Anyone try BRY-97 yet

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Well, for those of you keeping score, some time ago I used this yeast on a batch of Yooper's Fat Sam Amber American Ale. I had some trouble with stuck ferment...then blow off overflow...then I overshot my final gravity... A real mess...

I tasted it from bottle tonight. Now this was my first time with this recipe. First thing I noticed was that the pour was clean, in that the bottle dregs were tight, no concern about yeast in the pour! Next was no real hop aroma, a little disappointing considering I dry hopped with a bit of cascade to compensate for the "hop muting" effects I had heard about.

The taste (bare in mind I overshot my final grav by like 6 points)...sweet and creamy!! Not the beer I was shooting for, but very enjoyable! Malty, with some roast flavor, with almost a creamy mouthfeel. The creamyness surprised me most. Deceptive for how much it dried out. Now as I said before, this was my first time with this recipe, so I cannot compare it to, say, safale 05. Hell, it may have been my mash, as I am still dialing in on that process. I think this recipe would've been better crisp, and may get there in the bottle with age.

Overall, a good yeast. I look forward to using it in the summer at higher temps. Or something maltier. Cannot "taste" anything I can attribute to the yeast (Esters,Phenols, etc), but wish some of the hops survived...

Well if you made it through this epic novella of a description, and have any questions feel free to ask.
 
My hop bursted Zythos red ale has been in the keg for a few weeks and is now clear and bright and tastes as clean as us05 but seemed to take longer to get this point.

So, for slightly less money, and a seemingly quicker maturation with all things being equal, I'm sticking to us05. Danstar can keep their vacuum sealed packaging prices on this yeast :)
 
Drinking my BRY-97 single hop which was hop burst and dry hopped with FF, 6oz total. Took it from 1.072 to 1.012 and if I recall it blew out the fermentor. S-05 is pretty much my house yeast and this was my first one with 97. I would need a SxS to tell for sure but it is real similar to S-05, maybe not different enough to bother with the extra cost. Maybe use 97 in the summer when my fermentor temps are on the edge of ester. Brewed a APA last night with 97 and its starting to ferment right now in under 24 hours. I never rehyrate, just throw the yeast in the bottom of the fermentor.
 
pitched this yesterday afternoon around 4 PM Eastern in my 1.056 pale ale and still no signs of fermentation; the fermenter is in the basement with an ambient temp of 64-66 degrees. I rehydrated per the package instructions before pitching. How long would you wait to pitch another pack if no signs of fermentation begin?
 
pitched this yesterday afternoon around 4 PM Eastern in my 1.056 pale ale and still no signs of fermentation; the fermenter is in the basement with an ambient temp of 64-66 degrees. I rehydrated per the package instructions before pitching. How long would you wait to pitch another pack if no signs of fermentation begin?

I'd bet my left foot that it'll get started, but I wouldn't wait more than 48 hours.
 
Pilgarlic said:
I'd bet my left foot that it'll get started, but I wouldn't wait more than 48 hours.

I respectfully disagree. My batch took longer than 48 to really take off.
 
So which do you disagree with, that I'd bet my left foot or that I wouldn't wait more than 48 hours?
 
Lol. Yeah sorry, I see how that could be misunderstood! I would give it 4 days, depending on ambient temp. I had a very slow start. Is have to check my notes, but my Amber too over 4 days to get going good. I have no doubt that you'd bet your left foot! My left has always been my least favorite foot...
 
I'm planning on using this in a hazelnut brown ale. I was going to try and bring the temp down to the 60F's but based on the prior posts in this thead is it recommended to just pitch at ambient, approx. 70F? I'd like to avoid fusel alcohols if at all possible.
 
zyx345 said:
I'm planning on using this in a hazelnut brown ale. I was going to try and bring the temp down to the 60F's but based on the prior posts in this thead is it recommended to just pitch at ambient, approx. 70F? I'd like to avoid fusel alcohols if at all possible.

I would say mid to upper 60's will get what you want. Theoretically, you can hit high 70's with no off flavors, but I'll let a braver soul try that. I hovered between 62
 
Whoops wrong button, hit send. But I hovered between 64 and 66, but maybe a quicker start at 70. Let us know!
 
pitched this yesterday afternoon around 4 PM Eastern in my 1.056 pale ale and still no signs of fermentation; the fermenter is in the basement with an ambient temp of 64-66 degrees. I rehydrated per the package instructions before pitching. How long would you wait to pitch another pack if no signs of fermentation begin?

This finally took off between 36 and 42 hours after pitching and has been going very strong all day.
 
Brutus Brewer said:
This finally took off between 36 and 42 hours after pitching and has been going very strong all day.

Glad it took off for ya, I never doubted it. Do you have a blowoff attached, might be a good idea...
 
