Issues with BRY-97? (more than slow start)

[user 165400]

Hello all,

On Saturday we got our IPA in to our fermentation bucket. We pitched our BRY-97 once temperatures were low enough. we did not use a starter.

Starting Monday we saw very low amounts of bubbles, we made a 1.5L batch of cider that had way more. We are using a swamp cooler and keeping temp of the water around 64-68.

We read the other forum posts on this strain and every one said it was slow to start, usually between a day and a half to two days. We are at day four now and not really seeing much action. Since its a bucket we cant see inside to see whats going on (down side of a bucket) so im a little reliant on the airlock.

we have done a couple swooshes of the bucket to see if that would "wake" up the yeast but not much luck. The only thing i can think of is our first day the temperatures were really low in the swamp cooler (58-60) and this may not have given the yeast a good chance to get going.

can any one recommend a next step on this? Should we let the temp of the water rise up to 70 to get it going then bring it back down? or pitch more yeast? or did we kill our batch? Or since we didnt use a starter, is this a typical lag time for the yeast?

thanks

 

[reinstone]

Fermentation may be done. How much yeast did you use? I should say primary fermentation. Take off the lid and taste it some sanitary way. If its sweet something bad happened if its not. Let it condition a while.

 

[user 165400]

We used a full packet for 5 gallons. Would it have finished that quick (3 or 4 days?). I know bry 97 is quick but we hardly saw any action and only noticeable change was the hop smells became muted. But no air lock movement. Wondering if the slow lag time for this yeast and the fact we didnt use a starter led to more of a contamination risk and our beer is dead. We're going to let it sit the full two weeks to be sure but still....

 

[ArcaneXor]

Take a hydrometer reading. If it's low, than the beer is, or at least was, fermenting. If it's still at its OG, then it probably got too cold. There are numerous ways to fix that - since it's been a few days, I'd suggest warming it up and repitching.

Dry yeasts don't benefit from starters.

 

[peterj]

Take a hydrometer reading. If it's low, than the beer is, or at least was, fermenting. If it's still at its OG, then it probably got too cold. There are numerous ways to fix that - since it's been a few days, I'd suggest warming it up and repitching.

Dry yeasts don't benefit from starters.

+1 to this. The most reliable and easiest way to tell if it's fermenting is to take a hydrometer reading.

I just recently used Bry-97 for the first time as well. I pitched on a Saturday night and didn't really see any activity until Monday. Kept the wort around 65F. That lag time made me a bit nervous, but once it started it chugged along just fine for me.

And like ArcaneXor said, it's better not to make starters with dry yeast. The cell count is plenty high to ferment 5 gallons, and they come with a lot of lipids in their cell membranes which makes aeration not as critical. But if you make a starter, you reduce those lipids by causing the yeast to reproduce. Did you rehydrate it? Rehydrating the yeast in water before pitching is a very good idea.

 

[smakudwn]

I only got 66% attenuation out of this yeast. I re-hydrated and kept at 68ish in the ferm chamber and it had a slow start. Not sure I will use this yeast again.

 

[user 165400]

+1 to this. The most reliable and easiest way to tell if it's fermenting is to take a hydrometer reading.

I just recently used Bry-97 for the first time as well. I pitched on a Saturday night and didn't really see any activity until Monday. Kept the wort around 65F. That lag time made me a bit nervous, but once it started it chugged along just fine for me.

And like ArcaneXor said, it's better not to make starters with dry yeast. The cell count is plenty high to ferment 5 gallons, and they come with a lot of lipids in their cell membranes which makes aeration not as critical. But if you make a starter, you reduce those lipids by causing the yeast to reproduce. Did you rehydrate it? Rehydrating the yeast in water before pitching is a very good idea.

Thanks both of you. We pitched on Saturday and haven't seen any activity but since its a white bucket with an airlock we may not. I know air locks aren't the best gauge for this.

I didn't rehydrate, thanks for that tip. Ill grab a hydrometer reading tonight or tomorrow and pitch a lil more yeast of needed.

 

[user 165400]

I only got 66% attenuation out of this yeast. I re-hydrated and kept at 68ish in the ferm chamber and it had a slow start. Not sure I will use this yeast again.

Not sure I will either. Seems like reading the forums it's a mixed bag. Some fast and great some not so much.

