# Danstar BRY-97?



## Ivonavich

Anybody used it? I have been using US-05 for majority of my Ales - How does this one compare?


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## Cocko

Some info here

I have it drops quicker than US05 but is not quite as clean.


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## jyo

Heard a 1 gm per litre pitch rate was also recommended.


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## keifer33

Used it in two beers now. Drops to create a very clear beer. Nothing noticeable ester wise and does strip a bit of bitterness but in a good way. Will probably be a good house yeast.


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## Tilt

Some say it takes a while to get going too - but when it does, stand back. 
I've just made a wet hop harvest ale with 800g fresh hops and this yeast. Mine started to form a krausen within 24hrs at 18 degrees and went like the clappers for the next 72.
Its only just in the keg but observations so far are that its a good attenuator (1052-1010) and floccer. I can't pick any yeast character with all the hops but it has let them shine through perfectly - just what I was after. Maybe its dropped the bitterness but I can't be sure as the homegrown hops were an unknown factor.
Overall I'm impressed and am considering this as the new standby house yeast (over S05) as it floccs so well - I'm always disappointed with the effort it takes to get a bright beer with S05.
I've harvested the cake and and about to throw GenII into an american hopped porter to see what its like with the darker malts.


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## ballantynebrew

+1 for the slight stall, but it certainly clears out after it goes mental

Used it on a coopers vintage toucan and has done a fantastic job


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## mondestrunken

I bottled an attempt at an American Brown last night with BRY-97.

I had 7g Galaxy @ 15 min, and 15g Cascade @ 0 min. (for ~19L), which was almost undetectable at bottling. There was a definite fruity flavour/aroma half way through the fermentation, and this kind of hopping normally works for me with US-05.

It also turned out darker than I was expecting (unrelated to yeast), so I'm relabelling it a porter. :unsure:


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## Rowy

I recently hit a cube of my Cream Ale with this instead of my usual US05 or 1056. I sampled several over the weekend and it is bloody nice. Definitely adds a bit more flavour than the US05. Dropped as clear as a bell. i may well make it my new standard.


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## Screwtop

Tried this yeast recently, impressed!!! Prefer the profile to that of 05.

Screwy


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## Smokomark

I find it similar to WY1272.
I've kegged 3 brews with it so far and have just pitched 2 more last night.

I will keep on using it in preference to US05


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## Screwtop

I pitched at the recommended rate 1g/L which is more than I would normally use with 05. Anyone else????

Screwy


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## felten

I followed the mr. malty pitching rate. It had a very slow start, around 36-48hrs before I saw any activity. Which was worrying, but spot on with a lot of the reports I've read on various forums.

It then went from 1.048 to 1.010 in about 5-7 days, tasted brilliant out of the FV, haven't tried it carbonated yet.


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## Rowy

felten said:


> I followed the mr. malty pitching rate. It had a very slow start, around 36-48hrs before I saw any activity. Which was worrying, but spot on with a lot of the reports I've read on various forums.
> 
> It then went from 1.048 to 1.010 in about 5-7 days, tasted brilliant out of the FV, haven't tried it carbonated yet.


It's definitely a slow starter........but gets the job done once its up and away.


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## GuyQLD

Anyone tried this yeast at the lower end of temps? I had a beer that was finishing up around the same time we had a bit of a cold spell and it's full of what I think is Acetaldehyde. Anyone want a keg of green apple fat yak?


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## brentice

Rowy said:


> It's definitely a slow starter........but gets the job done once its up and away.


I have experienced this similar conditions with yeast. Once it got going it blew the top of my coopers flash fang-dangle fermenter. It is certainly a more aggressive fermenter than Nottingham( which is become the normal yeast I use). It has about 1 or 2 days to go before I smash this brew into a keg. Fermenting at 18 degrees


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## DUANNE

i have just done a couple of brews with it and as others have said it was slow to start but once up and running it was finished in 2 days at 17. flavour wise im very impressed with the beer being clean but having good hop presence and the way it flocs out and the beers clear is awesome. and due to the simplicity of pitching without stuffing around with starters i think it will be replacing 1272 as my go to yeast for american style beers.


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## Bizier

Just an observation on this strain.

I did a 3L starter with 2 packets, which I was going to use to innoculate 3 x 20L worts with, but I couldn't brew. After 20 hours I took the starter off the stirplate and put it in my food fridge. I was slightly worried it would contract and suck in goodies from the fridge. It is now a week and a bit past this point, and it is still fermenting away, I even knocked the krausen down with the stirbar and tried to get it suspended in liquid but it was back in a day. It has also retained much of the yeast in suspension.

So I would suggest that while perhaps slow, this yeast is pretty cold tolerant. Other yeast would have shrivelled and flocced by now.


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## carniebrew

I have an IPA in the primary on day 10 with BRY-97, my first use of it. It was slow to start, but reached FG within 6 days.

Interesting you do a starter for it Bizier, unusual for a dry yeast. Do you re-hydrate first, then pitch that into the starter?


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## 431neb

There is some discussion on BRY-97 here

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/63344-a-new-dry-yeast/page-6

I will update my (limited) experience with it there.

Needless to say that "top cropping" the crud stuck to the side of the fermenter after high krausen is a bad idea....lol. Makes nice tasting beer but flocculate? Um ....no.


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## Bizier

carniebrew said:


> Interesting you do a starter for it Bizier, unusual for a dry yeast. Do you re-hydrate first, then pitch that into the starter?


Rehydrate as per instructions (I like Danstar's small pack instructions - except for the picture of an open beaker) in 1L flask, pitch to 3L starter.

BUT my plan was to have it on stir plate for about 24-30 hours (took off on stir plate immediately) to just get the yeast firmly into the log phase before pitching to wort.


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## flano

I jus sprinkled the whole packet on top of 20 L of dr smurtos golden ale
Came out great.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I

Sounds like a stupid question, but what does this yeast do, if upped a little temp wise?

Reason I ask, I've got a pack, and been meaning to do another APA/AIPA, but been too flat out. So I'm behind and I wanted to knock out a British beer of sorts, and see if I could get some nice esters happening in say a bitter. I know (before someone says it) I could do an Irish Red, and treat it as a lager yeast and go there, but I really want to do an ESB or a standard bitter.

Wondering if I could use it, or do I need to sit tight on this until I catch up.


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## brente1982

I just used this yeast and rehydrated for the first time as per instructions.

What i was unsure of was how to then pitch it. is it just a case of pouring it into the wort and putting the lid on? or should i have stirred it???


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## tiprya

Just pouring the yeast in seems to work fine for me.


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## stakka82

I am fermenting with this currently and the krausen is still going strong despite it being in the fv 9 days and hitting final gravity days ago.

Can't remember it being like this the handful of times I have used it, is this common?


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## WarmBeer

stakka82 said:


> I am fermenting with this currently and the krausen is still going strong despite it being in the fv 9 days and hitting final gravity days ago.
> 
> Can't remember it being like this the handful of times I have used it, is this common?


Had the same occur last week.

Cold crash it for a couple of days, and it will all drop out, leaving beautiful clear beer.


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## timmi9191

OG to fg - 1046 to 1011 in 72hrs.. Not not mention no detectable activity for 36hrs. now thats Impressive. no explosive krausen though like others have experienced...


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## Yob

As a predominantly ale brewer, I love this yeast!

Reminds me to check on my IPA, with any luck I can carb it up and be into it sat..


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## timmi9191

I usually use 1272 in my American ales, but starters failed so had 46l I needed to pitch on asap. Quick trip to LHBS and it was either us05 or bry97. Never used bry97 so thought why not.. After some reading I think I'm gonna be mildly impressed


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## brente1982

Yeah mine went pretty fast once it kicked off.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I

I rehydrated this. After 35 hours (tops - that was only because I checked it this morning, and not at midnight) it has a nice big foamy krausen.

