BRY-97/New England Co-Pitch?

[Pehlman17]

I’ve never done a co-pitch of multiple yeast strains in a batch before. I’ve got one pack of Lalbrew New England which has a notoriously low cell count, and also, I’ve got a slightly “expired” (12/2024) pack of BRY-97 that I thought might be fun to throw in with it. Most likely in a simple pale ale or IPA. Anyone ever try this blend, or something similar?

 

[dmtaylor]

I figure one can learn a hell of a lot more by splitting the batch into two fermenters and keep the two yeast separated, then taste the results side by side, and decide later whether you want to blend them or not, versus doing so up front where one yeast is likely to overtake the other when they compete for resources.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

I got a reply from Lallemand three or four years ago in which they gave me a few dry Lallemand yeast combinations that they promote to breweries. They said New England and Windsor was quite popular, and the advantages were cell count and flavour.

Pitching Bry-97 with New England makes sense to me, from a cell count perspective, given that New England has a particularly low cell count.

Doing a split batch and using them separately would give you a straight comparison, and you could find out if the low cell count is critical. I think I'd just put both into one batch myself. You're learning stuff either way.

 

[hottpeper13]

BRY-97 is fast, attenuates well and drops clear and is clean. New England doesn't do any of those. I would pitch the NE wait for signs that the lag phase is ending , then pitch the BRY. This IMO will give you NE esters and a well attenuated beer.

 

[Pehlman17]

I’ve used both on their own plenty of times. I find BRY-97 almost to be too clean sometimes haha, but it drops clear fairly quickly which is how I prefer most of my beers. As far as New England, I like the esters it gives. I’ve always been a huge fan of WLP007 and I find them to be aromatically somewhat similar. New England has been the closest to getting in that ballpark for me in a dry form. Obviously it takes a bit longer to clear. And with the low cell count I’m basically at the price point of the liquid yeast when I have to buy multiple packs.

I was thinking maybe if I could somehow get the esters of New England with the flocculation of BRY-97 I’d be a happy camper.

 

[dmtaylor]

I’ve used both on their own plenty of times. I find BRY-97 almost to be too clean sometimes haha, but it drops clear fairly quickly which is how I prefer most of my beers. As far as New England, I like the esters it gives. I’ve always been a huge fan of WLP007 and I find them to be aromatically somewhat similar. New England has been the closest to getting in that ballpark for me in a dry form. Obviously it takes a bit longer to clear. And with the low cell count I’m basically at the price point of the liquid yeast when I have to buy multiple packs.

I was thinking maybe if I could somehow get the esters of New England with the flocculation of BRY-97 I’d be a happy camper.

You may be on the right path. Give your idea a try and let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[VTMongoose]

What do you guys like about BRY-97 over US-05, those of you who use it?

 

[day_trippr]

I find US-05 runs almost too clean for pales and IPAs plus it seems to suppress hop expression a bit. I love it for wheat beers especially fruited wheat beers where "clean running" is an asset.

BRY-97, otoh, provides more malt character and more "hoppyness" with the same recipes. I definitely prefer it for my WCIPAs...

Cheers!

 

[Pehlman17]

I find US-05 runs almost too clean for pales and IPAs plus it seems to suppress hop expression a bit. I love it for wheat beers especially fruited wheat beers where "clean running" is an asset.

BRY-97, otoh, provides more malt character and more "hoppyness" with the same recipes. I definitely prefer it for my WCIPAs...

Cheers!

I feel like in reading about homebrewers' experiences with dry yeast over the last couple years, one common thing I tend to notice is how much more divisive Fermentis yeasts tend to be relative to Lallemand. I'm generalizing a bit of course, but people seem to either love US-05 or hate it. Even more so with S-04 and K-97. And even to some extent 34/70. I'm sure some level of bias is at play, but overall I just don't quite see the disparity in opinions over Lallemand. Usually if I read of a bad experience it often comes down to something like the person not realizing Windsor doesn't ferment maltotriose.

However, whenever I do hear of a commercial brewery that uses dry yeast, it's pretty much always Fermentis. On the Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast for example, I have heard multiple brewers specifically mention using US-05, S-04, and Saflager-34/70 specifically. I can't think of any instance where I've heard mention of a Lallemand strain being used. Small sample size I know, but still intriguing nonetheless.

 

[VTMongoose]

I think the answer is simple: Lesaffre is much bigger than Lallemand. They are the #1 producer of yeast worldwide. Their prices are better than Lallemand. The yeasts are reliable and their performance is well known/quantified just because of the sheer number of breweries using them. They're like the Microsoft Windows of yeast. It might not be able to do some of the things certain Linux or Apple OS's can do, sure, but they are a juggernaut.

 

[Pehlman17]

I think the answer is simple: Lesaffre is much bigger than Lallemand. They are the #1 producer of yeast worldwide. Their prices are better than Lallemand. The yeasts are reliable and their performance is well known/quantified just because of the sheer number of breweries using them. They're like the Microsoft Windows of yeast. It might not be able to do some of the things certain Linux or Apple OS's can do, sure, but they are a juggernaut.

Makes sense! I like the analogy.

 

[mac_1103]

Yeah, I use Fermentis yeasts about 90% of the time. Probably more. In fact, I've used yeasts from other manufacturers so rarely that I can't really say that I have an informed opinion on any of them. But I've done enough brews with US-05 and S-04 to know how to make them behave the way I want them to. I'm only an N of 1 of course, but I suspect that I'm not so rare in this regard.

 

[Pehlman17]

Yeah, I use Fermentis yeasts about 90% of the time. Probably more. In fact, I've used yeasts from other manufacturers so rarely that I can't really say that I have an informed opinion on any of them. But I've done enough brews with US-05 and S-04 to know how to make them behave the way I want them to. I'm only an N of 1 of course, but I suspect that I'm not so rare in this regard.

I think you make an extremely important point. Using a yeast strain enough to learn it's idiosyncrasies and how to it needs to be treated to get what you want out of it in the context of your particular system and process. I think too many homebrewers just think a yeast should automatically give particular flavor or set of qualities immediately, and if it doesn't, they just assume the yeast was the wrong choice or perhaps inherently bad somehow.