New bad lot of Nottingham yeast ???

[Rover]

Why bother? I don't understand the loyalty. They're obviously selling a defective product. Is it "solving" the problem by buying even more of their crap and hoping at least some of it works? People need to not buy it at all so Danstar/Lallemand can get their sh!t together and figure out how they ruined their own previously successful product.

+1
I'm not buying any more of it, I'm just hoping that out of the four packs I have left, I have one that works. I just feel sorry for all the new brewers that have no idea that there's a problem and get turned off to brewing because of some $hitty yeast.

 

[mullenite]

I'll continue buying it because I like Nottingham and getting the liquid form locally can be hit or miss.

 

[dwarven_stout]

I pitched a sachel from the "bad lot" at 8 this morning into a batch of well-aerated 1.054 OG brown ale. When I got home 13 hours later, the batch was at full krausen (at 62 degrees, no less!).

 

[Rover]

Awsome!

 

[RavenChief]

+1
I'm not buying any more of it, I'm just hoping that out of the four packs I have left, I have one that works. I just feel sorry for all the new brewers that have no idea that there's a problem and get turned off to brewing because of some $hitty yeast.

Rover, I agree with you. The worst part about this problem is that new folks may get turned off to home brewing because of the problem. Also, buying extra packs of yeast from Danstar just rewards the company for not fixing their problem...

 

[Olddog]

I pitched a pack of this into a stout (OG 1.070) on 9/3 and didn't see any sign of activity until 9/6 and even then it was just a thin layer of stuff on the surface. I took a hydo sample yesterday and it was 1.031. Does that sound about right?

My target gravity is 1.014 so it still has another week or so anyway but I figured it would be lower than that.

 

[SwampassJ]

I pitched a sachel from the "bad lot" at 8 this morning into a batch of well-aerated 1.054 OG brown ale. When I got home 13 hours later, the batch was at full krausen (at 62 degrees, no less!).

Remember folks, if you want a successful fermentation with nottingham you must quote the bad lots to form a protective barrier that Danstar forgot to add, like so "bad lot".

 

[Rover]

AHHH, that's the trick. I knew I was doing something wrong!

 

[BobJones]

After 24 hours and no bubbles, I typed “Problems with Danstar Nottingham” into Google and this thread popped up.
I have brewed 10 batches of beer under identical conditions and this is the first batch that did not have vigorous airlock bubbles the next morning. This is the first time I have used Danstar.
So I went out to my trash can, dug around and located the Danstar package, scraped off the retail sticker and inspected the lot. 1080961099V. Exp 12 2011.
Quick fermentation starts are important to me as I believe they reduce the chance of infection and unwanted organism taking over the batch.
I immediately sprinkled package of Safale S-04. I will allow the yeast to set on top for 30 minutes and then I will shake vigorously. Bet she is bubbling like mad by nights end.
I was looking forward to this batch. 6lbs light, lme and 2 lbs dark, dme. 1OZ of Fuggles at 60 and 1OZ of Fuggles at 10 minutes.
The Safale04 should be decent substitute and retain the English Ale theme I was looking for.
BTW,
The airlock was tight as it had pulled a vacuum due to cooling. The original pitch temp was about 73F and the room temp is about 65F. Don’t blame this on an air leak or on any other factor.
Certainly this yeast may have taken off within 48 hours but waiting 2 days is not my style.
Cheers!

 

[Rover]

Welcome to the club, Now get ready for people to dismiss your technique. you did the right thing.

 

[smizak]

Welcome to the club, Now get ready for people to dismiss your technique. you did the right thing.

Oh snap!

 

[BobJones]

6 hours after repitching with safale s-04 there were some bubbles in airlock. This morning, she is going crazy. Both the Danstar and Safale were shipped together from California so I cannot blame it on the shipping. The Danstar got off to a very slow start (no bubbles or foam after 30 hours) and I was not about to wait around and see if it ever got it in gear.

Safale has worked for me every time. Wyeast smack packs are great but a little spendy.

 

[Teacher]

Not to be argumentative, but it could just as easily have been the Notty that was taking off.