I looked at it after about 24 hours and it appeared (though it's always hard with the milky-clear fermenters to be be absolutely sure) to have a tiny line of foam, but then after 12 hours, bang there it is.

So yeah, another "it takes a while to start but has big krausen" comment. I had a Bitter next to it with S04 and that was up and running without hydration in no more than 12 hours. So I had a sort of side by side comparison.


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## Spiesy

I dig it. I'm a fan of the BRY.


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## verysupple

The positive comments in this thread (and elsewhere) have convinced me to give BRY-97 a go. I just want to figure out what pitching rate I should use as it has been pointed out previously that Danstar recommends 1 g/L, but don't specify what range of gravity this is appropriate for so I assume a "standard" OG of roughly 1.040 - 1.060. Also assuming the cell density is roughly the same as other Danstar strains, that's roughly 20 M / mL or 1.62 M / mL / P which is in the lager range of pitching rates. Seems like a strange recommendation for an ale pitching rate...

Also, from what I've read, it's often slow to start on the first pitch but seems to take off really fast if repitching slurry (presumably people are repitching at a much higher rate?). I've also read that it sometimes doesn't clear as well as the manufacturer claims. These two observations _might _be resulting from too low a pitching rate.

So I'm wondering the same thing Screwy asked earlier in this thread; how much are people pitching / what pitching rate are people using? But I'd go further and ask:

1) How much / what pitching rate have you used?

2) Did you rehydrate or sprinkle?

3) Did your method give you "normal" or "longer than normal" lag time compared to other strains?

4) How well did the beer clear using your method?


I know some people have already posted a brief description of what they do and their results (such as Goomba above) but I don't think many people have actually answered all four of my questions. 

I know I should just try different pitching rates and see what happens for myself (and I probably will), but collecting data from other observant brewers and then adding mine to it seems like a quicker and more robust way of establishing this yeast's behaviour patterns, which I'm sure other brewing geeks are interested in  .

Cheers, everyone :icon_cheers: .


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## syl

1) How much / what pitching rate have you used?
11g pack on 23L @ 1045

2) Did you rehydrate or sprinkle?
Sprinkle (lazy w/ dry yeasts I am)

3) Did your method give you "normal" or "longer than normal" lag time compared to other strains?
Longer lag than US-05

4) How well did the beer clear using your method?
Very well.

US-05 is preferred for mine, prefer my beers (have done several side by side and US-05 won every bout (APA, DSGA, ABA). That being said, the bottled BRY's are starting to come out great after more conditioning time.


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## Tilt

1 packet (rehydrated for 30min in 200ml cooled, boiled water) in a 23L 1050 batch started for me in <24 hours. 
This was at ferment temps of 17-18 degrees and using the shake and bake fermentor aeration method (no added 02)
Flocculation was good and the beers have turned out clear as crystal. 
On subsequent repitches into similar batches I've used up to generation 4 approx. 250ml thick slurry with a faster start and similar floccing and clarity results.


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## joshF

Used it for nelson summer ale before with 1 packet and took about 2 days before it got its groove on. Still came out great though.

This time used it on a fatter yak (OG 1049) used 2 packets, rehydrated, pitched at about 24 and bought down to 18. Took about 12 hours before it started doing its thing. Was 1014 as of this morning but still a tonne of krausen.

Pretty good yeast in my opinion and clears really really well.


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## tavas

I did a side by side comparison of this vs US-05. 1 packet per 22l each. Split batch so all conditions the same. I don't have a very defined palette but I did notice the BRY was more subdued hop flavour than the US-05. Not excessive but noticable. After about 2-3 weeks could not notice any distinct differnece between the two. Probably would not switch to this from US-05. Did not think there was much difference, certainly not worth noting. I did not pitch at 1 g/l so I am happy to look at this for future comparison work.

YMMV


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## Yob

I've pitched at 1g per lt and didn't really notice a difference to pitching just 1 pack, rehydrated of course, the thing that 97 has over 05 is it drips like a stone and leaves a brilliant clear beer..

I'm a fan and turn to it as the go to ale dry yeast.. Faster to finish than 05 too


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## bmarshall

My first batch took 2 days to start but i didnt airate it enough i think. I was worried so i pitched a pack of notto aswell. It came out pretty clear after cc in secondary for a couple days.
My second batch is still in primary fv but has not floced out very well so i hope the cc works well. I only pitched one pack and it was bubbling away after 1 day. I got a lot more air into it and had lower OG too.


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## verysupple

bmarshall said:


> My first batch took 2 days to start but i didnt airate it enough i think. I was worried so i pitched a pack of notto aswell. It came out pretty clear after cc in secondary for a couple days.
> My second batch is still in primary fv but has not floced out very well so i hope the cc works well. I only pitched one pack and it was bubbling away after 1 day. I got a lot more air into it and had lower OG too.


I'm pretty sure not aerating is not the cause of you problem, as Danstar explain that dry yeast do not need oxygenated wort:



> No, there is no need to aerate the wort but it does not harm the yeast either. During its aerobic production, dry yeast accumulates sufficient amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and sterols to produce enough biomass in the first stage of fermentation.



And to continue the discussion about pitching rates, rehydration etc...

I brewed 22 L of a 1.060 AIPA yesterday and poured the wort into my FV but did not use any other methods of aeration. I followed Danstar's recommendation of 1 g/L pitching rate (exactly 2 packs for my 22 L batch) and rehydrated in 10 times the yeast mass of 0.9% (w/v) saline solution (my water is very soft which is not good for rehydrating) and pitched at 20C with my fridge set to 19C.

I'm not exactly sure when it formed a krausen as it was over night when I was asleep, but it happened somewhere between 6 and 14 hours. This seems to be in line with all my other batches with different yeasts, both liquid and dry. 

So from my experience so far and what others have posted about their experiences, it _may_ be that the long lag times people have been reporting are arising from either poor yeast handling, pitching too little or some other reason, but I don't think it's a trait of the yeast strain. Maybe it's just not as hardy as the ol' US-05 and you need to follow the instructions properly?

And to answer my own fourth question from above, I'll report back on the clarity when the batch is done  .


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## paulmclaren11

First time using this yeast today, just dumped my cube into the FV and had more than I thought - ~ 23 litres.

SG was 1047 - only pitched 1 packet and rehydrated as per packet instructions.

Hopefully gets the job done.


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## Yob

Will do without a doubt


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## jyo

I'm not sold on this yeast yet. Did a double batch of fairly standard APA and pitched two packs into 23 litres of 1047 wort (no rehydration, I'm lazy) and fermentation kicked off in 14 hours or so. It took a week to finish, then I left it on the yeast for 5 days or so. Fermented at 19'.

Samples were yeasty and estery as hell, not clean at all.
I didn't CC as I used the yeast cake for the second cube, but after about a week in the keg it's still cloudy as all buggery and tasting like yeast, with massive esters. Hop presence is muted and the malt is not really there either. It has a taste like a hot ferment, but that's unlikely. I'm pretty happy with my temp control. It's not an infected taste at all.

Confident infection wasn't at play, I bit the bullet and reused the yeast cake with the second cube. It was a massive overpitch. This one is tasting great. The malt and hops are there, with hops taking a front seat. Just dry hopped it and CCing for a couple of days then will keg. They are shaping up to be two completely different beers.

Curiouser.


