Nottingham yeast slow to get started

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HighHops

Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by HighHops » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:37 pm

24 hours after pitching I've got no krausen and no activity. Nottingham yeast rehydrated for 1/2 hour in preboiled cooled water and pitched in to well aerated wort at 23C. Wort has cooled to 18C.

Didn't do anything unusual that I can think of. Rehydrated yeast went milky as normal before pitching!

First time I've used Nottingham. Is it normally a slow starter? Should I give it a chance or pitch my emergency SO4?

Zapp Brannigan

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Zapp Brannigan » Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:16 am

I normally expect nottingham to start within 12 hours.

steve_flack

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by steve_flack » Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:18 am

There were some problems with dodgy batches of Nottingham a while back. I don't know the batch numbers (and you might have thrown the sachet away) but maybe that's why.

Normally I would expect Nottingham to get going pretty quickly.

mysterio

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by mysterio » Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:53 am

Yes, there have been lots of problems with Nottingham lately, quite a few folks on here have been reporting slow starts and the yeast not looking right when it's rehydrated. If it's any comfort, I made a beer with the dodgy batch and it turned out fine. I would have thought retailers would have pulled it from their shelves by now as this has been known for some time?

Manx Guy

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Manx Guy » Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:31 am

Hi,

I too had problems and made a batch of extract Sarah Hughes Ruby with a sachet of the effected batch.

There was a delay of about 36 hours before anything started happening, it fermented down to expected FG and the resulting beer was/is fine...

I'd used it before and rehydrated in much the same way as you have.

The link to the thread with the details of the nottingham yeas issue/recall is here:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=30340

I wouldn't worry as I'm sure you're sanitation etc is upto scratch so the beer will be fine!

:)

Guy
8)

HighHops

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by HighHops » Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:33 pm

Thanks for the heads up. No signs of fermentation after 36 hours so pitched SO4.

Kev75

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Kev75 » Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:15 pm

Good evening all.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that was wondering what was going on with the Nottingham yeast. I tried searching last night but my search criteria "Nottingham" returned so many hits that I couldn't get through to this particular thread. Glad I looked tonight as it seems a relatively hot topic. Thanks for the link to the other topic Guy. I'm not too great at searching out info on forums so your link was a timely and much appreciated find!
I brewed up an old favourite (Old Speckled Hen) last week and used Nottingham for the first time (yep I'm green) and was concerned at how long it took to get going. Have used a lot of the mainstream dry yeasts out there S04, S05, S33, Windsor, Muntons etc. The idea was to brew three favourite beers in split batches with different yeasts to see what different characteristics they produced, find a yeast I liked and stick with it.
I have to admit that either my pallet isn't refined enough to tell the difference or my sampling technique leaves me incapable of really noticing much difference! I tend to go for a fairly strong beer (ABV 5.0+%) so I'm curious as to the difference that yeast strains have on beer at this strength. Is it a case that the lower ABV beers have their "character" influenced more by the yeast than the hops/malt?
The problem that I have is a classic Catch 22.
In my locality the beer available from the local breweries is influenced by economists, accountants and men in suits. That means that the beer available is the stuff that has commercial value. Not a problem with that because some of the breweries turn out nice real ales but they all tend to be the same kind of thing. Predominantly Maris Otter, a bit of Crystal, and then the good old Fuggle, Challenger and Golding combo. Nice beers admittedly but a bit repetitive.
When I was bimbling about last night on the forum, I descovered an interesting topic debating whether or not liquid yeasts were superior to dry yeast that had me intreagued! Sorry I dont have the skills to link in to the discussion but it lead to a late night researching yeast.
The conclusion that I came to was that liquid yeasts are used in way more beer styles than I have ever heard of! If someone asked me what the difference between a British Ale and a London Ale was I couldn't say. Like wise a Whitbread ale and a Thames Valley ale leave me equally confused. As for the Belgian and Lambics well god only knows what's going on there.
In my neck of the woods we don't get exposure to beers like this so I have no idea if its worth trying or sticking to the safe old route of the books we all brew from.
I've taken the plunge into liquid yeast and ordered some WYeast Activator 1318 to give it a try.
Will it be worth it? I guess all I can do is try and re-pitch a few times if my pallet really is as pathetic as I suspect it may be otherwise it may be back to good old S04...
Nottingham? Have one more sachet to use, (lot 099V) otherwise wont touch it with a someone else's hydrometer...

