Bry-97 not doing anything

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
E

eadavis80

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,934
Reaction score
260
Made NB's Smash pale ale extract kit Saturday. Pitched the rehydrated Bry-97 at 11 a.m. Forgot to take an OG reading, but it's a very mild beer with an OG on the instructions of like 1.045. 1 packet of dry should be WAY MORE THAN ENOUGH TO GET the job done. Big Mouth Bubbler is at 63-64 degrees and NOTHING. Nothing moving in that Bubbler and no airlock activity. So, now I'm at about 40 hours since pitching. Brewed about 200 gallons so I'm concerned now as pretty much every other batch I've made has kicked off by now. I even tried swirling up the yeast a little last night before bed in hopes of waking up to a fermentation, but nothing. I'm guessing if I don't see anything by the time I get home from work today, to pick up another packet. Thoughts?
 
eadavis80 said:
Made NB's Smash pale ale extract kit Saturday. Pitched the rehydrated Bry-97 at 11 a.m. Forgot to take an OG reading, but it's a very mild beer with an OG on the instructions of like 1.045. 1 packet of dry should be WAY MORE THAN ENOUGH TO GET the job done. Big Mouth Bubbler is at 63-64 degrees and NOTHING. Nothing moving in that Bubbler and no airlock activity. So, now I'm at about 40 hours since pitching. Brewed about 200 gallons so I'm concerned now as pretty much every other batch I've made has kicked off by now. I even tried swirling up the yeast a little last night before bed in hopes of waking up to a fermentation, but nothing. I'm guessing if I don't see anything by the time I get home from work today, to pick up another packet. Thoughts?
Click to expand...


BRY 97 gets reports like this from time to time. Mine took 2 whole days before visible signs of fermentation has a tiny krausen and a few CO2 bubbles seen bubbling in the fermenter.

When I've been patient in an unexpected lag it has fermented perfectly. I got anxious one time and pitched a yeast on top but got the feeling that the BRY 97 kicked in before the other yeast started.

My fermenter is a plastic Coopers fermenter and around the tap the is a shoulder and a thin powdering of yeast gathers there during the growth phase. This shows it is going but it is only a subtle change.

But pitching another packet isn't going to hurt, even if it does kick off from the original.
 
I use BRY 97 quite a bit and fresh from the package yeast even if it is rehydrated can take 60 hrs easily to take off. I reuse mine and it takes off in under 12 I save a slurry of it. Adding another package won't hurt a bit. I would not worry till after 72 hrs and yes I know that it is nerve racking to do that. The Yeast ferments pretty clean and is more forgiving than US 0-5 it does tend to make the malt the star of the show.
 
I quit using Bry97 because of how slow it takes to start. I hate coming in after two days and not seeing any activity. I started using US-05 because it takes off way faster.
 
NB told me the lag time frequently happens with this yeast, but the long lag time will not negatively impact the beer in any way. Here's hoping that's true. I guess fermenting at the right temp with the proper amount of healthy yeast is more important than the airlock going bonkers within 12 hours of pitching - still I get a little nervous until fermentation shows itself.
 
I used Bry for the first time a few weeks ago. It was a full 48 hours at least before I saw any action at all. Once it got going it went crazy. I've never seen so much action last for so long. It took my 1.064 IPA down to 1.008. Finished very crisp and clean. I like it and will use it again without hesitation.
 
Give it time. When I used BRY-97 it took about 24 hours to get going.
 
Got about an inch of krausen this morning - 4 days after pitching. Had a tiny little krausen forming last night, so it's doing its thing - finally.:)
 
BRY97 is a slow starter, and can take a few days to get going. Make sure you aerate well- It seems to speed things up for me, especially if I've harvested from another batch..
 
I plan to use the slurry from the NB Smash on the AIH Cornerstone IPA kit as it too suggested Bry 97. I'll be sure to aerate well prior to pitching and at least now I know to expect a longer lag time than I'm used to with other yeasts (both dry and liquid).
 
Contrary to what alot of people say, I have been hydrating all my dry yeast 30 minutes. before pitching in a half cup of room temp water. Smells like hell, but once I pitch I hardly ever notice too much lag.
 
