Nottingham - horrible smell!

[Teacher]

I've used Notty many times in the past with no odd smells. While I've pretty much switched to US-05, I had one packet of Notty left. I don't know if it's the batch that had troubles, but I never had any troubles with the packets I'd purchased before this. I decided to use it up just to get it out of my fridge.

It was really slow to start, like several days. I've had slow starts with other yeasts before, so I didn't think anything of it. However, it soon started to smell like a sewer - feces and sulphur. It was pretty strong. It has subsided, but it's still there.

I know, I know, these things happen. But this is Notty, and I'm fanatic about my sanitation (I know that doesn't mean I'm perfect, but I've never had an infection, and there are no bacterial skins or anything else in the fermenter).

Any ideas? Do I likely have a dumper? Or has anybody else experienced this with Notty?

 

[Clonefarmer]

I've used Notty many times in the past with no odd smells. While I've pretty much switched to US-05, I had one packet of Notty left. I don't know if it's the batch that had troubles, but I never had any troubles with the packets I'd purchased before this. I decided to use it up just to get it out of my fridge.

It was really slow to start, like several days. I've had slow starts with other yeasts before, so I didn't think anything of it. However, it soon started to smell like a sewer - feces and sulphur. It was pretty strong. It has subsided, but it's still there.

I know, I know, these things happen. But this is Notty, and I'm fanatic about my sanitation (I know that doesn't mean I'm perfect, but I've never had an infection, and there are no bacterial skins or anything else in the fermenter).

Any ideas? Do I likely have a dumper? Or has anybody else experienced this with Notty?

This happened to a friend of mine recently. We're not sure how it happened. There was a long lag time for us as well. The lot number was 1087117102.

 

[Teacher]

This happened to a friend of mine recently. We're not sure how it happened. There was a long lag time for us as well. The lot number was 1087117102.

Any news on how it turned out?

Anybody else?

 

[Clonefarmer]

Any news on how it turned out?

Anybody else?

The funk mellowed out, but didn't go away completely. Tasted fine although the smell was not appealing at all.

 

[Teacher]

Well, I'll just play the waiting game.

 

[kypher]

Don't dump it until you've tasted it brother. I have an american lager going right now that I was fanatic about sanitation as well and when I opened my little fermentation chamber this past weekend I honestly thought my cat had snuck in there and taken a dump. It was seriously awful. But I've learned my lesson about dumping beers so I let it sit outside under a blanket for 5 days to let the smell subside. Just tasted it and it's probably the best lager I've ever tasted.

The moral:
Don't rule out that you messed up, but don't "rule it in" either. So to speak...

 

[Teacher]

UPDATE: Last night I added the honey boiled in water. It had been about 2.5 weeks since pitching, and it now smells normal. I didn't taste it, but I'm assuming all will be fine. Yay for me!

 

[goose1873]

nottingham is poo...It's now like playing russian roulette. If you play long enough it will get you! pay the extra dollar for fermentis products (us-05/s-04)

It's not worth the ingredients and headache that get wasted when it doesn't work...I wouldn't use it again if it was free...

 

[pernox]

I have brewed five batches with Nottingham lately. The three that had Chinook hops smelled like farts during fermentation. The other two had only Cascade and German Tettnanger, respectively, and did not smell like farts.

No idea if there's a corrolation here, because I'm also pretty new.

 

[cookietruck]

i did a stout with nottingham recently.
first time i've ever used it.
i didn't rehydrate, so it lagged for a whole day.
krausen was huge and it got down where it needed to be real fast.
i let it sit for two week in primary then bottled.

the yeast cake smelled really nasty. the beer smells and tastes fine.

 

[Photopilot]

I did a apfelwein with Notty. If you search for threads you will see mine on the same subject. It went away after 2 days and the AW is drinking fine. I just hope you have a fermenting room also so a whole portion of your house does not smell like my one room did.