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## carniebrew

I'm finding similar with BRY-97, an APA and IPA I did with this yeast, neither which I crash chilled, are both tasting a little yeasty, like I haven't left the last 10ml or so in the bottom of the bottle...and this is after a good couple of months in the bottle too. I've never had this with US-05. If I use BRY-97 again (I think I have 1 left) I'll crash chill to see if it helps.


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## paulmclaren11

Interesting reading mixed reviews on this yeast, just bought 4 packs of it after thinking it's time to try something other than safale 05.

Hope my brews come up okay with it, crash chilling seems a must.


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## paulmclaren11

My ferment took off with a massive krausen (much bigger than saf 05) after about 12ish hours.

All looks good, apart from a bloody leaking FV tap - time for a newbie.


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## verysupple

I said in a previous post that I'd update on the clarity of my AIPA and the verdict is...no different to US-05 or any other US yeast I've used. I cold crash though so I can't say if it wouldn't be better than US-05 without the CC. Although carniebrew's experience suggests that it might not be clearer. 

At this stage I'm not that impressed with BRY-97 but I've only used it in new recipes so I'm not sure if I don't like the yeast or if it's the rest of the recipe. I can say that it's definitely a bit fruity. Maybe I need to try it in something that I want a bit of fruit character in.


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## pat86

I did a 23L pale ale (turned out quite dark) using just one pack of BRY 97 - so about half the recommended, but re-hydrated as usual. It did seem to kick off slower than normal but got from 1050 to 1013 in a week. Finished at 1012 when I tested and dry-hopped a few days later, although I don't usually test much or earlier than a week, so it could have done most of the work in the first few days for all I know.

I thought the beer poured quite clear from the bottle, but it was also my first time crash chilling so couldn't really say if it is the yeast or the CC. First time with this recipe too, but definitely no yeasty flavours as mentioned above.


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## Yob

Not specifically BRY-97 as I blended it with Greenbelt, but I put 2 batches in the FV's before I left for Brisbane on the 24th December, came back on the 30th and the brews have gone from 1070 to 1014, going to Crash them tmoz, but taste awesome from the sample.. nice and clean, hops shining through.

is a side by side with same wort, different hops, one cube Amarillo / Mosaic, other cube Ahtanum / Mosaic

Cant wait to keg them, k/hop them and judge them h34r:


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## paulmclaren11

7 days into my ferment with this this yeast and I can defo smell the fruitiness... Had a sneaky sample, and albeit very early, it is very yeasty, almost like Coopers pale ale. I hope this settles out as I can't taste much hops. I will leave another week then dry hop and cold crash.


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## Scooby Tha Newbie

I don't understand why people don't do starters. Or at least hydrate their yeast ? It's very simple. No special equipment needed. Maybe because I'm a Baker I don't find anything scarey. As yet no infections in any brews. Tbh tho I'm not shour if I could taste a over pitched brew.


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## jyo

No need to make a starter with dry yeast when you pitch enough. I have noticed little (if any) difference in the final product when rehydrating, and if I am brewing a higher gravity (which is not all that often) I will rehydrate or just pitch two packs. I'm a bit lazy 

Ok, second keg of this (refer to post 43 above) is tasting really good. Hardly any fruitiness or yeasty flavours as with the first batch, though still not as clean as US05.

The first batch was fermented at 19'. The second was fermented at 17'. I CC'd the second batch for 4 days or so @ 3' and then straight onto the gas for two days.
Still by no means clear, but it's tasting pretty damn good. I may give it another go again and ferment it around 17' as this seems to hit the fruitiness on the head.

Come to think of it, as Paul suggests, the first batch does have a bit of a Coopers Pale Ale thing happening.


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## paulmclaren11

So it sounds like once the fruity esters are there, they don't reduce much after time? A big dry hop will be in order me thinks to try and over power it!

I bought 4 packs of this stuff, really should have just got one... but will reserve full judgement once it's kegged and carbed (will gelatin in the keg).


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## warra48

There is no need to rehydrate dry yeast when you pitch enough.
However, be aware that you will kill about half of your yeast by pitching it directly into your wort. Source of this info is the Yeast book co-authored by Chris White.
If you're happy with that, then go ahead.
For me, rehydrating is really quite easy, and ensures you pitch most of the cells you pay for.


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## Liam_snorkel

paulmclaren11 said:


> So it sounds like once the fruity esters are there, they don't reduce much after time? A big dry hop will be in order me thinks to try and over power it!
> 
> I bought 4 packs of this stuff, really should have just got one... but will reserve full judgement once it's kegged and carbed (will gelatin in the keg).


Sorry if I missed it in an earlier post, but what temp did you ferment it at to get this fruitiness? I've been running it at 19, and my last couple of imitation schwarzbiers (buttering hops only) have come through with no noticeable fruitiness. 1 packet rehydrated, OG 1050 approx.


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## Yob

Liam_snorkel said:


> and my last couple of imitation schwarzbiers (buttering hops only) have come through with no noticeable fruitiness.


are they New Zealand hops?


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## fletcher

i have a mixed feeling about this yeast as i'm not sure what the exact issue was. the beer was ok, very clear and the yeast dropped out but it stripped my hops by a MASSIVE amount. this was either the yeast or just bad hops but i've used the hops in other beers with us-05 and they've been noticeable so to the best of my knowledge the yeast really ate through my hops


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## paulmclaren11

Liam_snorkel said:


> Sorry if I missed it in an earlier post, but what temp did you ferment it at to get this fruitiness? I've been running it at 19, and my last couple of imitation schwarzbiers (buttering hops only) have come through with no noticeable fruitiness. 1 packet rehydrated, OG 1050 approx.


I am fermenting at about 18-19c in a temp controlled fridge. I also only pitched 1 pack on a SG of 1047 rehydrated.

Yeast is fresh - use by of 2015 bought from a reputable supplier.

Maybe as I have been using the good old pink packets exclusively for so long I am very sensitive to the fruit...?


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## Liam_snorkel

fletcher said:


> i have a mixed feeling about this yeast as i'm not sure what the exact issue was. the beer was ok, very clear and the yeast dropped out but it stripped my hops by a MASSIVE amount. this was either the yeast or just bad hops but i've used the hops in other beers with us-05 and they've been noticeable so to the best of my knowledge the yeast really ate through my hops


I noticed that too on my last big IPA. 

I have a highly hopped American black ale fermenting with it at the moment set at 16.5 deg - hoping that a slightly less vigorous ferment will help somewhat. Will report.


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## Liam_snorkel

paulmclaren11 said:


> Maybe as I have been using the good old pink packets exclusively for so long I am very sensitive to the fruit...?


Could be it. 
Do you have your probe attached to the fermenter & lagged, or somewhere else in the fridge?


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## paulmclaren11

Liam_snorkel said:


> Could be it.
> Do you have your probe attached to the fermenter & lagged, or somewhere else in the fridge?


The temp probe is on the fermenter - I set the temp knob to 15c to get me a ferment temp of 18-20c.


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## fletcher

Liam_snorkel said:


> I noticed that too on my last big IPA.
> 
> I have a highly hopped American black ale fermenting with it at the moment set at 16.5 deg - hoping that a slightly less vigorous ferment will help somewhat. Will report.


will be interested to hear your report mate. mine was a pale ale fermented at 16C. nothing flashy; pilsner, crystal (1.044), and all amarillo to 45 IBU. honestly tasted closer to 20 IBU and it was even no chilled with no 15 minute hop adjusting.


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## Liam_snorkel

Looks like I'll be dry hopping it like a bitch. 

I accounted for the bitterness being dropped based on the last IPA which was 180 calculated IBU so I was expecting 80-90 due to solubility & perception limits, tasted more like 50 IBU). Just hoping I don't lose too much flavour.