 

[mm1473]

I used this in a wheat. It took three days to start bubbling at 68degrees. After that it went crazy for about 4days and then that was it--ended at 1.020 if I remember right (it was an extract kit). It was 1.065 beer so I even rehydrated and pitched two packets to make sure and it still took that long. I was getting worried until I saw all the forums on the slow start. Beer turned out fine--probably wont use the yeast again--I think slow starts are just asking for trouble.

 

[reinstone]

Fermentation may be done. How much yeast did you use? I should say primary fermentation. Take off the lid and taste it some sanitary way. If its sweet something bad happened if its not. Let it condition a while.

I only mentioned this because I assumed you didn't have a hydrometer! Good advice.

 

[the-crowing]

I pitched two rehydrated packets of this in my pumpkin ale (OG 1.068) late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. I've been keeping the temps of my swamp cooler between 64-68 as well. When I left for work last night, I still saw no bubbling but it does look like maybe some krausen is forming. It's a little hard to tell through the bucket. I'll check on it again when I get home later. I might open it up to check things out since it has been greater than 72 hours now. I probably won't be using this yeast again considering I pitched two packs of S-04 in my cider (OG 1.065) Tuesday night and it was already bubbling within 12 hours :rockin:

 

[smakudwn]

I used this in a wheat. It took three days to start bubbling at 68degrees. After that it went crazy for about 4days and then that was it--ended at 1.020 if I remember right (it was an extract kit). It was 1.065 beer so I even rehydrated and pitched two packets to make sure and it still took that long. I was getting worried until I saw all the forums on the slow start. Beer turned out fine--probably wont use the yeast again--I think slow starts are just asking for trouble.

My american brown had close to the same numbers, also ended at 1.020.

 

[ballsy]

I rehydrated per instructions and double pitched it in AHBS Arrogant Bastard clone (1.07 OG) and had a lot of activity w/in 12hrs, was one of the most active ferments I've had actually. Finished at ~1.017. I even washed from that batch, made a 3L started with some slurry and pitched into NB's Deadringer Ale (OG ~1.065) and that was rolling along w/in 12 hrs and also finished at ~1.016! Posts I see on hear make me worried to use again though....

 

[smakudwn]

If you like the beer it makes use it! I just didn't see much gained from this yeast to deal with the possibilities of issues.

 

[ballsy]

I do know BRY97 is much more temp tolerant (up to 79F) ..the batches I used it were pre-swamp cooler and ambient was 71-72. Actual ferment temps had to be around 76....no off flavors what so ever in either batch I used it in. Maybe she just likes it a lil warmer?

 

[user 165400]

Well we popped the lid open and took a hydrometer reading yesterday, 8 days after pitching. our og was 1.060 and our final was 1.010, so id say its done. I couldnt believe it finished that fast. now on to bottles to condition, interested in tasting it once its carbonated. I dont know that i will use this yeast again (already planning on Wyeast 3711 next) but i was surprised that it worked that fast and took the gravity down that low.

 

[user 165400]

we tasted our first one last night or the night before. taste came out good. no off flavors. may use this again, but not 100% sure. finished fast and attenuation was high.

 

[Tim_Kreitz]

How I get along with BRY-97:

I've used this yeast a few times for APA and IPA recipes and like it a lot, but am currently biting my nails pointlessly while I suffer through yet another long lag time.

I pitched the yeast late Friday night (about 11:45 P.M.), and after a long, slow croisening, I am just now beginning to hear the occasional deep-sounding bloop from the blowoff jug (34 hours later). I normally use my Fermenator for primary, but anytime I inoculate with BRY-97, I use a glass carboy. This way, my worrying ways are somewhat alleviated when I open the fermentation chamber and see the activity building (albeit at a snail's pace).

As has been pointed out, once BRY-97 gets good and ready, it ferments like a bastard. It'll usually be done in no more than 48 hours. The result is a very clean, crisp yeast profile that compliments hop flavors.

I am fermenting at 64º(F), which is just 1.5º above BRY-97's recommended minimum. This slows things down even more, but produces the best flavors in the finished beer. Once activity stops, I will dry-hop the beer for 9 days or so and then probably rack it into another carboy for a few weeks of lagering. Will try to remember to report back when I'm finally drinking it.

Cheers.