 

[robertbartsch]

Has anyone heard back from the manufacturor?

Someone should consider sending them a link to this thread so they could read it. If I owned the company, I would want to know what people are reporting to others about my product.

I would gladly post the link in an e-mail to the manufacturor but I have not used any Notty from this lot yet. Someone that has had issues should do this, I suppose.

 

[Rover]

Has anyone heard back from the manufacturor?

Someone should consider sending them a link to this thread so they could read it. If I owned the company, I would want to know what people are reporting to others about my product.

I would gladly post the link in an e-mail to the manufacturor but I have not used any Notty from this lot yet. Someone that has had issues should do this, I suppose.

\Yeah, you don't really need to. I sent an email with this thread, the thread with the experiment, my experience with detailed brewing process.

Still no reply

 

[DryHeave]

I'm sure glad I seen this thread before I used 2 packs of Notty with the lot# in question. One of them has no air in it, as though it was improperly packaged. The other has a small amount of air as usual.

When I first started reading this thread, I first thought I'd make a starter to be sure, but now I'm having second thoughts about using it at all. I intended to use Notty (for it's dry finish) on 10 gallons of an English IPA I have planned, but I don't want to take the chance. I want a dry finish so I guess I'll have to mash at lower temps and use US-05 or WLP001 or put off this recipe until I can get some WLP013. My LHBS is 40miles away...

 

[Rover]

If you're used to the way Notty should act and you rehydrate, you will know right away if it's bad or not. Just make sure you have a backup.

 

[Brewham]

My LHBS has a whole bin full of the suspect lot. I can't bring myself to buy one and I don't know how to break the bad news to them. What to do?

 

[DryHeave]

If you're used to the way Notty should act and you rehydrate, you will know right away if it's bad or not. Just make sure you have a backup.

That's the problem, I don't want to paint myself into a corner on brew day. If the Notty is questionable come brew day, I'd have to know before I mash. I could pitch a backup (I have WLP001, WLP008, US004, US05, or Danstar Windsor) but I don't think any of them will give the dry finish I'm after unless I lower my mash temp to 146-148 instead of the planned 152. Or add some corn sugar, but I'd rather not do that. It's an English IPA so the dry finish is pretty important to me... So, I kind of have to know before hand.

 

[smizak]

If you're used to the way Notty should act and you rehydrate, you will know right away if it's bad or not. Just make sure you have a backup.

+1,000,000

I absolutely knew that the packs of Notty I had wouldn't ferment. I just sat in the warm water like grains of rice.

I also knew it was the US-05 I re-pitched with that was fermenting. The Nottingham wasn't even in suspension after 24 hrs in the wort. You could read a newspaper through the carboy, usually during the growth phase of yeast, just before airlock activity, the wort looks like orange juice because of all the yeast reproducing and in suspension.

 

[smizak]

That's the problem, I don't want to paint myself into a corner on brew day. If the Notty is questionable come brew day, I'd have to know before I mash. I could pitch a backup (I have WLP001, WLP008, US004, US05, or Danstar Windsor) but I don't think any of them will give the dry finish I'm after unless I lower my mash temp to 146-148 instead of the planned 152. Or add some corn sugar, but I'd rather not do that. It's an English IPA so the dry finish is pretty important to me... So, I kind of have to know before hand.

Wyeast 1028 is terrific in an English IPA. Attenuative and leaves a minerally dry finish. Love it in my N. English browns, which I prefer a little drier than most. I was going to use 1028 in mine, but the LHBS was out, so I bought bunk Nottingham instead. Then re-pitched with US-05. The beer is quite good for not using entirely English yeast.

 

[DryHeave]

Wyeast 1028 is terrific in an English IPA. Attenuative and leaves a minerally dry finish. Love it in my N. English browns, which I prefer a little drier than most. I was going to use 1028 in mine, but the LHBS was out, so I bought bunk Nottingham instead. Then re-pitched with US-05. The beer is quite good for not using entirely English yeast.