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## fletcher

Liam_snorkel said:


> Looks like I'll be dry hopping it like a bitch.
> 
> I accounted for the bitterness being dropped based on the last IPA which was 180 calculated IBU so I was expecting 80-90 due to solubility & perception limits, tasted more like 50 IBU). Just hoping I don't lose too much flavour.


yeah i'd rather not lose almost 50% of my hop additions if i can help it, so to me i'm cautious of wasting it when i could just use many other similar yeasts. i'll await your report eagerly before jumping in haha


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## Liam_snorkel

My non-hoppy beers have turned out great with it though. Maybe it's just late hop additions that it chews/drops out?


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## Lecterfan

I'm interested and a touch surprised in everyones feedback about all this because BRY 97 is my go-to yeast now for all APAs and AIPAs and I don't think it strips or drops any hop flavours personally (edit - at least I don't believe it has in any of my beers, some of which are the same recipes I've done with us05).

The best of my APAs and AIPAs have been brewed with this yeast…it certainly contributes heaps more to the flavour profile of the beer than us05 does (I think it is similar in many ways to wy1272, it lends a nuttiness and some pleasing fruity esters of its own), but is this 'lack of neutrality' perhaps being considered by some brewers as something that is reducing the hop presence because there is something else going on in the flavour profile?

Anyway, just my thoughts - wanted to provide a counter point so new brewers don't get put off trying this yeast. I think it is fantastic, but don't expect it to be as 'neutral' as us05. 

Now of course there's MJ's M44 to throw into the mix and think about also haha... :icon_cheers:


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## paulmclaren11

I have said I will withold my final judgement on this yeast until I have given it time to clean up and once I have dry hopped/cold crashed etc - but I think as you say Lecterfan as it's not as neutral as Saf 05 it has me interested as to the final product and what it will be like (and maybe a little worried given some of the other reviews).

The taste I had was far from awful - just different and not what I was expecting.

It will be beer and I will drink it! :beerbang:


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## Liam_snorkel

I definitely lost IBUs between near identical recipe/practice with that IPA I was talking about before (compared to us05), but certainly haven't noticed a lack of bitterness in my non-hoppy beers. Could be inconsistencies with something I've done, I don't know. 
You might be onto something with hop profile competing with yeast rather than it actually chewing it out, but (to me at least) that *yeast* profile is barely detectable. Glad to hear that you're digging it with APAs, because I love the quick turnaround and flocculance (is that a word?) and have high hopes for the one it's in now.

EDIT: glaring mistake. Yeast profile, not hop profile. Hopefully makes more sense now.


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## fletcher

oh i agree lecterfan. i'm sure it could be a great number of inconsistencies on my part too with the brews, or a bad batch or perhaps bad hops. it's hard for me to be 100% sure so i'm positive i could try it again in a test batch and see. it's just experience and there are many here who rave about it so perhaps i was just unlucky (or a different taste preference  ).

the more i think about it the more i want to try it again haha


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## paulmclaren11

Okay I think my brew with this yeast is an epic fail.... after 9 days I have checked the gravity and it's only at ~1.020!!

I only pitched 1 packet and rehydrated onto a 1047 wort which by all accounts on here should have got the job done. The yeast had a massive krausen and looked like it was ripping along but obviously ran out of gas....

No wonder things have been tasting funny...

Any suggestions or is this a gonna!?


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## dicko

paulmclaren11 said:


> Okay I think my brew with this yeast is an epic fail.... after 9 days I have checked the gravity and it's only at ~1.020!!
> 
> I only pitched 1 packet and rehydrated onto a 1047 wort which by all accounts on here should have got the job done. The yeast had a massive krausen and looked like it was ripping along but obviously ran out of gas....
> 
> No wonder things have been tasting funny...
> 
> Any suggestions or is this a gonna!?


Paul, 1 pack in a 23 litre batch is underpitched.

I don't have the correct rate in front of me but it is something like 1gr per litre.

Cheers


----------



## paulmclaren11

Yeah it's recommended that 1g/litre is the go, but others on here and the shop I bought it from said a standard batch rehydrated should get it done.

Can I pitch some Saf Ale 05 now to get it finished or is it too late?


----------



## indica86

Mine with this yeast have all finished.
Pitching more yeast will work, but you could shake and bake (bring the temp up a few ° after swirling)


----------



## Spiesy

I just had a BRY-97 ferment climb out of the fermenter, through the air lock!

Pitched two packs of 97 (one of which was hydrated - I need a bigger hydration vessel), 21l of 1050-ish wort in my 30l fermenter at 18-degrees… 3-days later and I've had to change the airlock and clean up… a little anxious to what I'll find when I get home tonight.


----------



## slcmorro

I've got 20L of 1083 wort fermenting away like mad. I made a test batch of 15L of 1040 Pale Ale and just threw the one pack in (naughty naughty) and then dumped the big 1083 on top of the cake, and it's going gangbusters. After just 2 hrs, the airlock was bleepbloopbleeping more than R2D2 and is still going just as strong 2 days later. Not a huge massive krausen either.


----------



## DU99

:icon_offtopic: remember when all use K&K what size the packet..


----------



## paulmclaren11

Will most likely pitch a packet of US 05 if things haven't changed by tomorrow. I have swirled and upped the temp on the fridge.

2 packs next time!


----------



## Liam_snorkel

I've never had it stall with a single packet, yours might have been a dud?


----------



## Yob

My experience with this yeast seems to be somewhat different..

Fast, clean and not noticeably stripping.. one of the things I like about it is that it's fast and drops like a brides knickers.. and isnt as 'dusty' as 05 traditionally is.

My last ferments were as a blend though, I had 2 batches to ferment, did a 2lt Greenbelt starter, divided that equally between the 2 FV's and pitched 1 rehydrated pack to each.. and went to Brisvegas for a week, set both fridges to 17'c (normal 97 ferment temp)

OG 1072
FG 1012 for both

upon my return I transferred both to the CC fridge and kegged today.. both were tasting pretty good from the sample at racking.

Admittedly they are both due to be keg hopped so a little stripping if it happened Im not too worried about it... a milder less hoppy brew and I may reconsider.

My recent experience only


----------



## paulmclaren11

Will pitching a whole pack of US 05 on this to get it to drop 10 points make it dry as a nuns....?


----------



## carniebrew

Any new yeast will only be able to eat any fermentables left in the wort. i.e. you could pitch 2 packs on 23 litres, or you could pitch 5 packs on 23 litres, and they would likely end up with the same final gravity. The taste may differ due to the by-products produced by yeast that have been over-pitched, but it won't affect gravity (i.e. dryness).

I suggest you do a forced ferment test on your wort. Take a ~250ml sample into a jar (make sure everything is sanitary as per usual, you don't want infection to mess the results here), keep it somewhere warm and shake the crap out of it as often as you can. After 24 hours of this, check the gravity of this sample. If it hasn't changed, then there's no fermentables left in the wort. If the gravity has dropped, then you need to either rouse the existing yeast in your main fermenter, or add more yeast.


----------



## DeGarre

Bought two of these babies for my single hop Citra and Chinook. Thanks for all the info.


----------



## MichaelM

Tried the west coast ale yeast this weekend. My brew buddy used Safale us5 in the same recipe and his fermenter started bubbling within 6 hrs. My fermenter started bubbling somewhere between 30 and 36 hrs later. Was worried that there was a problem but all is good now. I am sure the taste will be worth the wait.


----------



## Bribie G

I just pitched two sachets into a double batch of American Cream Ale, and of course I rehydrated in tepid water (as posted by Warra48, pitching dry into wort will waste around half of your purchase due to cell wall rupture when rehydrated in a sugary solution).

