner]

Did you reconstitute it? http://www.danstaryeast.com/sites/default/files/nottingham_datasheet.pdf

 

[CoalCracker]

Hope so considering I just bought 4 packets of it to stock up. Usually is a well attenuating yeast. Sure you have a healthy culture? Did you aerate it well? Maybe give it a swirl to get some yeast back into suspension, or pitch another packet.

 

[Dunerunner]

What about temperature shock? If you did reconstitute as described in the PDF cut sheet, what was the temperature of the wort it was pitched to?

 

[jonmohno]

I do smaller batches. Did you need more than 1 packet for a 5 gallon. What temp did you pitch. I just did a stout for the first time and used nottingham for the first time seemed.it liked stout. 2 gallon batch half pack of yeast it kicked off between 12-24 hrs.
Its been pretty cold did you get it shipped.I just got Northern Brewer supplies but i purposly didnt get yeast mailed because i think that freezing yeast can harm them. (Think ) i must have read that because i had it in the back of my head not to freeze it. Do you have a store in CR.? Because i get mine from Davenport (Mcllean Cellars)

 

[troub]

On Jan 1st I brewed the Northern Brewer Nut Brown Ale kit with the dry Nottingham yeast and it kicked off quickly and attenuated well. I dumped it into 95F water and let it sit for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate. I had airlock activity in well under 10 hours (I pitched at 9:20pm and it was already going strong at 7:20 the next morning when I woke up and got around to checking on it). The OG was 1.044 and after 10 days the SG was about 1.012. I haven't taken another reading, and probably won't until I bottle it.

 

[shelly_belly]

I did a 1554 clone on 12/27 and used Nottingham. The OG was 1.056. Fermented it at 63F. Today the FG was 1.013. I rehydrated per instructions on packet. I don't remember the expiry date on the package other than it had not expired.

 

[jonmohno]

On Jan 1st I brewed the Northern Brewer Nut Brown Ale kit with the dry Nottingham yeast and it kicked off quickly and attenuated well. I dumped it into 95F water and let it sit for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate. I had airlock activity in well under 10 hours (I pitched at 9:20pm and it was already going strong at 7:20 the next morning when I woke up and got around to checking on it). The OG was 1.044 and after 10 days the SG was about 1.012. I haven't taken another reading, and probably won't until I bottle it.

sounds like a great beer! Although i havent needed to rehydrate a dry yeast yet. Alot of experienced brewers think its pretty unneccesary with dried yeast, but in the op's case maybe could have worked out better to hydrate to see if it was alive still?

 

[kbuzz]

I brewed a stout extract kit last weekend and used Nottingham dried yeast...rehydrated per instructions on packet. Pitched at about 3:30 PM on Sunday and it was going strong the next morning around 7:30 AM. OG 1.046...by Thursday, I was down to 1.014 which was in range of final gravity and just racked to secondary today.

 

[troub]

sounds like a great beer! Although i havent needed to rehydrate a dry yeast yet. Alot of experienced brewers think its pretty unneccesary with dried yeast, but in the op's case maybe could have worked out better to hydrate to see if it was alive still?

I hope so...my gravity sample tasted like ass. Intellectually, I know it will probably smooth out over time (and this is only my 2nd brew, so I haven't witnessed the transformation first-hand). I'm trying very hard to RDWHALocalMicroBrew (no homebrew ready yet).

As to your last sentence -- I know making a starter shows you the yeast's viability. I have read that even rehydrating gives you an idea because the little yeast granule things won't "dissolve" and create the sort of foamy slurry they usually do if they're dead. Is that right? What does it look like if it's bad? (Dry yeast is cheap enough, would it be worth it to heat or freeze some to really damage it and see what it does when rehydrated?)

 

[Sheldon]

There was some info out in the ethernet world about a bad run or Notty dry yeast. I think expiration may have been late 2012. Go to Danstar website and check it out.

 

[vinyl_key]

I brewed an American Wheat using dry Notty one week ago on Saturday. OG was 1.052 As of yesterday, it was at 1.010.
That was the dry yeast pitched straight in the cooled wort, no rehydrating or anything.

 

[msa8967]

I did rehydrate the yeast as per instructions from Palmer's book which have always worked in the past. I pitched the yeast into the well airated wort at a temp of around 72 F. I let this stand for about 10 minutes and then gently shook the bucket again before moving it to its final resting place.

