Single Cask #24

We love using Nottingham Ale Yeast, so much so that it makes up almost 90% of our pitched yeasts in this recipe. It’s a yeast strain that is surprisingly well-suited for whisky production compared to other brewing yeasts. It can effectively handle the demanding fermentation conditions, including higher gravities and elevated temperatures (some of the other yeasts we have used in the past, have been less cooperative). Nottingham Ale Yeast is traditionally used in brewing to enhance a brew’s malty character, and this is what we love about it most.  While a lot of brewers yeasts create a ton of esters (responsible for fruity flavours like banana, melon, red fruits etc), Nottingham Ale Yeast pretty much does the opposite. It produces low amounts of esters, while it’s busy converting the sugars from our mash into alcohol. Less esters mean less additional flavour which, for us, means less to detract from the smoky flavours we want to shine through. At most, Nottingham Ale Yeast imparts a light cereal sweetness, adding a little depth and roundness to the smoky malt flavours present from our mash. In this whisky it really is the silent hero. We’ve used Nottingham Ale Yeast alongside two distillers strains, DY379 and DY502, which also produce a relatively light and neutral flavour profile. These distillers yeasts impart very subtle fruity notes, responsible for the whisky’s delicate notes of orchard fruits.