Sitting on 17.


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I

Found that you need to rehydrate this, if you don't want to panic. It does nothing for a day or two (more if not rehydrated), then BAM! Tries to climb out of the fermenter.

Does mute hop aroma, and for an APA/AIPA, I still prefer US05 and am happy to wait the extra time at the end to drop out.

If you're kegging, CC will pretty much do the job anyway, and won't extend the time period.

BRY97 - more estery, though not in the British fashion.


----------



## paulmclaren11

Should have followed Carnie's advice... pitched another pack of Saf Ale 05 on my batch on Friday to see if I could get it down from 1020 - hasn't budged an inch.

Followed this schedule with my Braumeister for it's first use:

5 mins @ 52c
60 mins @ 67c
10 mins @ 78

Going to have to test the temps of the BM next time I use it. I have 2 more brews cubed hope they don't suffer the same fate in not being fermentable.. will be using Saf Ale for these to see.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Where did you get that mash schedule?


----------



## paulmclaren11

I sort of made it up to play around with it. Was just going to go for my normal 60 mins @ 66-67....


----------



## mje1980

Add a low 60's step for 20 mins, it will help with attenuation. I always add a 62c rest for all beers, even uk ales. For the uk ales though I make it short, and add a longer low70's rest for dextrins and head.


----------



## paulmclaren11

Cheers for the tip, will need to do more research on stepped mashes and what works best for the yeasties...

What I have (accidently) made is a full bodied mid strength (wife will be happy) - it still tastes fine, enough bitterness there and the fruitiness is only subtle.

Gonna dry hop and keg this weekend.

All learning!


----------



## tavas

paulmclaren11 said:


> Should have followed Carnie's advice... pitched another pack of Saf Ale 05 on my batch on Friday to see if I could get it down from 1020 - hasn't budged an inch.
> 
> Followed this schedule with my Braumeister for it's first use:
> 
> 5 mins @ 52c
> 60 mins @ 67c
> 10 mins @ 78
> 
> Going to have to test the temps of the BM next time I use it. I have 2 more brews cubed hope they don't suffer the same fate in not being fermentable.. will be using Saf Ale for these to see.


Just make sure you didn't end up with 52*c for 60 mins and 67*C for 10mins. I got mine around the wrong way (BM puts time first then temp) and ended up with a stout at 1.020.


----------



## paulmclaren11

Yeah I need to check a few variables next time (eg, owner programming error :huh:, BM temps are accurate).

Cheers.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Those who've seen long lag times, did you see airlock/blowoff activity during the lag? Ever take a hydro reading?

I've used this yeast four or five times and never seen more than a 24 hour lag. At about 45 hours now and still no visible sign. No blowoff activity either. It may have dropped a point, but it could be an off reading either on brew day or now.

Not too worried after reading this thread, but it's certainly a different experienced this time. The only difference to my normal procedure was a warmer rehydration - close to 35.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Just to give further wait to what was already a pretty established suggestion in this thread....this one can be slow.

12...24....40 hours. Nothing, no drop in grav or activity despite oxygenation and rehydration.
48 hours. No visible activity but a very healthy blow off tube.
52 hours. The lid looks like an nightclub toiletbowl at 3am on a Sunday morning.

While this matches up with other expereinces here, it doesn't match up with my previous experiences using this yeast. As much as one can at home, these brewed under similar conditions. The two variables to my mind are either the way it reacts to wort composition or factory variation in the yeast itself. This slow beer was a very turbid lambic base, whereas the fast starters were standard 'gateway' pales.


----------



## MichaelM

Mine started fermenting around 36 hrs after pitching and took a week to complete fermentation. OG was 1.045. Safale definitely gets the job done faster in my experience.


----------



## billygoat

Pitched one packet into 22L of 1.053 wort. Temperature set to 18C. This is a recipe I have made on 3 other occasions using US05.
After 24 hours there were bubbles forming on the top of the wort. After 36 hours there was a krausen of about 25mm thick.
After 48 hours the krausen was 75mm thick.
After 72 hours the krausen was around 125mm thick which seemed to be its peak.
After 5 days the gravity was 1.018.
Didn't pay much attention until day 9 and the gravity was 1.009. Set temperature to 1C for a week and kegged yesterday. Very clear going into the keg.
Compared to US05 - the BRY-97 starts slower, the krausen is much thicker than I have experienced with US05. With US05 I usually lift the temperature from 18C to 20C for the last 2 days of fermentation which usually knocks off a couple of gravity points, didn't need to do this with BRY-97.
When I have done this particular recipe with US05, it has attenuated to the same degree as it has this time, except all visible signs showed it started slower but got to FG a bit quicker with BRY-97.
Won't know what the taste is like for a week or so, will report back then.


----------



## Spiesy

billygoat said:


> Pitched one packet into 22L of 1.053 wort. Temperature set to 18C. This is a recipe I have made on 3 other occasions using US05.
> Compared to US05 - the BRY-97 starts slower, the krausen is much thicker than I have experienced with US05. With US05 I usually lift the temperature from 18C to 20C for the last 2 days of fermentation which usually knocks off a couple of gravity points, didn't need to do this with BRY-97.


To be fair you should have hydrated and pitched 2 x packs of BRY-97 for that brew, as per the manufacturers recommendations.


----------



## billygoat

Spiesy said:


> To be fair you should have hydrated and pitched 2 x packs of BRY-97 for that brew, as per the manufacturers recommendations.


Thats right, and I also should do the same with the US05. With the recipe that I used, I have only pitched 1 packet of rehydrated US05 previously and the results have been good. There were two reasons I only used one pack of BRY-97. One reason was to do a comparison with US05 and the other reason was I only had one pack of BRY-97.


----------



## Bribie G

I'm currently fermenting with BRY-97 for the first time, it's a double brew so I used two packs rehydrated.
It kicked off within 24 hours but after a week at 17 degrees there was still a huge frothy krausen. I raised the temp to 20 for the last few days, krausen still there on day 10.

I've found that before with Chico yeasts, they often seem to behave as a true old school top cropper and rise to the top during fermentation. I note that when I swirl the current brew by rocking the FV, you can see "yeast soup" vortexing down from the top of the liquid and re-mixing with the body of the brew.

When the brew has finally attenuated I find that with these yeasts a good strategy is to CC at -1 degrees for three or four days, and the head finally vanishes.


----------



## Ross

paulmclaren11 said:


> Should have followed Carnie's advice... pitched another pack of Saf Ale 05 on my batch on Friday to see if I could get it down from 1020 - hasn't budged an inch.
> 
> Followed this schedule with my Braumeister for it's first use:
> 
> 5 mins @ 52c
> 60 mins @ 67c
> 10 mins @ 78
> 
> Going to have to test the temps of the BM next time I use it. I have 2 more brews cubed hope they don't suffer the same fate in not being fermentable.. will be using Saf Ale for these to see.


67C is not going to give you that fermentable a wort - try dropping to 65c.


Cheers Ross


----------



## paulmclaren11

Thanks Ross.

I have brewed most of my pales at 66-67c and never had an issue with attenuation (this is when I was BIABing). 

As I said this was the first time using my Braumeister and perhaps my candy thermo isn't as accurate as I once thought when I was BIABing so I will drop the mash temp for sure as you suggest.

I have a couple more packets of this yeast so will pitch 1g/ltr as suggested and give it another shot.

The beer is kegged and carbing as we speak - it has actually turned out to be a nice hoppy full bodied mid strength APA so no real complaints about the yeast (more brewers error!).


