Nottingham Fermenting temps

[TacoGuthrie]

I was told by my LHBS that Notty temp range is 14-24C (58-75F). I was just wondering what effect it has if I ferment on the low end vs the high end.

ie - do I leave the baseboard heater off in my brew room and it'll be around 60 or do i turn it on and have the room at 70?

I just brewed an IPA last night.

 

[Yooper]

I like Nottingham fermented in the 59-62 range. It's "clean" and neutral, and there are no yeast flavors, no esters, etc. At the high end, it's very fruity and not in a pleasant way to me.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Yooper is correct. I like to ferment Nottingham in the low 60's for a nice clean profile.

 

[TacoGuthrie]

Does that noticeably slow down your fermenting times at the lower temp?

 

[Yooper]

I don't know, to be honest. I just sort of "pitch it and forget it". I almost never ferment a beer at 70 degrees or more, so I tend to have slow and steady fermentations. I pitch the yeast, and come back to it in a week or two. I don't know if they are fast or slow, since I don't really notice it much.

 

[tgrier]

Personally, I tried Notty a lot when I first started because it seemed so popular here.

I would agree with Yooper - if too high .. it has an "smell" to it that I do not like.

I really like 05 and use it all the time. I live in Austin and ferment in a spare bedroom and my temp control is not exact. 05 produces a more consist flavor profile for me and there is not that smell that bothers me.

T$

 

[TacoGuthrie]

Thanks Yooper, I've used notty in my first few brews all at high 60s. I will try this one at 60 in the hopes that it makes a cleaner beer.

 

[TacoGuthrie]

I really like 05 and use it all the time. I live in Austin and ferment in a spare bedroom and my temp control is not exact. 05 produces a more consist flavor profile for me and there is not that smell that bothers me.

I live in a very temperate climate in NW Canada. Even in the summer the temp in my brew room won't get much over 70. winter temps can get low if the heat isn't on though.

I'm interested in trying 05 but I don't think they stock it. All i can really get around here is notty, windsor and coopers. I'll look into it though.

 

[gplutt]

The three times I've used Nottingham I've put it down right at 58 degrees. I imagine that it would slow it down a bit, but I've gotten good attenuation on it by just leaving it alone for a couple weeks.

edit: it has become my "go-to yeast" for clean profile beers.

 

[Aspera]

While I agree the above, Nottingham tolerates a very wide range of temperatures as well as frequent temperature fluctuations. Essentially.....don't worry about it.

 

[bob1852]

I just sort of "pitch it and forget it".

we need to get Ron Popeil into homebrewing! he made a ton of money with "set it and forget it" with his invention!

 

[snailsongs]

I've been having a lot of sharp-ish flavors, some almost plasticy and some not but sharp for sure, in my brews.......It just dawned on me last week that it may be from fermenting at too high a temp, so I just brewed up an Oatmeal Stout on the high end (1.062) w/ 2lbs of oats and my target for this brew is to make it as smooth as silk and eliminate nearly all "sharp" flavors (outside of the built in roastiness - I don't want it bland like a guinness draught or anything). to that end, I pitched two packs of S-04 and after 24 hours at 60-61 degrees it's begun a slow (hopefully steady) climb to the finish.......I'm going to try to let it secondary in the basement for a month or two before I bottle it, too, to further smooth it out.

.....My point is that I think those high temps really can add some funny off-ness to your brew. I have read like thirty posts here where people say their beer made the most dramatic improvements when they started controlling temps......I feel stupid that it took me 30 posts to absorb that!

 

[conpewter]

I pitched two packs of S-04 and after 24 hours at 60-61 degrees it's begun a slow (hopefully steady) climb to the finish.......I'm going to try to let it secondary in the basement for a month or two before I bottle it, too, to further smooth it out.

Letting it secondary for a couple months is a great idea (I also like to leave it in primary for 3 weeks). I find that I don't enjoy the aroma on an oatmeal stout until it's had a fair bit of aging, others might be different. Oatmeal stouts are one of my favorite styles.

 

[TacoGuthrie]

In terms of controlling temperatures i think i have the opposite problems from most posters. Most folks need to control their temps from getting too high, it seems. I have to control mine from getting too low. If i don't turn on heat in the brew room it can get down to 50. I'm sure that will change as temperatures warmed up but i just checked the temp this morning in there and it was 56 at 7 am.

I think i'll let it do it's thing for a week or so then move to the secondary for another 2 when i get a stable fg.

thanks for your posts!

 

[farmbrewernw]

I use Notty for pretty much all of my beers, I like to ferment right around 65deg. If you do ferment Notty over 70 it does give off a lot of esters that are not all that good. I'm going to build a temperature controlled fermentation cabinet in the next couple of months, I think this will finally allow me to consistently make great beers.