Brutus Brewer said:
Yes, I have a blow off tube attached.

Good. Yeah. I normally just 3pc airlock it, but my Amber woulda blown her top, so glad I did. Even with the blowoff it filled the pint mason jar and overflowed that before I caught it!!
I think I am getting to the point where I will just always use a blowoff, just in case.
 
I will say that I'm also bothered by the slow start.
Someone stated that they pitched dry and had a quick start. This is confusing to me.
How can you pitch +/- 50% less yeast and have a quicker start?
I will say that there was a noticeable difference in the color of the BRY97 compared to the safale 05
?
Bull

I make 10 gal batches and I rehydrated and pitched 2 separate packages of BRY-97 in 2 separate fermentors of a 1.052 APA. No visual activity at all after 20 hours in either Better Bottle. The BRY-97 is a darker color than any other dry yeast I have used and also has a stronger "yeasty" smell than other dry yeasts (for whatever that's worth).

My usual experience with other yeasts such as SA-04 or SA-05 is to pitch around 2 or 3pm Saturday and when I check it out Sunday morning (around 8:00am) I have a nice krausen.

Little worried about the slow start but I'll hang in there for a while yet. I have prepared 2 more mason jars with boiled water to rehydrate some SA-05 if it looks like nothing is happening at the 36 hour mark
 
At almost exactly 24 hours since pitching BRY-97, a krausen is beginning to form and CO2 is being discharged through the blowoff tubes. The 2 Better Bottles are at 68F
 
I'm drinking both the 05 and 97 now.
Just some random notes;
BRY-97 is very dark in color.
Strong yeast smell initially.
Slow to start, even when properly re-hydrated. +/-36 hours
Incredibly strong fermentor after it gets going. I've had blow-off each time I used it.
High attenuation. 80%
Interesting ending aroma's in the fermentor (Pineapple/ rye toast).

Some tasting notes;
First 2-3 pours from the keg were funky and had acetaldehyde. They were yeast laden.
After drinking through those, the beer cleaned up nicely and is clean.

Most have used the Safale-05, so I won't review. Differences only.
The -05 started sooner. +/-18 hours
Steady fermentation with about 1 inch of Krausen.
80% attenuation.
Yeast aroma only in fermentor.

Tasting;
No acetaldehyde in first 2-3 pours, just bitey yeast flavors.
Clean after that.

I'll add more notes about hop flavor, perceived bitterness and aroma when I drink them again on a fresh pallet. Side by side.
 
If this is a strong fermentor, would you suggest it for a barleywine? I've got 2 packs. ?

My original plan was to use 05 and try the BRY on a CTZ SMaSH. It sounds like the BRY would work better on a big beer that is not overly dependent on hops.
 
Ok, doing this on my phone by candlelight after 1 full day without power.
1st glass tonight was the bry 97 and it came across very smooth with a somewhat muted hop presence and soft bitterness.
2nd pour was an 05 and although very clean, noticeably more hop flavor and a bit more sharpness to the bittering.
I'd love to show you pictures, but I have no idea how to off my phone?
 
Ok, doing this on my phone by candlelight after 1 full day without power.
1st glass tonight was the bry 97 and it came across very smooth with a somewhat muted hop presence and soft bitterness.
2nd pour was an 05 and although very clean, noticeably more hop flavor and a bit more sharpness to the bittering.
I'd love to show you pictures, but I have no idea how to off my phone?

Very, very helpful. Thanks for the side-by-side trial!
 
bullinachinashop said:
Ok, doing this on my phone by candlelight after 1 full day without power.
1st glass tonight was the bry 97 and it came across very smooth with a somewhat muted hop presence and soft bitterness.
2nd pour was an 05 and although very clean, noticeably more hop flavor and a bit more sharpness to the bittering.
I'd love to show you pictures, but I have no idea how to off my phone?

Interesting feedback! First I am hearing about a noticeable flavor difference, or at least how it impacts hops flavor.
 
I'm wondering if the late start and vigorous fermentation would scrub out some of the hop character? If you look back at the posts you'll see how they fermented differently. I'm wondering if you used the 97 with a starter to get it going, you may end up with different results.
This beer was made to dial in a system and I used almost 50% wheat. It's hopped like a pale ale and was bittered to 42 ibu if I recall correctly. I purposely didn't dry hop it, as I wanted to be able to notce the differences.
Funny thing is, with the sweetness from the wheat, I like the 97 better in this beer. A true pale may be a different story. More testing(drinking) to follow
Bull
 
Also, one more thing, the differences are very small. I'm happy with Both beers and will have no problem drinking either of them.
That being said, I will probably go back to wlp001 for my pales and ipa's as long as I take time to make a starter.
The 97, willbe used again either washed ir with a starter. I don't like long lag times. I think I'll try it on a blond or a cream ale next
 
Ok, doing this on my phone by candlelight after 1 full day without power.
1st glass tonight was the bry 97 and it came across very smooth with a somewhat muted hop presence and soft bitterness.
2nd pour was an 05 and although very clean, noticeably more hop flavor and a bit more sharpness to the bittering.
I'd love to show you pictures, but I have no idea how to off my phone?