Well, it's been 7 days since I pitched and it's still bubbling away. It sure took a few days to get going (I think it started finally showing signs on Tuesday morning - about 3 days after pitching), but it's still doing its thing.
 
eadavis80 said:
Well, it's been 7 days since I pitched and it's still bubbling away. It sure took a few days to get going (I think it started finally showing signs on Tuesday morning - about 3 days after pitching), but it's still doing its thing.
Click to expand...

Give it time you will be rewarded with a smooth beer if the fermentation temp is controlled meaning below 70 :mug:
 
The airlock is still bubbling and the krausen is only slightly fallen - 9 days after pitching. Bry is sure taking its sweet old time - not like I'm in a rush or anything. Just used to 05 I guess which usually has its krausen fallen with 7 days of pitching.
 
To add my data point, I saw a 96 hour lag when I used BRY-97 from a dry pack, lag was non existent with harvested BRY-97.
 
Did you make a starter for the harvested BRY-97 or just pitch slurry directly? I've never just pitched slurry. I've always harvested, washed and made a modest starter.
 
I have just pitched the slurry 6 or 7 times and it always takes offing less than 6 hrs. The dry yeast is nerve racking!
:mug:
 
Yeah, it's the slowest - by far - out of 04, 05, Danstar Windsor Ale yeast and Bry-97. I don't think I've used S-23 yet. For wheats I have always used WYeast 1010.
 
Took the gravity sample today and it's at 1.011, so it's gotta' be done or darn close. Sample was crystal clear, tasted great and smelled wonderful. Going to harvest this yeast so I boiled up some water and am letting it cool. Just debating on if I harvest and rack/dry hop today or wait 'till Friday. I'll probably bottle a week from Friday, but it could be as early as Wednesday. Not sure...
 
To be fair, if you look up the data sheet, the manufacturers do recommend 1g/L, so by their standards you under pitched by 50% (assuming you made 5 gallons). I too have found that if you repitch the slurry it behaves more like a 'normal' fermentation.
 
I've only used it once and I made a starter with it on a stir plate, absolutely no lag time. I think I had visible kausen within 6 hrs, airlock was bubbling within 2.
 
bigmunchez said:
To be fair, if you look up the data sheet, the manufacturers do recommend 1g/L, so by their standards you under pitched by 50% (assuming you made 5 gallons). I too have found that if you repitch the slurry it behaves more like a 'normal' fermentation.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of a dry yeast recommending a starter - especially for 5 gallons of 1.044 OG ale. I can't fathom there's not enough yeast in an 11 gram packet to ferment out what I made. IN fact, I know there was - it just took a while to get going. Now, if you're making a IIPA I could see needed 2 packets, but this was a low gravity brew.
 
Auger said:
I've only used it once and I made a starter with it on a stir plate, absolutely no lag time. I think I had visible kausen within 6 hrs, airlock was bubbling within 2.
Click to expand...

eadavis80 said:
I've never heard of a dry yeast recommending a starter - especially for 5 gallons of 1.044 OG ale. I can't fathom there's not enough yeast in an 11 gram packet to ferment out what I made. IN fact, I know there was - it just took a while to get going. Now, if you're making a IIPA I could see needed 2 packets, but this was a low gravity brew.
Click to expand...

Good point, I should clarify, the starter I made was for a 1.087 DIPA.
 
We'll see how long it takes the harvested/washed Bry-97 to show signs of fermentation. I pitched yesterday at about 3 p.m. I'll have to move the fermenter upstairs as my basement is a little cool and now it reads 62. I know that yeast likes it warmer, but I always start my fermenters cool. I didn't want it to start fermenting at 72 or so and flirt with 80...
 
Bubbling by 6 a.m. the day after brew day - much quicker this way than with pitching the hydrated yeast from the packet, whatever that's worth...
 
eadavis80 said:
Bubbling by 6 a.m. the day after brew day - much quicker this way than with pitching the hydrated yeast from the packet, whatever that's worth...
Click to expand...

