Problems with Nottingham?

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rlp518

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Anyone having any issues with Nottingham lately? Slow starts? Off flavors? Last few batches have had both.
 
I haven't brewed with Notty lately, as I avoid this yeast like the bubonic plague as soon as I know the fermentation temps with be North of 65F.

But the last time I used it, it was boring business as usual. Slowish-starter, boring fermentation, not particularly quick to ferment and clean enough to be completely non-perceptible in an otherwise flavorful beer.
 


The only problem I had is that it almost exploded my pitcher to collect blowoff. Fast fermentation, extremely violent fermentation within 24 hours and beer turned out amazing. Are you controlling your fermentation temperature at all? Swamp coolers are efficient and cheap to make.
 
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I haven't brewed with Notty lately, as I avoid this yeast like the bubonic plague as soon as I know the fermentation temps with be North of 65F.

But the last time I used it, it was boring business as usual. Slowish-starter, boring fermentation, not particularly quick to ferment and clean enough to be completely non-perceptible in an otherwise flavorful beer.

Lol... I think you're doing it wrong.

Clean, quick start, quick ferment (2-3 days down to FG), high attenuation, highly flocculent, clean flavor.

Good up to ~68°.
 
Yeah, what @psylocide said. Mine even got extremely cold at one point due to a severe shift in weather while I was at work one day.
 
rip518. I had a batch of Nottingham that went off too vigorously and the beer tasted like bananas. That was during a heatwave and my ferment closet was about 10 degrees higher than it should have been. The batch was a pour-out. My hero, Ed Wort uses Notty and his robust Porter was beyond good so I kept trying.
I have used Notty multiple times since then. It loves to ferment at about 63 degrees and goes off pretty fast, flocculates well, and stays under control with no off flavors.
 
I don't use it at 68F, so maybe that's why it's not as explosive ?!?!
 
I did a Mild with nottinghma a couple months ago. No off flavors or anything
 
Got an IPA finishing up right now, got to lazy to make a starter so I used Notty. Notty is a beast, love it. No issues

EDIT- I use it at low temps...58-65
 
Lol... I think you're doing it wrong.

Clean, quick start, quick ferment (2-3 days down to FG), high attenuation, highly flocculent, clean flavor.

Good up to ~68°.

:off:

Hey, I keep seeing that Donatello SMaSH brew in your sig and I feel the need to ask about it. Did you do any other of the turtles? And what makes it Donatello themed? TMNT was my absolute favorite thing as a kid. I cant remember how many times I was Donatello for Halloween, or any other random day. I even bought my new car (2015 dark green ford fusion) cause I think the grill makes the front look like a ninja turtle. Just need to add a purple racing stripe that goes around the headlights.....

Back on topic, I stopped using Nottingham when I noticed about 50% of the brews I used it in had weird off flavors....I prefer US-05 if I need to use dry yeast
 
:off:

Hey, I keep seeing that Donatello SMaSH brew in your sig and I feel the need to ask about it. Did you do any other of the turtles? And what makes it Donatello themed? TMNT was my absolute favorite thing as a kid. I cant remember how many times I was Donatello for Halloween, or any other random day. I even bought my new car (2015 dark green ford fusion) cause I think the grill makes the front look like a ninja turtle. Just need to add a purple racing stripe that goes around the headlights.....

Back on topic, I stopped using Nottingham when I noticed about 50% of the brews I used it in had weird off flavors....I prefer US-05 if I need to use dry yeast

1. Donatello is awesome, best turtle, easily

2. I used Amarillo... I thought Donatello was fitting.

3. @TheCADJockey and I both did MO SMaSHes, same recipe, different hops... we are going to swap and do it again at some point in the future. He did Shredder. Good vs. Bad.
 
last batch, i used notty. went nuts at 67 and in a couple days had already blasted 1/2 gallon out of the blowoff. big mess, loss of beer. but it fermented out in 3 days.
i have plans to wash it for an upcoming lemon/rosemary pale.
 
