Why does my brew store only give me Nottinham Yeast?

[ArcaneXor]

..how about for Kolsh? Notty good or not last type of brew I can think i'd make that might require specialty yeast

A Koelsch requires Koelsch yeast, or it'll taste like a regular Blonde Ale.

 

[3 Dog Brew]

I always keep some Notty on hand, "just in case". It also makes good cider. Throw some Notty in some apple juice and rack it after 3 days and you'll have semi-sweet hard cider. If you put the packets in the fridge, they'll be good for long time.

 

[tenchu_11]

I used it for cider it was nice and clean. Except the cider was like 7% alcohol and tasted very dry like water soaked in apple wood.

 

[Yooper]

Munton's Gold is a much better yeast than the stock Munton's.

I'm with Yooper on Nottingham. It's my yeast of choice for anything that does not require a specialized yeast and by that I mean a hefe, Belgian, or lager. I use it for everything from IPAs to stouts to barleywines.

All this talk of Nottingham made me change yeast for my brew today. I was going to use S04, and you guys talked me into using nottingham. It's an AAA, and I'll ferment at 63-64.

 

[david_42]

I always find yeast threads amusing because so many pros only use one or two strains.

 

[tenchu_11]

Is that a good or bad thing..only using 2 strains?

 

[rayg]

I always find yeast threads amusing because so many pros only use one or two strains.

That's partly because they are trying to make a product
reproducibly and with a distinct, recognizable taste, even
when they make a different style.
Homebrewers have the freedom of variety.

Ray

 

[tenchu_11]

Which is a better all around use Safale 05 or Nottingham. I make alot of light hoppy ales. Should i just stick to the half dozen Nottinghams I have in my fridge or is Safale a more supirior yeast?

 

[wcarter1227]

Which is a better all around use Safale 05 or Nottingham. I make alot of light hoppy ales. Should i just stick to the half dozen Nottinghams I have in my fridge or is Safale a more supirior yeast?

if you have the nottingham just use them first.

 

[Ouroboros]

if you have the nottingham just use them first.

For sure... notty is great unless you need something with a distinctive character like hefeweizen yeast. Clean, attenuative, flocculant, good EtOH tolerance, decent temperature range... Pacman and Bell's are the only two yeasts I prefer to it. I half suspect that Bells uses notty...

Half of that preference is probably the placebo effect I get from knowing how much I love a Two-Hearted or Dead Guy and expecting some part of that in my beer since I'm using the same yeast.

 

[rayg]

Which is a better all around use Safale 05 or Nottingham. I make alot of light hoppy ales. Should i just stick to the half dozen Nottinghams I have in my fridge or is Safale a more supirior yeast?

I don't think "superior" is a word that should apply to any dry yeast.
Assuming you make a starter with both, the differences are going to
be in what flavors the yeast byproducts contribute, plus the taste
of the yeast itself. Personally I don't like Nottingham, not because
it's a bad yeast, but it produces too many esters and is therefore
too "fruity", which I don't like in my ales. But many people do like it.

If you have time you should really experiment making exactly the
same light ale with several different types of yeast, say Wyeast
American Ale, Wyeast London ESB, and Wyeast London Ale III,
or the White lab equivalents. It's really more a matter of particular
flavors rather than quality.

Ray