 

[jonmohno]

So did it freeze during shipment? woops . i seen you said you hydrated it so it looked normal and all? I think ive read that you can see nothing happen with yeast also.im lazy now but did you say u did a hydro? Its probalbly a good time for Revvy to save the day! hA

 

[ILuvIPA]

Hi Mick, to answer your first question - my last 12 brews have been pitched with Nottingham without issue. Most show initial activity in the first 24 hours with high krausen anywhere from 1.5-3 days. I have had one or two that didn't start until 3 days/krausen about day 4. I've never had one go a whole week (yikes!). . .Notty usually takes off & does a really fast aggressive ferment. I always rehydrate (as you did) and after 15 - 20 minutes it has a "yeasty/bready/slightly sour smell." Some of the yeast granules fall to the bottom but most form a sort of creamy head on top (about 1/4 inch thick.)

I'd double check the grav reading and if it hasn't moved in a week I'd pitch another pack (Notty if you have it.) If I read this right it's been a whole week with no activity. I'd put some new yeast on it. Good luck, hope this one turns out!

 

[Vance71975]

Never had a single problem with Notti, it is my fav yeast Bar None.

 

[Clann]

Wish I could help. I use notty all the time and have had no preformance problems.

If you pitched a week ago and no activity or gravity drop, I would repitch.

 

[msa8967]

This is really weird. This morning I checked on it and now there are bubbles coming through the air-lock. I hope this is a good sign because I have never seen this activity this far after pitching before.

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice.

 

[ongreystreet]

I am on my 2nd batch with Nottingham, and I am afraid it's going to blow the roof off, so yea, it works.

 

[NickN72]

This is really weird. This morning I checked on it and now there are bubbles coming through the air-lock. I hope this is a good sign because I have never seen this activity this far after pitching before.

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice.

I had the same problem with Notty. It took a week for it to get going. My guess is that it is part of the bad batch that takes a while to get giong. I also had the same problem with danstar munich, maybe its just my luck with Danstar.

 

[ongreystreet]

When I use Notty I always rehydrate it exactly as instructed by the packet. Before adding to my wort, I shake the hell out of my carboy for a least a minute, probably closer to two minutes to aerate it, and get bubbles in the first 8 or so hours and krausen bulidng up at 18.

 

[AirRageous]

I recently tried to buy some Notty at my LHBS and he said there was a recall on it and he had sent his stock back and it had not been replaced yet. I just checked the Danstar website and there is nothing on there about a recall. I have used Notty quite a bit in the past with great results each time.

 

[SteveM]

Check the yeast forum - there are several threads up about issues with Nottingham. The short version is, some of it is fine, some of it, not so fine.

 

[jonmohno]

Alot has to do with how it was handled and stored.You could have a premium yeast that is crap from abusive conditions.

 

[SteveM]

Alot has to do with how it was handled and stored.You could have a premium yeast that is crap from abusive conditions.

No doubt - but it also has been the subject of at least two major recalls in the past eighteen months or so, and problems with the new equipment they use to stamp lot numbers and expiration dates on the packets has been an issue.

Like I said, check the yeast forum for more info.

The issue has been discussed to death and at times was pretty hotly contentious. There were those who had problems, and those who insisted that there was nothing wrong with the product, and the issue was discussed with plenty of emotion.

 

[thethirsty1]

Ive never had a issue with Notti always have a couple on hand even the "bad batch" made great beer and took right off

 

[jonmohno]

No doubt - but it also has been the subject of at least two major recalls in the past eighteen months or so, and problems with the new equipment they use to stamp lot numbers and expiration dates on the packets has been an issue.

Like I said, check the yeast forum for more info.

The issue has been discussed to death and at times was pretty hotly contentious. There were those who had problems, and those who insisted that there was nothing wrong with the product, and the issue was discussed with plenty of emotion.

well im sorry to hear that and sorry the people that used it had to deal with that.

 

[Christafer11]

I use notty on a lot of my brews. I usually boil about a cup of water with a good squeeze of honey during the boil. Then let it cool down to below 80 and pour in yeast and cover with foil. By the time I pitch it has usually started with about 2-3 inches of yeast foam on top.