Lallemand LalBrew Nottingham Ale Yeast

A very popular English ale strain that sits somewhere between the classic fruitiness of S-04 and the clean neutrality of US-05/BRY-97. It’s become a favorite for brewers who want some English character without going full ester bomb. Lallemand selected it as a reliable, versatile British ale yeast, and it shows up in a lot of commercial breweries on both sides of the pond.

Best For

English bitters, pale ales, porters, and browns. Also widely used on hoppy beers and even some hazy IPAs when brewers want a touch of character and good body without the yeast getting too loud.

Hard Specs

• Attenuation: 72–78%
• Flocculation: High
• Temperature Range: 57–75°F (ideal 64–72°F)
• Alcohol Tolerance: Up to 11% ABV
• More tech specs

Flavor & Behavior

Nottingham gives you some pleasant fruity esters (apple, pear, light citrus), but it’s generally cleaner and more restrained than S-04. The esters are there if you want them, but they don’t dominate the way they can with more aggressive English strains.

It also has excellent flocculation, so it drops out fast and leaves the beer relatively clear with good head retention.

In Practice

This is one of the most popular dry English strains for a reason. A lot of brewers reach for it when they want that English character in a bitter or porter, but also use it successfully on hoppy pale ales and even hazy IPAs when they don’t want the beer to taste completely neutral. It’s often seen as the more “forgiving” English option compared to S-04 — still interesting, but less likely to over-esterify if your fermentation gets a little warm.

Pitching & Rehydration

One 11g sachet does a standard 5 gallon batch around 1.050 OG. Rehydrate in 86–95°F water for 15–30 minutes before pitching. Same as the rest of the dry crew — skipping rehydration is still the fastest way to leave some performance behind.