The 3 batches of beer with nottingham i've made all had similar off flavors and gave me digestive problems, haven't touch the stuff in a couple years
 
last batch, i used notty. went nuts at 67 and in a couple days had already blasted 1/2 gallon out of the blowoff. big mess, loss of beer. but it fermented out in 3 days.
i have plans to wash it for an upcoming lemon/rosemary pale.

That's why I use a 7.5 gal carboy for 5.5 gal batches.
 
1. Donatello is awesome, best turtle, easily

2. I used Amarillo... I thought Donatello was fitting.

3. @TheCADJockey and I both did MO SMaSHes, same recipe, different hops... we are going to swap and do it again at some point in the future. He did Shredder. Good vs. Bad.

So... recipe?

:D
 
Anyone having any issues with Nottingham lately? Slow starts? Off flavors? Last few batches have had both.

Notty was the reason I almost quit brewing in 2012.

I haven't touched it since, but I'm getting ready for an Foreign Extra Stout so I have 1/2 gallon of the stuff ready to brew. I think with precise temp controls on the lower side of the threshold, secondary, I should be able to keep those off flavors in place..

good luck...
 
i ferment with it @ 60F and the krausen is pretty tame. doesnt get higher than 2 inches above the wort.
 
Maris Otter / Nugget hops / Notty and 4 freshly ground turtles added at flameout.

Thanks!

We have lots of turtles in the lake I live on (small community, man-made lake) that ought to add some... interesting flavours.

:mug:
 
Yes, I think so. I just recently bottled a batch that would not stop fermenting in secondary. Took about two days to get going. Something I might have done wrong to help cause thus is pitch right on top of beer, no rehydration. So I think either yeast mutation or contaminated yeast. I couldn't get fermentation to stop until I got Temps down to 58 degrees. I still have some hope in bottle, rapidly dwindling. I primed with malt extract to give it back some body, but I think I have 5 gallons of hop tea. To be fair, the yeast spent about a year in the fridge, and the kit was a year old. Too much attenuation, no flavor or body left.
 
This thread is like a breath of fresh air! I've made roughly 20 all-grain batches so far. Nearly half of them have been borderline terrible, I usually just give it away. I spent months of troubleshooting and was about to give up completely. I went back and reviewed all of my batches; sure as Sh%t, all the bad ones had Nottingham. I'm sure the yeast is fine when used correctly. I obviously haven't been using it correctly. I ferment in my basement with an ambient temperature of 62-64F. I need to start measuring the temperature of the actual wort. I also need to look at making a swamp cooler.
 
This thread sounds exactly like two things.
This was everyone was saying about notty about 5-6-7 years ago
This is what everyone (around here anyway) is saying about US 05 today
 
I am no Notty loyalist (it's ok) but I think I am more inclined to raise an eyebrow at people's processes before outright blaming a particular yeast strain.
So far several people that have poor results have mentioned:
1) year old yeast in fridge
2) yeast pitched dry
3) fermentation temps raising (62-64 Deg ambient could potentially be 68+ in the fermenter)

I have used both S05 and Notty with great results. I have also used both and had less than stellar results. The brews that went wrong? You guessed it - mistakes during brew day. That's why it's so important to keep good notes.
So unless there is an actual manufacturing defect that Danstar has admitted to, I tend to take most of these complaints with a grain of salt.
I do agree with some of the other posters here - Notty is clean if unspectacular.
 
If you don't have fermentation temp control, and end up with less than stellar tasting beer... make a swamp cooler. Its that simple. If you don't know what it is, go to Target and buy a rubbermaid tote that your FV will fit in. Put said FV in the tote. Fill tote with water up to the line of your beer. Put a shirt over it. Add frozen bottles to water as needed.
 
I am no Notty loyalist (it's ok) but I think I am more inclined to raise an eyebrow at people's processes before outright blaming a particular yeast strain.
So far several people that have poor results have mentioned:
1) year old yeast in fridge
2) yeast pitched dry
3) fermentation temps raising (62-64 Deg ambient could potentially be 68+ in the fermenter)

I have used both S05 and Notty with great results. I have also used both and had less than stellar results. The brews that went wrong? You guessed it - mistakes during brew day. That's why it's so important to keep good notes.