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Blackaddler
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Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Blackaddler » Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:43 am

Kev75 wrote:Nottingham? Have one more sachet to use, (lot 099V) otherwise wont touch it with a someone else's hydrometer...
As long as it's been stored properly, it should be OK.

The recalled batch was lot #1081140118V – exp 01-2011

The packaging/perforation problem was down to new machinery used for date and batch number stamping. According to Lallemand [Danstar] the problem was resolved. There was nothing wrong with the yeast itself.

A month or two back, as a precaution, I did throw away 1 lot after re-hydrating, as I didn't think that it frothed up very well. I normally pitch 2 sachets, so I was able to compare the two.

3 days ago I used a sachet from batch lot #1080360088V - exp 08-2010! It was fine.

I also used a sachet of Muntons Gervin English Ale yeast [also Nottingham]. This did look slightly better after re-hydration, but it was a year younger.
Image

Thirsty Paul

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Thirsty Paul » Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:44 pm

Hi Guys,
I've just thrown away 3 packets of nottingham, Made up a batch of beer earlier in the week and re-hydrated a packet of yeast as per normal however nothing at all happened to it, It just sat on top of the liquid no action at all, Made up another packet exactly the same once it became apparent that the first was doing nothing and that was exactly the same, in the end i pitched a pack of SO4 and that's away like a steam train. Initially i thought that the non starting nottingham might have been down to the fact that its sat in the kitchen cupboard for a while but now I'm wondering differently.

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Blackaddler
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Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Blackaddler » Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:54 pm

Thirsty Paul wrote: Initially i thought that the non starting nottingham might have been down to the fact that its sat in the kitchen cupboard for a while but now I'm wondering differently.
That won't have helped. It's best to keep your sachets in the fridge.

From the data sheet....

5. Storage
• All active dried yeast should be stored dry and below 8°C. The packaging should remain intact.
• Activity loss is about 25% per year at 8°C and 50% per year at 22°C in unopened sealed packs.
• Nottingham will rapidly lose activity after exposure to air. Do not use 500 g or 10 kg packs that have
lost vacuum. Opened packs must be re-closed, stored in dry conditions below 4°C, and used within
3 days; 11 g sachets are not vacuum packed but are flushed with nitrogen gas to protect the yeast.
• Do not use yeast after expiry date printed on the pack.
Image

Thirsty Paul

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Thirsty Paul » Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:05 pm

point noted Blackaddler, think that the Mrs might have somthing to say though (especialy as the freezer's already half full of hops) Oh wait a minute I wear the trousers so yeast and hops it is.
Thirsty paul (never to be seen again if the Mrs reads this).

coatesg

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by coatesg » Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:24 pm

Dried yeast packets tuck neatly behind the egg holder so are out of the way and don't take up too much space. Unless you have 3 packets of every strain available :oops: (in which case, start tucking them behind the butter too :lol:)

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Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Blackaddler » Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:12 pm

Danstar's FAQ is worth reading again.
Image

Kev75

Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by Kev75 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:53 pm

Kev75 wrote: Nottingham? Have one more sachet to use, (lot 099V) otherwise wont touch it with a someone else's hydrometer...
Two things!
1) Apologies for the previous lengthy rambling post!
2) I take back my cynicism towards Nottingham. My second batch was brilliant.

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Re: Nottingham yeast slow to get started

Post by pas8280 » Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:01 pm

Well this is the first time yeast has failed to start for me, pitched a packet of Nottingham 24 hrs ago and nothing nada, nice aeriated foam head on wort when i pitched.
Just had a look and nothing, just a still amber pool of want to be beer the temp is stable at 20c so i think i shall pitch a packet of so4 my question is do i need to stir the wort or will it suffice to drop it on top ?
cheers Paul
The Hollyhop Brewery 100 litre stainless


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