----------



## Bribie G

Bribie G said:


> I just pitched two sachets into a double batch of American Cream Ale, and of course I rehydrated in tepid water (as posted by Warra48, pitching dry into wort will waste around half of your purchase due to cell wall rupture when rehydrated in a sugary solution).
> 
> Sitting on 17.


And fifteen days later:





No finings, only about 4 days cc. Third day in keg.

This is definitely one of the best Cream Ale / Blonde ales I've ever done, clean, low IBUs but the hops just stay with you during the finish. This is almost as good as my best lagers, if they had euro hops. (I used a wee touch of Chinook).

And..... it's a partial    

I'm definitely sold on this yeast, it reminds me very much of those fast clean Wyeasts like San Diego Superyeast or Pacman.


----------



## carniebrew

carniebrew said:


> I'm finding similar with BRY-97, an APA and IPA I did with this yeast, neither which I crash chilled, are both tasting a little yeasty, like I haven't left the last 10ml or so in the bottom of the bottle...and this is after a good couple of months in the bottle too. I've never had this with US-05. If I use BRY-97 again (I think I have 1 left) I'll crash chill to see if it helps.


Sorry to quote myself, but I wanted to follow up on this. I bottled my IPA done with BRY-97 on Nov 3 (no crash chill), and was saying in late Dec that it was still a bit yeasty. Well I drank the last dozen or so of this batch while on holidays the last couple of weeks (with some help), and noticed the yeasty taste was completely gone. So it may have just taken a good few months for it to fully drop out in the bottle. Or perhaps it just took a while for my IPA to come good....or both? 

As I said though I'll crash chill from now on with this yeast, hopefully that'll help it come good more quickly.


----------



## jyo

To update on mine-

The first keg cube (fermented at 19-20') is still tasting yeasty and generally very disappointing.
The second cube (fermented at 17') is tasting great. I haven't really noticed any difference in flocculation when comparing this to US05.
I will give it another run at 16-17' and see how I go as this temp seems to be a sweet spot.


----------



## Bribie G

CB, I've found that crash chill is handy with a lot of these "chico" yeasts. That's tied in with why I stopped using US-05 in frustration and tried a full gamut of family members such as Wyeast 1056 and so on, but (like the BRY-97) at the end of primary they all seem to have this characteristic of hanging around like a bad smell, particularly US-05, with a scummy little head that won't go away.

The BRY kept throwing up a big spongy head after daily swirling (after about the fifth day). In some ways it acts not unlike an old fashioned Yorkshire yeast, floating up to the surface as a mat after attenuation. When the BRY had subsided to the scummy little head I unleashed the mini-lagering on it -1°C for 4 days and as usual it waved the white flag and flocced beautifully to a surprisingly clear and clean beer.

Current brightness - no finings uses - is more like what I would expect from a beer after two weeks in the keg, never mind two days.


----------



## malt_shovel

Man I am envious of the results other are getting with this yeast. For some reason I am struggling to get it to floc out and attenuate fully. I put it down to my particular sachets were poorly handled before I got them but others in WA seem to be getting good results. I think I will wave the white flag and go back to US-05 for now. I am building up some dark lager and RIS stocks for winter time anyways so will revisit when done with those.


----------



## paulmclaren11

I got mine in WA too from a reputable retailer - got them via post though.

When mine stalled at 1020 (only pitched 1 packet) I questioned my mash temp which was 67c and whether my Braumeister was accurate. I have a Bright Ale clone mashed at 66c in the BM fermenting now with Saf 05 and it's down to 1010 no worries in 7 days.

Perhaps there are some suss packets floating around in Perth... next time I will pitch 2 packets (as I have some left) but I have never had a brew stall so high mashing at 67c (and I have verified the temps are correct).


----------



## carniebrew

But Paul, didn't you say previously that you pitched a packet of us-05 onto the BRY-97 beer that stalled at 1.020, and it didn't drop any further? If that's the case then it wasn't the BRY causing your high final gravity issue.

On the subject, I'm not sure a dodgy packet of dry yeast would necessarily cause stalling at a high gravity....even a significantly under-pitched beer should still ferment out, it might just take a while, and possibly produce some off flavours from the stress the yeast is under?


----------



## verysupple

carniebrew said:


> But Paul, didn't you say previously that you pitched a packet of us-05 onto the BRY-97 beer that stalled at 1.020, and it didn't drop any further? If that's the case then it wasn't the BRY causing your high final gravity issue.
> 
> On the subject, I'm not sure a dodgy packet of dry yeast would necessarily cause stalling at a high gravity....even a significantly under-pitched beer should still ferment out, it might just take a while, and possibly produce some off flavours from the stress the yeast is under?


It depends how he pitched the US-05. Apparently the yeast needs to be metabolically active when pitching into something that already has an appreciable amount of alcohol in it. Inactive yeast apparently just say, "Nope, we aint touchin' that." if pitched into alcoholic solutions. But if they're already active they say, "Yeah, alright. We may as well finish this job while we're at it.". So sprinkling or even rehydrating won't cut it. You need to get them munching on some sugar first.

Of course, this still doesn't mean the BRY-97 failed. It may be that 1.020 really is the limit of attenuation. Who knows?


----------



## paulmclaren11

verysupple said:


> It depends how he pitched the US-05. Apparently the yeast needs to be metabolically active when pitching into something that already has an appreciable amount of alcohol in it. Inactive yeast apparently just say, "Nope, we aint touchin' that." if pitched into alcoholic solutions. But if they're already active they say, "Yeah, alright. We may as well finish this job while we're at it.". So sprinkling or even rehydrating won't cut it. You need to get them munching on some sugar first.
> 
> Of course, this still doesn't mean the BRY-97 failed. It may be that 1.020 really is the limit of attenuation. Who knows?


Yeah I dumped a packet of Saf Ale straight onto the wort sitting @ 1020 - no rehydrating.


----------



## manticle

As very supple says - try making an active starter first. Not normally necessary with dry yeast but for stalled ferments it is a good thing.


----------



## carniebrew

I wouldn't waste my yeast without doing a forced ferment test first though. You want to know there's still some fermentables left into the wort before throwing more yeast at it.


----------



## verysupple

Another thread got me thinking about BRY-97 again, and how it seems to behave a bit differently to other clean American style ale yeasts. I have a new theory about why there are so many reported cases of extended lag times. Is it possible that it actually starts fermenting well before it forms a krausen? I came up with this idea because once it does form a krausen it seems to reach FG very quickly. So maybe half the work is done before the krausen? I never take gravity readings until I think it's about done, and my FV lid doesn't seal properly any more so the airlock doesn't bubble unless a batch is in full swing. So I can't tell if it's producing CO2 before the krausen forms.

Have people who use glad wrap or who have good seals and bubbling airlocks noticed if CO2 is produced (and therefore fermenation has started) before the krausen forms or other visual signs of fermentation?


----------



## jkhlt1210

Big fan here! Definitely slow starter but hammered after two days of nothing!


----------



## Gavo

verysupple said:


> Is it possible that it actually starts fermenting well before it forms a krausen?


I reckon it could do this. I have a fermenter with BRY97 ATM, it seemed like a slow start however I could see that the break material was sitting at the top of the fermenter which I find is the result of the yeast working and creating enough CO2 to float the break material and atached yeast.

Know what you mean by the fluffy top BribyG mine is just the same ATM and reckon I will have to crash chill just to get it to drop.


