Just tried placing a routine order for Nottingham dry yeast and was shocked to learn that the price had increased from around $40 a half kilo to $145! We've been using this for 10 years and were given no notice of any price increase. Anybody else have sticker shock? I like the yeast and know how to use it to great effect. But I guess I'll be in the market for a replacement--any suggestions? Small brewers can't afford to get squeezed like this.
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Phillip Kelm
Engineer/Brewer
Currently managing the Palau Brewing Company
Palau, Micronesia
That is a hell of a jump! It is kind of ironic that as I read your post the banner advert to the left is Nottingham Ale Yeast $30,000 Challenge I guess we know how this contest is being financed...
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Cheers & I'm out!
David R. Pierce
NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
POB 343
New Albany, IN 47151
It's $1.25 for an 11 gram package at my local homebrew store. There's about 453 grams in a pound. A half kilo is slightly more than a pound. it would take about 50 packets to get a half kilo at $1.25 each which equals $62.50. You are getting shafted....unless I haven't seen the price increase at my store yet.
Yeah, looks like the yeast has unionized. I work for a small brewery in Canada that packages wort kits with small dried yeast packages. The prices for our Nottingham has doubled up here, as well as some of the other strains that we use. I'm hazy on the specifics because I'm a slave to production, but I know that our nottingham price has at least doubled.
I don't have any suggestions for a replacement. I just think that if you are happy with you beer product then you shouldn't "rock the boat". Besides, yeast is your only raw material that will reproduce itself, so maybe you shouldn't worry so much about the yeast price increase. I'd be more concerned about malt, hops, utilities, labour, etc.
But I don't know how you operate, so I'm not trying to pass judgment. So this post doesn't really have any help only empathy for your situation.
Sounds like an error to me. If not, I HIGHLY reccommend Brewing Science Institute for all of your yeast needs. I just made the switch, and by comparison could have saved hundreds of dollars over the past few years. They also provide a nutrient boost to supplement the yeast on brew day, and swabs to test ferrules and other possible sources of contamination. They also have a quick turn around time. Two guys run this business, and they are both very knowlegable brewers. White Labs has been good to me, and I will miss them dearly, but I don't hesitiate for a second in thinking that this was a SUPER wise descision, especially in these hard economic times.
I'll second, third and forth what Mr Jay sez. I've used BSI for almost my entire brewing career and have been extremely happy with their support and products. They're located near Colorado Springs, Colorado and I'm in northwestern Montana and I've always gotten quality product from them. Their pricing is very fair. Make the switch and make yourself happy!
Prost!
Dave
Thanks for all the feedback. I'll check out these other options. I've used SO4 in the past with great results. I really like Nottingham, it can be coaxed into some really nice esters that make our Amber Ale a fantastic brew. Propagation would be a choice if I had more of a lab and assistants versed in microbiology. Or it will become a necessity and I'll do more training. Matter of fact, I used to run a brewery where I repitched five different liquid yeast strains to brew 7 different beers. As it is, dried yeast gives my current employees an easy pitch and consistent, excellent results. Repitching with Nottingham would have to be done differently as we don't aerate at all with a fresh package. I guess I'll have to exercise the craft and add to my knowledge of new yeasts and new yeast handling techniques.
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Phillip Kelm
Engineer/Brewer
Currently managing the Palau Brewing Company
Palau, Micronesia
Any word from Lallemand who moderates this forum? I don't use Nottingham, but saw updated pricing a while ago and thought it was a typo. Probably cheaper to buy a pitch of liquid strain from BSI at that price. Then pitch it into 20 batches or so and you're good!
Indeed the price of our brewer’s dry yeast significantly increased on April 22nd and there are some good reasons behind this.
In order to meet brewers’ standards our yeasts are produced in small volume and undergo an extensive quality control. Additionally, the cost of yeast manufacture has increased substantially over the past year and many input costs have not come down in 2009. More importantly, we are committed to investing in R&D and to be a long-term supplier to the brewing industry but like any business we need to have a sustainable return on investment. Part of our commitment is also to provide superior level of technical support to the commercial brewers. This also explains the price difference between the 500g packs and the sachets where no extra support is provided.
The new price is very similar to pitchable liquid yeast (price per bbl inoculated) with all the advantage of a dry yeast. We can advise you on rehydration, propagation and repitching; in our experience once the yeast is rehydrated it is liquid and you can use it the exact same way you would use a wet version.
We are pleased that the brewers have noticed the quality of Nottingham, its consistency and convenience and we hope that you will continue to support the product despite the increase in price. We would also invite you to enter the competition which is associated with the launch of our new and improved Nottingham Ale Yeast, which is now endorsed with the quality seal of the Siebel Institute of Technology.
Sylvie Van Zandycke
Technical Sales Manager
Lallemand Brewing
Sylvie, thank you for your discussion. R&D is not cheap. Neither is the energy costs necessary for drying product. Besides hops and yeast, our energy costs have doubled in the past year. We can't go on with this kind of upward spiral without falling. Regarding your statement:
"....once the yeast is rehydrated it is liquid and you can use it the exact same way you would use a wet version."
My limited experience is different. Wet pitchable yeasts generally require oxygen to reproduce sufficiently for proper fermentation. The Nottingham we use is both UNDERpitched (according to your recommendations) and NOT oxygenated at all. As a result, we get a very nice ester profile that is signature to our Amber Ale with a quick ferment at moderate temperatures. This without yeast nutrient, and still achieving high attenuation. We have not been able to reproduce this exactly with either other propagated liquid cultures, or with repitched Nottingham. It seems like a one-off proposition. Granted I have not tried every conceivable variation on fermentation parameters and I'd love to know how to repitch Nottingham so that the flavor profile is consistent whether I'm using a new rehydrated dried yeast, or a repitch from previous fermentation. If I can't come up with a solution, I have no choice but change house yeasts. Pricing yeast at half the cost of malt per batch is just not in our budget. Thanks for your help.
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Phillip Kelm
Engineer/Brewer
Currently managing the Palau Brewing Company
Palau, Micronesia
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