That is about normal for my repitches. I have rep itched the same yeast 5 times and I can't tell a difference in flavor yet.:)
 
I was debating on harvested the Bry-97 from the Cornerstone. It was used in my SMASH pale ale. However, I don't see any recipes down the road in my pipeline that will use 97, so I doubt I'll bother harvesting it this time. I have some other kits coming that use 05, 1098 and a WYeast 1214 that I'll be harvesting.
 
eadavis80 said:
I was debating on harvested the Bry-97 from the Cornerstone. It was used in my SMASH pale ale. However, I don't see any recipes down the road in my pipeline that will use 97, so I doubt I'll bother harvesting it this time. I have some other kits coming that use 05, 1098 and a WYeast 1214 that I'll be harvesting.
Click to expand...

I can't think of a recipe that asks for US-05 which wouldn't also work with 2nd generation BRY-97. IME, both are very clean American-style yeast strains, with BRY-97 being far more flocculant and the second generation of either strain being a significant improvement over the first. I would harvest and save myself $4 if I was you.
 
So if they're "both are very clean American-style yeast strains" why WOULDN'T a recipe be able to use either one? I might go ahead and harvest it just in case, but a few times I've used harvested yeast that was more than a few months old and I wasn't happy with the result.
 
eadavis80 said:
So if they're "both are very clean American-style yeast strains" why WOULDN'T a recipe be able to use either one? I might go ahead and harvest it just in case, but a few times I've used harvested yeast that was more than a few months old and I wasn't happy with the result.
Click to expand...

I mistyped. I am fixing it now. You are exactly right. Any beer I can think of that asks for US-05 would work as well with BRY-97 with possible acception to an American wheat beer.
 
I have always used WYeast 1010 for wheats. Pretty much use 04 for my pumpkin and winter spiced ales, 1007 for Aletoberfest, 05 for ambers and some IPAs and then 1214 if I make a Belgian. We'll see how these 2 turn out with the Bry 97.
 
skyler said:
I mistyped. I am fixing it now. You are exactly right. Any beer I can think of that asks for US-05 would work as well with BRY-97 with possible acception to an American wheat beer.
Click to expand...

I don't know Skyler a lot of people have complained about bry 97 removing hop flavor. For a IPA I would use us05!:mug:
 
ChelisHubby said:
I don't know Skyler a lot of people have complained about bry 97 removing hop flavor. For a IPA I would use us05!:mug:[/QUOTE

That has not been my experience, but US-05 if very slightly more attenuative and far less flocculant. For me, it is preferable to reduce mash temperature by one or two degrees rather than live with that extra suspended yeast. That said, at my LHBS, BRY-97 is $2 more than US-05, so I use US-05 (they are sufficiently similar to me).
Click to expand...
 
As long as it makes a beer I enjoy, I'll be happy - even if it's not all that "hoppy." I honestly like IPA's with a solid malt backbone, so I'm thinking the Bry-97 might be really good for the Cornerstone clone IPA. In any event, I'll know right around March Madness' second round.
 
eadavis80 said:
I plan to use the slurry from the NB Smash on the AIH Cornerstone IPA kit as it too suggested Bry 97.
Click to expand...

Not trying to thread jack, but I'm interested in hearing your opinion of the Cornerstone kit. I'm a former Metro-Detroiter, and Rochester Mills was practically in my back yard when went to school at Oakland University. I've been curious on the kit, but haven't see any reviews.
 
No worries my friend - I'll try to post here and/or on the AIH website once I see what I've created. One of my pet peeves is when people post reviews of beers on homebrew shop websites and they have just pitched yeast or they talk about an aggressive fermentation. People care about what the beer tastes like!
 

Similar threads

Vlad_Drunkula
BRY-97 banana notes
Replies
4
Views
1K
eliastheodosis
eliastheodosis
B
BRY-97 Dark Color?
Replies
3
Views
773
G_robertus
G
R
Bry-97 and a cool closet
Replies
3
Views
710
redrocker652002
R
P
First time using BRY-97
Replies
32
Views
2K
hottpeper13
H
PashMaddle
Noob doing the noob thing.
2
Replies
56
Views
2K
Kornssj
Kornssj

Latest posts

Back
Top