----------



## Milk-lizard84

Hey guys just a quick question in regards to this yeast. I made a partial rye pale ale and it finished quite high. Og was 1.048 but finished at 1.018. I used the 1g per litre recommended for this yeast. I tried to ferment it in the house while my fermentation fridge was being used so it sat at about 16 to 17 degress most of the time.
I did rehydrate my yeast and seemed to start quite well but seemed to fizzle out. Tried agitation to the wort and more heat when my fridge was free but it won't seem to budge past 1.018. Will this be safe to bottle?
Haven't had anything finish this high before


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I

What temp did you mash partial grains at?


----------



## Milk-lizard84

It was about 65 from memory


----------



## manticle

What else was in the recipe? Are you measuring gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer? What temp, how consistently and how long for fermentation? I know you said mostly 16-17 but how long and did it swing much?
Don't bottle anything till you know it's done.
How long stalled at 1018?


----------



## Milk-lizard84

Yeah I was measuring with a hydrometer. I guess the temp did fluctuate abit due not being controlled and its been in fermenting for about 2 weeks. It just had a kilo of grain, 1 can of coopers pale ale and I kilo.of ldm. Hope that helps.


----------



## manticle

Try a fast/forced ferment test. Meanwhile give the fermenter a gentle swirl and bump the temp up to 21 or so. There's a chance it's done - dme will finish higher but best to be sure.
Hydrometer reads 1.000 in tap water?


----------



## Milk-lizard84

That last message I typed had so many spelling mistakes. I did type it at 4:30 this morning though. Thanks for the advise manticle. The fg has been pretty steady over a few days so maybe it has finished. I'm assuming the fast/forced ferment test is done before adding yeast to the main batch?


----------



## Milk-lizard84

Oh and I haven't tested my hydrometer for awhile but I'm pretty sure it reads 1.000 in water.


----------



## manticle

You can do one now.
Can be done prior to see what fermentability the wort has but can also be done on fermenting wort/beer to see if it is stalled or finished.

You can also do it to see if the existing yeast is capable of getting it down further and if a new yeast would be capable of getting it further.


----------



## Screwtop

verysupple said:


> I have a new theory about why there are so many reported cases of extended lag times. Is it possible that it actually starts fermenting well before it forms a krausen? I came up with this idea because once it does form a krausen it seems to reach FG very quickly. So maybe half the work is done before the krausen? I never take gravity readings until I think it's about done, and my FV lid doesn't seal properly any more so the airlock doesn't bubble unless a batch is in full swing. So I can't tell if it's producing CO2 before the krausen forms.



Someone's on the ball.......... !

Screwy


----------



## Milk-lizard84

Cheers guys for the responses. I did try adding half a pack of s05 to see if that would bump.it down but no luck. Forgot to mention that earlier.


----------



## manticle

If you add dry yeast to a stuck ferment, make an active starter first.


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I

An update on BRY97 - which has reluctantly become my house APA/AIPA yeast. I say relunctantly, because I do favour US05, even with its little issue of never flocculating without assistance, because I perceive it as more neutral, better showcasing American hops.

However, with some water adjustments to my current IPA, the hoppiness factor from the fermenter is massive! So it might not be BRY97, after all. Taste tests to come/confirm.

I just reused some BRY97 by scraping the nice fresh krausen from the abovementioned IPA, and put it into a fermenter with some high gravity (1.08x) beer. It was off and running in under 24 hours (overnight, so not sure exactly when), with a nice thick krausen on the new beer.

So I'm assuming that slow lags have to do with non-rehydation, but not necessarily indicative of 'no' fermentation, but the visible krausen is usually not apparent within 24 hours unless I rehydrate/use active yeast.


----------



## verysupple

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> An update on BRY97 - which has reluctantly become my house APA/AIPA yeast. I say relunctantly, because I do favour US05, even with its little issue of never flocculating without assistance, because I perceive it as more neutral, better showcasing American hops.
> 
> However, with some water adjustments to my current IPA, the hoppiness factor from the fermenter is massive! So it might not be BRY97, after all. Taste tests to come/confirm.
> 
> I just reused some BRY97 by scraping the nice fresh krausen from the abovementioned IPA, and put it into a fermenter with some high gravity (1.08x) beer. It was off and running in under 24 hours (overnight, so not sure exactly when), with a nice thick krausen on the new beer.
> 
> So I'm assuming that slow lags have to do with non-rehydation, but not necessarily indicative of 'no' fermentation, but the visible krausen is usually not apparent within 24 hours unless I rehydrate/use active yeast.


Way back before I tried the yeast a few times I thought the same too - that the long lags people were experiencing were maybe from not rehydrating or pitching enough yeast. My own experience, which seems to be the same as many others, is that even if you do rehydrate and pitch a good amount it can still have a long lag. I think your high gravity batch took off quickly because the yeast was already metabolically active. That's the big difference I can see. So maybe Danstar's drying process is somehow different to other yeasts and it takes a while for BRY-97 to take up nutrients, get the matabolism going, and start replicating and fermenting.


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I

verysupple said:


> Way back before I tried the yeast a few times I thought the same too - that the long lags people were experiencing were maybe from not rehydrating or pitching enough yeast. My own experience, which seems to be the same as many others, is that even if you do rehydrate and pitch a good amount it can still have a long lag. I think your high gravity batch took off quickly because the yeast was already metabolically active. That's the big difference I can see. So maybe Danstar's drying process is somehow different to other yeasts and it takes a while for BRY-97 to take up nutrients, get the matabolism going, and start replicating and fermenting.


You could be right. I reckon the nutrients are designed to be activated slower. I wonder if prolonged shelf life is the reason they do it that way.

I know why BRY-97 that I get less lag if I rehydrate. It's usually less than 24 hours as opposed to 24-48 hours on average if I don't rehydrate (I had it get close to 3 days once).

The big thing is that the active yeast wasn't a massive amount (I could only get so much off, and was concerned about leaving the active fermenter open for long), but enough to take from a 1.052 batch to a 1.08x (I can't remember), without much issue.


----------



## DeGarre

Slow starter indeed, dry-pitched 2 packets into 1074° wort with a larger than usual head space in the FV 15 hours ago. Nothing yet. I have it in the wet room in case it'll go mental later on.


----------



## HBHB

Had a call from the distributors of BRY-97 today and they have asked to hold all outgoing shipments of the current batches until further notice next week. 

This has come about as a result of a number of enquiries about prolonged Lag times. The manufacturers are currently testing the relevant batch(s) and will let retailers know the outcome of tests as soon as possible. I understand they're looking into viability of the batches. No other known issues.

Martin


----------



## DU99

Thanks for the heads up


----------



## verysupple

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> The big thing is that the active yeast wasn't a massive amount (I could only get so much off, and was concerned about leaving the active fermenter open for long), but enough to take from a 1.052 batch to a 1.08x (I can't remember), without much issue.


Yeah, that's the good thing about top cropping, you don't need as much.  I can't remember which brewer/yeast guru it was but the quote goes something like, "Are you sending in X billion tired old grannies, or X billion fit, strong soldiers?" I'd go with not so many healthy, strong, active yeast cells over lots of not so healthy and strong cells any day.


----------



## Spiesy

Yep. We've quarantined our stock until the batch we're holding is given the all clear. 

Got to say, I'm impressed with the care taken by the distributor to ensure quality product.


----------



## DeGarre

DeGarre said:


> Slow starter indeed, dry-pitched 2 packets into 1074° wort with a larger than usual head space in the FV 15 hours ago. Nothing yet. I have it in the wet room in case it'll go mental later on.


That same evening ie yesterday started thumping along, this morning going very steady but not too aggressively, krausen was there too. Moved to a cooler place now when something like this was avoided:


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

I've had massive krausen monsters from this yeast, but always big lags, rehydrate or not. I've never re-used it.


----------



## stakka82

Does anyone else get an exceedingly sweet aroma with this yeast when fermenting APA type beers?

