The other day I brewed a red ale for my friends wedding, All was going well until the time came to see bubbles in the fermentation lock. I dont normally use dry yeasts but my LHBS was all out of the good stuff so in a pinch I bought 2 packets of danstars nottingham, I only hydrated (like the packet says) and didnt bother doing a starter. 48 hours later still no visual signs of fermentation. So I did a second pitch today, Same brand and strain but this time the packet said it was from austria. roughly 30 hours after that I still have no fermentation. Any clues as too where I went wrong would be supremely insightful. Thanks in advance!

pop it open and look at it and smell it. Let us know what you find. If you're fermenting in a bucket I would bet that you already fermented and the lid didn't seal right. I have one lid that does this to me and it throws me off ever dam time!

If it's in a carboy, I'm lost. Nottingham is notoriously aggressive.

Funny how just when you think youve got the hang of something life throws you a serious curveball. Heres my theory on what happened. My first pitch was most likely dead, Second pitch is eating sugars like oprah at a desert buffet. And my lid wont seal all the way. Thanks for all the help folks! I wouldnt have thought to blame it on the lid. Stupid ale pails.

Was the yeast in a fridge at the shop? Nottingham is great yeast and we have done up to 12% beers with it. Buckets are great except for that reason.

nah, This brew shop was shoddy at best but it was close. I think ill save myself the headaches in the future and drive the extra half hour.

If you ever need dry yeast let me know. Nottingham is $1.20 and shipping on a pack or a couple packs is usually the price of a stamp. And my yeasties are super fresh and always refridgerated.
Hows the brew turning out??