My Nottingham dry yeast smells like rubber

Is it normal for Nottinghams dry ale yeast to smell like rubber?

When i originally rehydrated the yeast to pitch I could definitely detect a rubbery smell in the (clean and sanitized) pyrex container. I pitched it, got a vigerous fermentation and everything looked fine.

3.5 weeks later I racked off the primary and into the keg for conditioning/carbonation. I didn't notice the smell on the beer, but as soon as I emptied the better bottle, I could definitely detect a rubbery smell.

Could this be yeast autolysis? I've never used this strain before.

Yea smells like vomit to me

i've used nottingham many times, as it's my favorite non-session beer yeast. never smelled a rubbery smell

I guess at this point I'll just wait for the finished beer

What is the lot number?

Lot number 1080961099V exp 12/2011

A number of people are reporting strange behavior for that lot #. I and many others have used it with no issues, but there might be something going on. Where did you get your yeast sachels from?

Thanks for the heads up.

Yes I've found a thread in question with people having issues with this lot #. I bought the yeast (a bunch of them in fact) from a local BOP wine dealer. It concerns me how he stores the yeast - basically in a little bin in direct sunlight out in the open instead of refridgerated.

I'll let the beer finish as it seems to be fermenting normally plus its already racked to keg but the smell of this yeast gives me serious concerns. Is there a recall on this lot # does anyone know?

No problem just read this and your worries will be over

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

Is there some kind of conspiracy afoot on this forum to slander Nottingham???? I've used Nottingham for years with success, as have a lot of my home brewing superiors. Either something bad is going on @ Nottingham, or else a bunch of Danstar stock-holders have infiltrated this forum.

Gropo said:

Is there some kind of conspiracy afoot on this forum to slander Nottingham???? I've used Nottingham for years with success, as have a lot of my home brewing superiors. Either something bad is going on @ Nottingham, or else a bunch of Danstar stock-holders have infiltrated this forum.

Click to expand...

Yes there is a conspiracy. Also un-smart brewers who have the audacity to question the viability of a known good yeast (and who don't have a very good sense of smell and perhaps hallucinate rather regularly) are stupidly posting that some Nottingham batches are "bad." Fools. They should be using liquid yeast anyway. It is reasonably clear that if it don't ferment, the pitcher is at fault. Apparently.

no, nottingham has recently changed something in their process that is affecting quality, i noticed it also. maybe new lines, or something else new. maybe something new to cut costs.

but its def effecting end results

stevedasleeve said:

Yes there is a conspiracy. Also un-smart brewers who have the audacity to question the viability of a known good yeast (and who don't have a very good sense of smell and perhaps hallucinate rather regularly) are stupidly posting that some Nottingham batches are "bad." Fools. They should be using liquid yeast anyway. It is reasonably clear that if it don't ferment, the pitcher is at fault. Apparently.

Click to expand...

I'm under the impression that if people just peruse the thread titles w/o researching that it would be pretty easy to conclude that SOMETHING bad must be going on @ Nottingham. I just used some a few weeks ago for an IPA after my White Labs was exposed to high temps and was sluggish, and a pack of Nottingham saved the day. Perhaps something is going on, but so far from what I've read it would seem that user-error/mis-interpretation is the issue, and not the manufacturer....no disrespect meant to the thread starters; but that's just my guess.

stevedasleeve said:

Yes there is a conspiracy. Also un-smart brewers who have the audacity to question the viability of a known good yeast (and who don't have a very good sense of smell and perhaps hallucinate rather regularly) are stupidly posting that some Nottingham batches are "bad." Fools. They should be using liquid yeast anyway. It is reasonably clear that if it don't ferment, the pitcher is at fault. Apparently.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is why Danstar has issued recalls of this yeast previously. It is no conspiracy if the company itself knows things are wrong.

People have reported perforations in the packets where the lot# and date were stamped. There are a number of photographs here if you search for them.

Yes, I am a new brewer, and no I do not use this yeast. Precisely because of the large amount of documentation on this website (photographic and otherwise) that show it to be unreliable. See below for a previous recall of Notty:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/nottingham-yeast-recall-135065/