I Love Nottingham Yeast

[Broothru]

I really like Notty a lot, and have used it almost exclusively for the past 10 batches (except a lager that took Best of Show recently). Two other Blue and One White ribbons out of 6 entries. If you act quickly you can get some WLP 039 (liquid Notty) while the Vault is open. The Danstar dry yeast is great, though, and I can harvest and repitch at least 4 generations with no 'drift'.

Brooo Brother

 

[MaxStout]

As a die-hard bottling neanderthal, I like the fact that Notty flocs well. That little slug of yeast stays tight on the bottom of the bottle.

 

[bracconiere]

As a die-hard bottling neanderthal, I like the fact that Notty flocs well. That little slug of yeast stays tight on the bottom of the bottle.

i'd use baker's instead of it, if it wasn't for that....

 

[Amadeo38]

Interesting! For me it was always the opposite, Nottingham always a bit higher fg than us05, no matter how I mashed.

Traditionally, dark milds require low attenuating yeasts, so something like Windsor or comparable English yeasts would be more suitable than Nottingham.

Also, an Abv between 2.3 and 3% seems to be the norm, so your og was actually a bit high.

Anyhow, the lower attenuation came to your rescue.

Yeah, I’m actually okay with the fact that it finished a little higher in this particular beer, as it helped give it some more body. It just causes me hesitation when considering using it in a higher ABV beer, which at that attenuation I achieved, would leave the beer much too sweet. I used Nottingham as it was the yeast listed in the recipe by @Orfy and it seemed to get great reviews (and I agree!).

Per BJCP, 3.0% is the lowest ABV for a dark mild to traditional style, so I’m right in that range.

@dmtaylor nope - definitely only use a well-calibrated hydrometer after fermentation.

 

[wepeeler]

I used it in a Mocktoberfest, and it turned out ok. Dropped crystal clear after only a few weeks. My only issue with it is that I fermented a bit warm, and the aroma was damp basement. Going to have to try to ferment with it in the low 60s, and see if that changes. The Mocktoberfest tasted great regardless of the aroma. The damp basement smell never went away completely.

 

[Miraculix]

Yeah, I’m actually okay with the fact that it finished a little higher in this particular beer, as it helped give it some more body. It just causes me hesitation when considering using it in a higher ABV beer, which at that attenuation I achieved, would leave the beer much too sweet. I used Nottingham as it was the yeast listed in the recipe by @Orfy and it seemed to get great reviews (and I agree!).

Per BJCP, 3.0% is the lowest ABV for a dark mild to traditional style, so I’m right in that range.

@dmtaylor nope - definitely only use a well-calibrated hydrometer after fermentation.

Forget about BJCP. Dark mild is a British style, not American. Go ask the Brits about it, not the Americans! It was a far more famous style back in the days but it is to this day still brewed in parts of the UK, I suggest looking up some classic Recipes on Ron Pattinsons blog or some of todays recipes. Although I have seen some newer modern "interpretations" of it, with a higher abv, getting close to 5%, which is not what the oldschool dark mald was about.... depending on how far one would want to look back.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Forget about BJCP. Dark mild is a British style, not American. Go ask the Brits about it, not the Americans! It was a far more famous style back in the days but it is to this day still brewed in parts of the UK, I suggest looking up some classic Recipes on Ron Pattinsons blog or some of todays recipes. Although I have seen some newer modern "interpretations" of it, with a higher abv, getting close to 5%, which is not what the oldschool dark mald was about.... depending on how far one would want to look back.

Arguably the lower ABV Mild is the modern one, and stronger is the olden version (and Pattinson definitely shows this...). As for everything else in British brewing when the gravities dropped with the World Wars. Some truly historic Milds could be Barleywine strength.

I also would be using invert to keep it dry. If using a higher attenuator I'd be using less sugar.

To that end Notty would do just fine in a Mild in my opinion.

 

[Hanglow]

It's a yeast I frequently go back to, although I use the Gervin version as I'm cheap it's half the price. I used to rehydrate it but cannot tell the difference between that and just pitching it straight in. Bigger beers get two packets

Plenty of british micro breweries use it, often co-pitched with windsor for more esters but good attenuation.

If you like Traquair House Ale that is made with nottingham.

 

[hottpeper13]

Got a dark mild on day 2 at 59*, on day 3, I'll raise to 64* to finish. Mashed at 154* 1.038 OG, should finish ~1.012-14

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Got a dark mild on day 2 at 59*, on day 3, I'll raise to 64* to finish. Mashed at 154* 1.038 OG, should finish ~1.012-14

With Nottingham it should finish at closer to 1.00874 SG.

38 * (1 - 0.77) = 8.74
(for the case of 77% attenuation)

 

[dmtaylor]

With Nottingham it should finish at closer to 1.00874 SG.

