low attenuation with Nottingham dry

[stale]

hey guys and gals, don't know if I had a problem. used Nottingham for the first time 2 wks ago on 2 different brews 1st a Brown Ale and 2nd a Stout. OG on 1st was 1.053. OG on 2nd, 1.063, I used 1 pack of Notingham on the 1st and 2 packs on the 2nd. Just finished racking to secondary for both and took a hydro sample. only getting a 1.020 on the 1st and just 1.032 on the 2nd. I've NEVER had a beer with this high a FG let alone 2 at once. Is this normal for Nottingham or do I need to repitch some more yeast on either or both to bring them down. BTW, I tasted the sample and they didn't taste bad just don't know? Any suggestions or insites would be appreciated.

 

[bradsul]

You should really check your reading BEFORE you rack, if you're still that high racking is not what you wanted to do.

Nottingham is a voracious little beastie so I'm surprised you had it stall like that. At what temperature did you have the fermenters?

 

[stale]

I was at about 70-72F. Yeah, it's just that I had them in the primary for 2 wks and have never ever had an FG like these after 2 wks. Thought I was safe.

 

[bradsul]

I would probably add more rehydrated yeast to each fermenter at this point, you have a long way to go and there may not be enough yeast left to finish it off.

 

[s3n8]

I have not had a beer finish that high since i got my o2 rig and started oxygenating. Prior to that, several finished that high with WL 001, Nottingham, and S-05. How did you aerate?

 

[EamusCatuli]

Could it just be that racking it disturbed the quality of the reading in anyway? Sort of like how when you dont mix an extract batch very well before you take the OG? Just spit balling here.....I would take another reading after it settles more....

 

[beermetoo]

waste of time aerating dry yeast... no need... rehydrate yeast at 85 to 95F in water. resist the urge to stir for about 15 minute-- once its no longer dry.

dido on the racking too early part too...

 

[newbrewr4fun]

I have not had a beer finish that high since i got my o2 rig and started oxygenating. Prior to that, several finished that high with WL 001, Nottingham, and S-05. How did you aerate?

I Personally have been under the impression that the aerating is done by pouring the wort over the pitched yeast aggressivley. After that is there something else that needs to be done?

 

[Yooper]

When you boil wort/water, it drives off oxygen. So, it's good to pour, stir, shake, etc to add oxygen back into the wort before you pitch the yeast. Yeast need oxygen in order to reproduce and to be healthy. If you're using top up water, that water usually has enough oxygen in it. For all-grain brewers (or extract brewers who boil the whole 5 gallons), this is more of a concern because they aren't adding water to the brew. I use an aquarium pump for about 1/2 hour before pitching my yeast, to aerate my wort.

Anyway, back to the OP's question- I would think that a beer with a SG of 1.032 or so would taste sweet. If it's not sweet, could it be an inaccurate SG reading? If you take the SGs again, and they are still high, more yeast should be pitched.

Nottingham always goes gangbusters for me- I'm scratching me head here wondering why you had a problem.

 

[s3n8]

I Personally have been under the impression that the aerating is done by pouring the wort over the pitched yeast aggressivley. After that is there something else that needs to be done?

I bought an o2 stone from morebeer.com and a couple o2canisters from Lowes. None of my beers have finished high since I began aerating. The highest FG was 1.016 on a rather big beer (OG = 1.076) so I got above 75% attenuation. Similar results for both liquid and dry yeast. I have been doing full boils, so no top-off water to increase aeration.

Check this thread over on the green board for the measured efficacy for different aeration methods.

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=88898

beermetoo waste of time aerating dry yeast... no need... rehydrate yeast at 85 to 95F in water. resist the urge to stir for about 15 minute-- once its no longer dry.

dido on the racking too early part too...

I agree that racking early can stunt fermentation. But as far as aerating being a waste of time when using dry yeast, I have to disagree. If you know better than the rest of us, please do enlighten us. Throwing unsubstantiated statements like that out there may do more harm than good. Not aerating wort when using dry yeast goes against everything I have read, and most posts on this board. [citation needed]

 

[stale]

I rack my cooled wort from my brew pot letting it drop thru a sanitzed strainer from about 2 ft. then after pitching yeast I froth it all up whith my slotted stir paddle really agitating it until I have about an inch or two of foam on top then cover and airlock it. Like I said, I've never had a problem with this method since I started brewing about 3 yrs ago. The only thing different this time was (1) I didn't rehydrate and (2) I used Nottingham for the first time. I racked to secondary because (1) after 2wks it should have been finished per past experience and (2) the yeast was well sedimented and tight on the bottom of the fermenter. It had definetly dropped out. The racking came across to the secondary very clear looking. So I'm really just scratching my head here. So should I just rehydrate so more dry yeast? I have 2 vials of some WLP 004 Irish Yeast (liquid), 1 packet dry Windsor ale yeast and 1 packet dry Safale US-05. Or do you think I should go and get more Nottinghams since that was I started with?
BTW Yooper, it did not taste sweet more of a vinuos tart flavor at this point. I couldn't hardly believe it either so tested the hydro 3 times, making sure that I bobbed the top of the hydro and let it resettle to the reading . checked to see thqt there weere not any airbubbles trapped under it or on either side. Of course these 2 beers are the product of a day long brew session with my little brother and his wife that had come about 200 miles on Memorial day weekend.