Thanks for the heads up! But I gotta tell ya, I don't see much Wyeast in this area. Granted I'm just getting back into brewing. Even 5 years back when I was brewing a lot, White Labs was everywhere, Wyeast - not so much. The LHBS I currently go to has 15-20 different WL strains, maybe 3-4 Wyeast...

 

[RavenChief]

Thanks for the heads up! But I gotta tell ya, I don't see much Wyeast in this area. Granted I'm just getting back into brewing. Even 5 years back when I was brewing a lot, White Labs was everywhere, Wyeast - not so much. The LHBS I currently go to has 15-20 different WL strains, maybe 3-4 Wyeast...

White labs "Dry English Ale yeast" WLP 007, I think will give you the dry flavor you are looking for.

 

[mullenite]

Err... for a liquid equivalent to Nottingham why would you not get WLP039.

 

[RavenChief]

Err... for a liquid equivalent to Nottingham why would you not get WLP039.

Hmmm...
That would be like cheating

 

[DryHeave]

White labs "Dry English Ale yeast" WLP 007, I think will give you the dry flavor you are looking for.

Err... for a liquid equivalent to Nottingham why would you not get WLP039.

Thanks Guys! I'm sure either of those strains will work just fine. Though I'm loosely following an English IPA recipe by Jamil Zainasheff from "Brewing Classic Styles" and it calls for WLP013, Wyeast 1028, or Danstar Notty. I'd like to stick with one of those if I have to drive to get more yeast (25-40 miles one way depending on which LHBS). He goes on to say that a less attenuative yeast can be used, but to lower the mash temp accordingly. I have these in the fridge: WLP001, WLP004(might try this), WLP008, US-04, US-05, Danstar Windsor. I have the grainbills for my next 4 batches, so I may put it off for a while. Decisions, decisions.

On a side note, I made a 950ml/1cup DME starter yesterday afternoon and dumped a pack of Notty in. It's been about 14 hours and still nothing, just sitting on the bottom. Also, there was quite a bit of yeast (1tsp) that was stuck in the bottom of the package. This lot# is not acting like the Notty I've used in the past. It's usually chugging along within 6 hours. I have 1 more package of Notty, might make a starter for that one today and see what it does. I know people say wait 72 hrs, but as far as I'm concerned, 24hrs max is my dry yeast comfort zone, especially with a starter - minimal to no yeast reproduction needed.

 

[robertbartsch]

I thought I only had 2 or 3 packs of this yeast. Yesterday, I counted my stash and found six packets of Notty!

I plan on waiting some more before I try to use them. Hopefully, they will be recalled.

 

[DeNomad]

Hmm I am sitting at 48 hrs with no apparent fermentation with OG 1.060. I rehydrated and pitched 2 packs of notty. If the yeast are multiplying do you figure my SG has budged?

Whatya guys figure, repitch another pack of notty, or Safale 04, Safale 05 or Wyeast 1028?

 

[DryHeave]

On a side note, I made a 950ml/1cup DME starter yesterday afternoon and dumped a pack of Notty in. It's been about 14 hours and still nothing, just sitting on the bottom. Also, there was quite a bit of yeast (1tsp) that was stuck in the bottom of the package. This lot# is not acting like the Notty I've used in the past. It's usually chugging along within 6 hours. I have 1 more package of Notty, might make a starter for that one today and see what it does. I know people say wait 72 hrs, but as far as I'm concerned, 24hrs max is my dry yeast comfort zone, especially with a starter - minimal to no yeast reproduction needed.

Update: Started to see tiny bubbles @ about 36 hours. It's been about 60 hours now and there seems to be VERY minor surface activity. Yeast is still at the bottom, so no change there. No krausen to speak of, a few SMALL areas of "foam", smell is off - not rancid but a bit sour almost. My sanitation is right on, the other 3 starters I did at the same time have krausened', the yeast have fell out and they smell fine.

I wish Danstar would address this issue. I just can't believe this thread would have made it to 20+ pages if there was not a problem. And this isn't the only forum where it's being talked about. I've always liked Notty, but there's no way I'm going to chance it. I've lost confidence in it and Danstar's quality control...

 

[smizak]

Sounds like lacto. Pitch some good yeast and you could have an interesting sour beer.