38 * (1 - 0.77) = 8.74
(for the case of 77% attenuation)

Yep. I'm willing to bet ya'll an invisible $20.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Arguably the lower ABV Mild is the modern one, and stronger is the olden version (and Pattinson definitely shows this...). As for everything else in British brewing when the gravities dropped with the World Wars. Some truly historic Milds could be Barleywine strength..

an Abv between 2.3 and 3% seems to be the norm, so your og was actually a bit high.

Per BJCP, 3.0% is the lowest ABV for a dark mild to traditional style, so I’m right in that range

It's confusing - as we know, the 19th-century beers sold as mild were unaged beers of 7%+, at the nadir just after WWII they got as low as 2.39% even in London (where they were typically stronger than in the provinces), but they recovered in the heyday of the 1950s (even outside London the average was 3.43% in the late 1950s, in the West Midlands it was 3.95% - I guess because it was more of an alternative to bitter than a "baby" beer). OGs never fell below 1.027 as that was the floor set by the tax system.

21st-century mild tends to be a bit stronger - as someone who actually drinks mild in pubs, my favourites are 3.8%, 3.8% and 4.8%. You can argue that the 4.8% is an exception even today - other breweries might market it as a porter but it is definitely more like an "imperial" mild. But 3.6-3.8% is a good target - nice to have something lighter to drink over Christmas, particularly if you've partigyled it off a big beer for drinking the following Christmas.

And then of course you have the pale milds....

It's worth plugging Ron's mild webinar at this point. Personally I've got my eye on one of his Best Mild recipes from Lees in the 1950s - now there's an obscure style!

OG was only 1.039 and this yeast only brought it down to 1.015. Tastes wonderful, so I’m not disappointed in that regard, but geez, couldn’t get that small of a beer down to at least 1.010?

Sounds atypical for Notty, something must have gone wrong - but the "tastes wonderful" thing is the important thing.

I might try this one for a porter.

A lot of small British breweries use Notty but that's because it's easy to work with in the brewery - its broad temperature range means it's quite forgiving of primitive brewing conditions, dry yeast doesn't need a yeast lab, and it drops reliably for cask use.

But personally I think it's just a bit boring to use it on its own for British styles - yeast is a key part of their character. IMO it's best used as a co-ferment to allow more interesting yeast to drop cleanly and attenuate out. And I wouldn't just look at other British yeast, try blending it with a bit of the less characterful Belgian yeasts like T-58, or even bread yeast.

 

[Saunassa]

As a die-hard bottling neanderthal, I like the fact that Notty flocs well. That little slug of yeast stays tight on the bottom of the bottle.

Neanderthal, love it, I am one too and I while I like us-05 I love the way that Nottingham floculates in the fermenter plus the bottom of the bottle.

 

[goodolarchie]

It's my go to for all stouts and porters, and a blonde ale I make every spring. But I've learned anything above 1.050 it really needs to be kept in the low 60's and held down, maybe let it rise to 67-68 on the last day. It will perform just fine, no diacetyl etc. Using it on bigger beers or higher temps it can give off some fusels, so just keep it low, treat it like a pseudo lager.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

Notty gives solid, consistent results every time, always 77-78% attenuation for me regardless of mash schedule. Very forgiving yeast. I've used it dozens of times. Works best from about 58-68 F (14-20 C). If fermented on the colder end or even below, it might generate some peach esters... which actually might be real nice in a NEIPA. (US-05 does the same thing, by the way.) One thing to be aware of: alcohol tolerance of about 9.1% for me. If using it in a barleywine or strong ale, it's likely going to quit when ABV gets that high.

I've made a few american barleywines with this yeast and it was fantastic. I did pitch a hell of a lot of yeast though each time with plenty of O2. Reyhdrated 5-6 packs per 10 gallons. So 2.5-3 packs per 5g.

One Barleywine was 1.100 OG and finished at 1.020 FG (78.5% Attenuation)

The other Barleywine was 1.112 OG and finished at 1.026 FG (75% Attenuation)

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Funnily enough, Ron's just done a table of provincial milds 1949-52 - the Bass one was 1.041.4 OG, 1.008 FG and 4.34% ABV, the Vaux one finished at 1.0029 FG. But in general the northern ones were drier than the London ones.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Hi all, I made a triple chocolate porter (Chocolate malt, Dark Chocolate malt, and cocoa powder) with Nottingham yeast that unfortunately is a dumper. It is a bit hot tasting, musty, and metallic (for lack of a better word). I've made some killer porters with very similar grain bills (albeit not with cocoa powder), so I tending to think Nottingham is the culprit. Any thoughts?

(Edit: I did an all grain version of the recipe, replacing the extract with 2-row to achieve same OG.)

Recipe

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

This yeast has a special place in my heart and I wanted to share my experiences with it. I have a "Flag Ship" beer (NEIPA) that I feel has only become this way because of the yeast. EVERY TIME I use it, I can count on it to get started within hours and finish within 3 days (I let it sit for a total of 5-7 days). At times when I have tried new things or another yeast and things didn't go as planned I know I can count on Nottingham to do its job. Does anyone else share this love / enthusiasm for this yeast?