Very interesting. My LHBS just got a shipment of BRY-97 yesterday. Given your experience with it accentuating hops less than US-05, I may try it for my next blonde/golden ale.
 
bullinachinashop said:
Ok, doing this on my phone by candlelight after 1 full day without power.
1st glass tonight was the bry 97 and it came across very smooth with a somewhat muted hop presence and soft bitterness.
2nd pour was an 05 and although very clean, noticeably more hop flavor and a bit more sharpness to the bittering.
I'd love to show you pictures, but I have no idea how to off my phone?

How'd you lose power? Are you effected by the storm?
 
Take care of yourself, and glad you are safe. Hope you didn't lose anything. I live in Colorado now, but lived in Florida for over 20 yrs. Lost count of how many hurricanes I lived through... At least she is a fast moving girl. Sounds funny to people who don't know hurricanes, but better fast moving in and out than one that just sits over you dumping water and wind damage...

Good luck!
BTW, will be bottling your beer on Sunday! It'll be 3 weeks then in primary, no secondary.
Thanks.
 
cublue said:
BTW, will be bottling your beer on Sunday! It'll be 3 weeks then in primary, no secondary.
Thanks.

Whoops. That was meant for another post...the rest about hurricanes was for this post.

Sorry
 
Pitched last night into a 10 gallon batch of amber split with 05 and 97.

Activity and small krausen from 05 about 12 hours later. Nothing yet from 97.

Fermenting at 64*F, and treated both the same (rehydrated in 110g of 88*F water for 30 minutes).

Will post attenuation, floccuation, and tasting notes later.
 
AZ IPA
It'll be interesting to see how your results compare to mine. If you didn't see it check out post 100 for most of my notes.
The Bry 97 has a fruity nose (pineapple/apricot) in the finished beer.
Bull
 
At almost exactly 24 hours since pitching BRY-97, a krausen is beginning to form and CO2 is being discharged through the blowoff tubes. The 2 Better Bottles are at 68F

The active fermentation stage lasted longer than any other batch I have done in recent memory. I had an active krausen on a Sunday midday, and it didn't begin to drop until late Thursday evening. Came close to blowing yeast out of the blow off tubes. The krausen had worked it's way up into the first 2-3" of the blow off tube above of both Better Bottles (10 gal batch split in 2) Will starting gravity readings Wed and if done I hope to keg it up on Saturday. Ambient temp of my basement is 66F - 68F
 
The active fermentation stage lasted longer than any other batch I have done in recent memory. I had an active krausen on a Sunday midday, and it didn't begin to drop until late Thursday evening. Came close to blowing yeast out of the blow off tubes. The krausen had worked it's way up into the first 2-3" of the blow off tube above of both Better Bottles (10 gal batch split in 2) Will starting gravity readings Wed and if done I hope to keg it up on Saturday. Ambient temp of my basement is 66F - 68F

Whats the rush?
 
Originally Posted by rcrabb22
The active fermentation stage lasted longer than any other batch I have done in recent memory. I had an active krausen on a Sunday midday, and it didn't begin to drop until late Thursday evening. Came close to blowing yeast out of the blow off tubes. The krausen had worked it's way up into the first 2-3" of the blow off tube above of both Better Bottles (10 gal batch split in 2) Will starting gravity readings Wed and if done I hope to keg it up on Saturday. Ambient temp of my basement is 66F - 68F
Whats the rush?

No real rush. I don't secondary but I do keg condition so it will be ~4 weeks before I'll be serving this beer. Being an Pale Ale with simple grain bill, that will be long enough.
 
I just carbed up a centennial blonde ale with this yeast and I am very impressed, it is cleaner than nottingham and S-05..... definitely not chico, I'd call it closer to pacman.....flocculation is excellent as you can see from the attached pic...hop flavor and aroma are more pronounced than when I used nottingham......just kegged last wednesday 10/31:

bry97.jpg
 
05 is chugging along; 97 still not doing much, but krausen is forming.

Pretty consistent so far with what others are saying, especially on the cooler end of the spectrum.
 
I brewed a 1.111 Barleywine Saturday and pitched a pack of BRY-97 and S-05. I some airlock activity yesterday and vigorous fermentation this morning. Saved another pack of 97 for a CTZ SMaSH I'm gonna brew and spilt in half. One with 97, one with Nottingham or s-05.
 
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