SO 4 issues

[Bragdy Mike]

Bore Da, Mike,
I find S-04 very reliable and a good yeast for ales; ferments fast, drops like a stone at the end. It is my standard yeast for bitters, pale ales, milds and stouts. I ferment at 20 deg C although I have used range 20 - 24 when I had poorer temperature control, don't get fixated on final gravity figures within a couple of points - it may be that your mash conditions were different. Definitely do not go down the diacetyl rabbit hole with ales!
I have used Nottingham strains over the years with perfectly good results, never used S-05 -I am happy with S-04.

Haydn

Fermentation graph below:

View attachment 106705

Diolch yn fawr Haydn
I will have a go at all the suggestions including tinkering with my fermentation temperatures and perhaps experimenting a little more.
Mike

 

[Lunesdale Brewer]

A tip for a fast start:
At the end of boil collect about 500ml of the hot wort in a clean 1litre or bigger container.
Cool as quickly as you can to 20c and pitch the dried yeast into that, keep at an appropriate temperature and usually by the time the main bulk of wort has cooled you will have an active starter for a flying start.