I definitely believe this is the case with me. I've ruled out almost everything that I do on brew day. I believe in my case it is temperature. There is no way I can say Nottingham is terrible when there are literally thousands of people that use it successfully. When I do use it again, I'll be using a swamp cooler.
 
For those of us with questioned looks on our faces and taste buds, would you folks care to throw out anything resembling a flavor, noun, adjective, modifying participle to help us with what "off flavor" might be? Are we talking banana or worm entrails? Bandaid, clove, medicine or 4 day old diaper results of feeding infants jalepeno pea puree?
 
For those of us with questioned looks on our faces and taste buds, would you folks care to throw out anything resembling a flavor, noun, adjective, modifying participle to help us with what "off flavor" might be? Are we talking banana or worm entrails? Bandaid, clove, medicine or 4 day old diaper results of feeding infants jalepeno pea puree?

For me, it's an alcohol/slightly metallic/band-aid type taste on the back-end. I can't accurately describe what the taste is, but it's always on the back-end. I even took it to my LHBS and he couldn't exactly pinpoint the taste. I don't seem to have this back-end taste with any other type yeast. I don't care where it's coming from(yeast or not), as long as I can fix it.
 
For those of us with questioned looks on our faces and taste buds, would you folks care to throw out anything resembling a flavor, noun, adjective, modifying participle to help us with what "off flavor" might be? Are we talking banana or worm entrails? Bandaid, clove, medicine or 4 day old diaper results of feeding infants jalepeno pea puree?

I got a weird sort of earthy/oaky/harshness from an English IPA fermented at 62F, ramped up to 66F over a week or so that I have come to associate with Nottingham. We've brewed the recipe with other yeasts without that particularly Nottingham character and I get that flavor on occasion from certain commercial beers. At this point, I just think of it as "Nottingham flavor".
 
I'm currently fermenting at 71-72 degrees, does this mean my nottingham is screwed flavor wise? It's still the first 24 hours of fermentation and it's going crazy with activity.
 
I got a weird sort of earthy/oaky/harshness from an English IPA fermented at 62F, ramped up to 66F over a week or so that I have come to associate with Nottingham. We've brewed the recipe with other yeasts without that particularly Nottingham character and I get that flavor on occasion from certain commercial beers. At this point, I just think of it as "Nottingham flavor".

Did you rehydrate? what was the pitch temp? pitch rate? age of yeast?

I love UK ales/IPAs/bitters for their earthy notes. Are you sure this isn't just simply the result of the style?
 
Brewed a chocolate stout and my WL002 repitch wouldn't cooperate so I thew in the notty at the low 60's. Seems almost done after a week, slowly ramping it up to the high 60's. I'll let you know how this works out.
 
As long as you keep it below 67*F when it's actively fermenting, you should have no issues with Notty. It will work successfully as low as 55*F. It's my go-to dry ale yeast that also does a great job on ciders.
 
Did you rehydrate? what was the pitch temp? pitch rate? age of yeast?

I love UK ales/IPAs/bitters for their earthy notes. Are you sure this isn't just simply the result of the style?

11 grams, rehydrated, in 5.5 gallons of 1.056 wort, pitched at 62F and ramped up to 66F over a week, as noted above. Again, I have brewed the same recipe with other English yeasts several times and only the Nottingham batch exhibited this "Nottingham weirdness". While I am by no means an expert on UK styles, I have no hesitation attributing this flavor to this yeast.
 
Perhaps the "Nottingham Weirdness" is a subjective thing. I don't use this yeast very often because I find it a bit on the boring side - but maybe that's just me. I prefer S-04 for my English Ales. I have seen other people complain that they don't like the profile that S-04 brings. To each their own I guess.
 
Glad to hear that the fermentation goes pretty quick with this one. This was the first time I've used it, i brewed Sunday and it was churning good by Monday morning. Added a blow off tube just in case so i wouldn't come home to a mess and by Tuesday it was stagnant. I'm gonna let it sit til the weekend and pull a sample. Hope it turns out good.
 
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