 

[Teacher]

I wonder if this smell is a by-product of the "new" Notty, because I never noticed this before. I've used Nottingham probably ten to fifteen times with no problems, which is why this threw me for a loop.

Oh, and I unfortunately don't have a dedicated brewing room. At first, I thought the sewer had backed up into my basement (not kidding).

 

[neuron555]

I have an IPA that I just moved to secondary to dry hop. I used a package of Nottingham that was probably old and it hadn't started after three days. I went my LHBS and got a fresh package and it started right up. A couple days later I went to the basement and thought something had died down there or the sewer had backed up. The airlock was almost overpowering with sulfur. After a few days it settled down and smelled alot better, but I can still catch a whiff of it. I'm working under the assumption that it will clear by the time I bottle, but I've only had the sulfur with lagers, and not this strong. I've used Notty several times before. Any thoughts on why it would do this sometimes?

- fairly standard IPA with Perle and Cascade

 

[onemanlan]

Notty was good to me as well. It turned my porter into a clean sexy beast with no yeasty after-taste. It smelled fine the whole time it fermented and it was a quick worker at that. Where as US-05 tasted like **** at the bottom of the bottle and left a horrible taste. I have had to use multiple packs of Notty so maybe I haven't played the roulette game like others have. There is a chance that if there was a lag time for the Notty that some type of bacterial infection took root. Just watch it play out.

 

[earthboundagain]

I am currently brewing up a batch of northern english brown ale, using notty. It has been fermenting along at 64 degrees and is giving off a big banana aroma. I am hoping it turns out to be a nice brew.

 

[cimirie]

I've had this same occurance with Notty all 3 times I've used it. It has never effected the taste or the aroma of the beer once bottled.

My most recent brew used US-05. It too smelled like an outhouse while fermenting. I think yeast sometimes just has montezuma's revenge!

 

[ballzac]

Hey, I made a northern English Brown Ale with Notty. I accidentally fermented hotter than I meant to (about 75 IIRC). It was giving off banana esters as yours is, but faded after a couple of weeks in secondary. It turned out to be one of my best beers. I think that Notty really showcases the malt flavours in English beers.

I always use a starter, and I think if there was anything wrong with the batch of yeast, I would notice before ever pitching the starter into the fermenter.

I think Nottingham is a good yeast. Being so neutral, it is very versatile, and I know many use it as their stand-by yeast for just about any British and, at a pinch American, ales.

I'm using S-04 for the first time at the moment, and very happy with it, but I wouldn't want to use it all the time, as everything might come out tasting pretty much the same.

 

[neuron555]

I don't think it is an infection since the smell is getting better. I was just surprised since I hadn't noticed the sulfur my previous batches. Maybe it was the baked beans I threw in the fermenter.

 

[Jaybrinks]

Yeah, I re hydrated my notty and it smelled like sulfur right in the jar....I had never rehydrated before....always just sprinkled......this was a disgusting smell....I pitched it into 10 gallons anyway.....we'll see.

 

[JawZziff]

reviving a really old thread here. I've just done a brew with leftovers, an ipa with northern brewer bittering and Willamette aroma hops. had it in primary for 5 days with Nottingham and just racked it to secondary and dry hop. the sample I tried definitely had a rotten egg/sulfur smell but the taste was fine. Ive been using this yeast the last few batches and never experienced this before. I've been liking this yeast so this thread is reassuring that nothing is wrong.

just wanted to comment.

 

[user 125772]

It's not uncommon for sulfur compounds to be expelled during furnentation...this is why we don't ferment under pressure.

It's critical for you to control the fermenting temperature according to the manufacturers recommendations to minimize unwanted flavors, and aromas.

It's also critical to pitch a healthy colony of yeast to ensure you have a normal lag period . A beer that's has a 3-day lag is considered a likely failure in my brewery.

I use Nottingham for a couple beers, but I typically use starters to ferment he 10 or 15 gallon batches, so 90% of the time they're fermenting by 12 hours.