Fermentis S-O4

[jambop]

Hi
All Merry whatever term you support to you
So I have been using Nottingham for my everyday ale brewing and to be fair I have not had too much to moan about. I have been using 11g sachets to date but have done a bit of arithmetic and it would be much cheaper buying a 500g brick and subing it down into smaller quantities and vac sealing then freezing till use. Now the cost of a 500g brick is circa 70€ whereas a 500g brick of Fermentis safale S-O4 comes in at 51€ the specs for these yeasts look remarkable similar is the Notty worth an extra 20€ ? Times are hard gents what would you recommend ? I know that yeast can be reclaimed and have done so before but really prefer just to pitch some freshly rehydrated on the day of my brew . On the other hand I could buy a sachet and try it for myself... but if you cannot trust fellow brewers for an opinion who can you trust

 

[ebbelwoi]

Definitely try 11g before you commit to 500g.

BTW, it's S-04, not S-O4.

 

[NSMikeD]

I use primarily use 04 and 05 in my ales and have used Nottingham. I cant say I could tell any difference from 04 and Nottingham since I didn't brew side by side same recipes. I use 04 when I am brewing English style ale and 05 for American. However. I am preparing to brew a Cigar City Jai Alai clone and decided on 04 as a substitute for the liquid yeast suggestions due to the fruity hop focus on this beer.

Some folks didn't like 04 but they are older post (perhaps some QC at Ferments in the past years or a dislike of its English attributes) and heavily outweighed by the brewers who prefer it. I am in the latter group,

but don't take my word, pick up a packet (sachet) and brew a batch with a recipe you know well and see if you like it sufficiently to switch.

lastly, Nottingham is supposedly going to ferment more like 05 - drier cleaner, whereas 04 is going to be more fruity and estery. If the former is what you prefer over the latter. you may want to consider the 05

 

[NSMikeD]

Further to my post

Lallemand describes Nottighman Ale as neutral.

and Fermnatis says its 05 is closer to neutral than 04.

 

[Old Medic]

Your brewing 45 batches using the same yeast? Price difference is only half a euro a batch. I believe you will spend more time and money on the Vac bags, with increased chance of contamination.
I would consider yeast harvesting and re-pitching on your yeast cake.

 

[dmtaylor]

I find S-04 to be very clean and NOT estery at all. Try it out a couple of times, I think it is an excellent substitute for Nottingham, or for US-05.

 

[jambop]

Your brewing 45 batches using the same yeast? Price difference is only half a euro a batch. I believe you will spend more time and money on the Vac bags, with increased chance of contamination.
I would consider yeast harvesting and re-pitching on your yeast cake.

Lot of truth in that but also the postage a packaging pitfall does change it a bit . I have to get everything by online order so P&P is pertinent. If I buy 5 packs of any yeast I pay 7€ for del so the price for that is 27€ . Now I can offset that by ordering at the same time as buying other stuff but if you forget to do that you get stung... buying online is a great way to go provided you remember everything... this getting old lark

 

[scrap iron]

I believe they also have 100-gram packs too. If you have Amazon, they sell six and ten count packs of the 11g and say they ship to France. I can't say how fresh they are though.
Amazon.com : fermentis safale s-04