Some notes on how I use it:

Ferment under pressure around 10-15 psi
Have fermented as low as 63 and as high as 71 with it
Always rehydrated it per DanStar instructions
Only been using it in IPAs so any fruity esters may have been welcomed or I couldn't differentiate that between the hops.

what's your dry hops schedule like? do you keg hop?

 

[Saunassa]

Could it be the cocoa powder and something in the water creating an off flavor?

 

[Virginia_Ranger]

what's your dry hops schedule like? do you keg hop?

Played with different schedules but right now I am dry hopping 3 times and really like the results - once at 24 hours (assuming fermentation is going), another around day 5, and then another cold for 1-2 weeks in the serving keg.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

I made a Blonde Ale with Nottingham a few weeks ago. I think I had used Nottingham once before, about two years ago, but I don't recall anything about the beer.

I like the Blonde Ale recipe because it's so basic that I can tweak one part of the recipe and notice the impact of the different variables. I'll change the hop, tweak the grains, or change the yeast to see what it brings to the table. All other batches have been with Safale US05.

Anyway, I'm not crazy about the way this turned out. A friend of mine is coming over tonight to have some drinks so I'll get his opinion. He's had my various Blonde Ale's and it's always a hit with him. But there's just something about this beer that I'm not loving. My last batch (with Safale) was tremendous and it went fast.

I fermented in the serving keg at 62 degrees for about 11 days (I typically do 67 degrees for 10 days with Safale US05).

 

[Saunassa]

I Iove the way Nottingham drops clear easily and the beer always turns out well. Because of this I always have a few packets in the fridge along with us-05. I had noticed a slight 'tartness' in the beer and since I was using a new hop I was not sure where it came from. I think next time I use it I will keep my mash ph on the higher end of the scale and see what happens.

 

[kelogs]

EVERY TIME I use it, I can count on it to get started within hours and finish within 3 days (I let it sit for a total of 5-7 days).

Hey, first time @ beer making here.

So then I guess this is regular behaviour for this yeast ?

It will be 3 days in about 8 hours from now and this thing is awfully anemic, bubbling once per 1 - 1.5 minutes. Fastest rate was still an anemic bubble per 8 seconds. I think it will be done really soon. Or there is something else going on...

Is it normal to have such a bland and short fermentation ? It is akin to a MLF fermentation on fruit based beverages. Room temperature was in the 17 - 15C range (63 - 59 F).

What about this light brown gunk on top of the foam, is it worrisome ?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

What was your starting SG (specific gravity), and what is it presently?

 

[gunhaus]

Hey, first time @ beer making here.

So then I guess this is regular behaviour for this yeast ?

It will be 3 days in about 8 hours from now and this thing is awfully anemic, bubbling once per 1 - 1.5 minutes. Fastest rate was still an anemic bubble per 8 seconds. I think it will be done really soon. Or there is something else going on...

Is it normal to have such a bland and short fermentation ? It is akin to a MLF fermentation on fruit based beverages. Room temperature was in the 17 - 15C range (63 - 59 F).

What about this light brown gunk on top of the foam, is it worrisome ?

Bubbles mean nothing
That is fermenting fine
The brown gunk is yeast
This looks pretty normal to me - just go and find something else to do for a few more days, and ignore the hell out of it till then.
THEN check your numbers
RDWAHAHB

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Room temperature was in the 17 - 15C range (63 - 59 F).

Ale beer yeasts that cn ferment in this range tend to ferment slower.

"awfully anemic" would be one colorful way to describe the process.

My experience with Nottingham (and US-05) are that these strains two that finish fermentation in the low 60s. My experience with some other strains (like Verdant and WLP001 dry) suggests keeping fermenting temperature above 65F. As always, YMMV.

 

[Brewdog80]

Just finishing a bitter that is 4.9% 1.042 og, 1.004 finish with Nottingham dry. Fermentation was 65f to start and 55 for most of this past week. Great yeast for English recipes

 

[kelogs]

Alrighty, reporting back.

Went ahead and added hops 3 days after having poured the cooled malt syrup. Noticed this made it revive a bit, it went on to bubble a bit more vivaciously.
Gave it another 4.5 days, racked at some 1 bubble per 10+ minutes & carbonated: Not bad!
It could have been a bit less bitter though; I shall try it again with less boiling time for the hops.

Is it just me or these beer malt syrup and yeasts behave differently from cider / wine fructose & yeasts ? Like, way less violent outgassing, way faster turnout time, dry looking yeasts coming on top of the foam in fermenter. Also CO2 foam is totally different from cider foam.

And back on topic - I have found another topic on a GB forum about this yeast - everyone agrees that, yes, for these temperatures the yeast ends its job within days.