Quite a few times I have thought I've had a diacetyl problem with recent beers but on reflection they have all been fermented with bry and not us-05 (i use both depending on what i have in the fridge). Reading around a bit though and a few brewers report excessive crystal malt sweetness to the aroma on bry 97 fermented apa type beers. To be honest I am not totally confident on my fault picking and this could be it rather than diacetyl?

It's also like the aroma combines with the fruity hop aroma and is multiplied, it's not necessary unpleasant, just different and unintended.


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## Yob

Not noticed that stakka, lag, yes, slightly less so @1g/L bit my APA'S all finished dry, I tend to not use any crystals though so dunno if that helps at all or not


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## DeGarre

2x11g of this yeast brought my 1074° down to 1013° and 8% abv. Fermented quite cool. 19 or so. The krausen ring came off the FV with a limp wrist - no elbow grease needed.


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## amarks6

I pitched 2 sachets of this yeast into a 42 litre batch of DSGA recently.

It had a 48 hour lag time and it's the single worst beer I've ever made. Very estery and tangy. I've made the same recipe with US-05 with good results.

Yeast was fresh and purchased from one of our respected sponsors, but I did think that it smelled unusually strong when I was pitching it.

Maybe Danstar had some quality control problems for a time - as suggested above. Has this been confirmed yet?


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## hoppy2B

Dr Rummy said:


> I pitched 2 sachets of this yeast into a 42 litre batch of DSGA recently.
> 
> It had a 48 hour lag time and it's the single worst beer I've ever made. Very estery and tangy. I've made the same recipe with US-05 with good results.
> 
> Yeast was fresh and purchased from one of our respected sponsors, but I did think that it smelled unusually strong when I was pitching it.
> 
> Maybe Danstar had some quality control problems for a time - as suggested above. Has this been confirmed yet?


Did you give it a good aeration and ferment it nice and cool?


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## amarks6

hoppy2B said:


> Did you give it a good aeration and ferment it nice and cool?


Yep. Fermented at 20 degrees.


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## vykuza

Hi Dr Rummy - I'm sure the BRY-97 wasn't from my stash, but send me a PM with your postage address and I will replace the yeast.


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## hoppy2B

The only time I have used BRY-97, the hops came out a lot stronger and harsher tasting than I was expecting.


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## Mr. No-Tip

Dr Rummy said:


> Yep. Fermented at 20 degrees.


Not excusing the yeast, but 20 isn't that cool.


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## HBHB

1 pack will usually chew through single batch beers with a gravity up to 1.048/1.050 clean as a whistle. Above that and it does get some odd esters. I usually do it at 18 deg C. In that sized batch, if you're up over that gravity, i'd suggest a third packet would be better and a 4th if you're up ove 1.070. Something else to consider is double stacked batches, say in a 60L plastic fermenter don't have twice the surface area to get rid of the heat, so if your ambient temp is 20, you could have a wort temp up around 22-23 Deg C. (Assumptions, not knowing if it was done in a fridge or how temp was determined)


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## amarks6

Nick R said:


> Hi Dr Rummy - I'm sure the BRY-97 wasn't from my stash, but send me a PM with your postage address and I will replace the yeast.


Thanks Nick, but it wasn't yours - and I'm not suggesting that the supplier is responsible in any way.

I think it might just have been an odd batch.


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## amarks6

HBHB said:


> 1 pack will usually chew through single batch beers with a gravity up to 1.048/1.050 clean as a whistle. Above that and it does get some odd esters. I usually do it at 18 deg C. In that sized batch, if you're up over that gravity, i'd suggest a third packet would be better and a 4th if you're up ove 1.070. Something else to consider is double stacked batches, say in a 60L plastic fermenter don't have twice the surface area to get rid of the heat, so if your ambient temp is 20, you could have a wort temp up around 22-23 Deg C. (Assumptions, not knowing if it was done in a fridge or how temp was determined)


It was done it two separate 25l fermenters - one pack of yeast in each.

Temperature was ambient and constant in my cellar at 19-20 degrees.

The wort went from 1.048 to 1.011 - but the flocculation was very poor - not even as clear as US-05.

The beer is drinkable - but I wouldn't use the yeast again.


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## rude

Im going to have a go with 2 packs in 27 litres 1050 95% pils malt 5% wheat
I want to ferment at 14c so once I rehydrate in 30c with 220g of boiled water would 14c be too cold to pitch
Should I add some cooler water to bring it down further from 30c to 20c & pitch as no chilling wort in cube or ?


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## Yob

Add about 200ml of your cool wort every 5 min until it's within ~5'c (use a bigger than normal flask)

Why 14'c?


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## Spiesy

rude said:


> Im going to have a go with 2 packs in 27 litres 1050 95% pils malt 5% wheat
> I want to ferment at 14c so once I rehydrate in 30c with 220g of boiled water would 14c be too cold to pitch
> Should I add some cooler water to bring it down further from 30c to 20c & pitch as no chilling wort in cube or ?


Why do you want to ferment this ale yeast so cold?


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## rude

I am doing a similar grain bill but with a 2565 wyeast at the same time as the danstar so that is probably why
Do you think this is too low ?
Time is no worries to me probably should pitch 3 packs


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## rude

Yob said:


> Add about 200ml of your cool wort every 5 min until it's within ~5'c (use a bigger than normal flask)
> 
> Why 14'c?


Yep but my wort is in my cube
Should or could I boil up some malt & make a cool wort to bring it down to temp


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## Yob

Put the wort in the FV, it'll be fine for the half hour you need to get the temps aligned


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## Lord Raja Goomba I

I used it in a standard APA and an AIPA (which was closer to IIPA status but that's another thing). Both got entered into TSHBC.

Judges said that the APA (I entered as an AIPA) was estery. Granted, I entered an old bottle (I tasted the 'spare' and I deserved the negative comments) but when it was new it was amazing and I picked up little esters. My former Vale/IPA loving wife now considers Vale bland (yes, I know, we all have to get there though) because she liked how hoppy this beer was. To me, the 'esters' were an age thing - and when the hops died down, it became perceptibly more estery - so maybe it's there and when young and the hops are prominent, it doesn't taste estery.

But I skimmed the krausen from this beer and pitched it into a 1.090 AIPA which was an attempt at IIPA. Judges did not pick up any esters and their comment was that if it had been entered as an AIPA and not an IIPA, it would have topped the field (the top beer was a 117 point beer, so assume a high silver or possible gold). It just wasn't quite bitter enough for an IIPA.

Same yeast, same packet and logic would dictate that the bigger beer (even despite getting very fresh yeast) would throw more flavours.

Only thing I can surmise is that yeast health and age of beer are massive variables in using BRY-97.


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## DJR

Anyone done a Kolsch with it yet? Might be a bit estery and doesn't seem to like the cold though? Might end up giving a good profile and flocc better than some other options


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## Spiesy

DJR said:


> Anyone done a Kolsch with it yet? Might be a bit estery and doesn't seem to like the cold though? Might end up giving a good profile and flocc better than some other options


You'd be better off with a Kolsch yeast, tbh.


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## rude

rude said:


> Im going to have a go with 2 packs in 27 litres 1050 95% pils malt 5% wheat
> I want to ferment at 14c so once I rehydrate in 30c with 220g of boiled water would 14c be too cold to pitch
> Should I add some cooler water to bring it down further from 30c to 20c & pitch as no chilling wort in cube or ?


Sorry everyone thought topic was about Nottingham yeast my bad I'll just slide out of here


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## DJR

Spiesy said:


> You'd be better off with a Kolsch yeast, tbh.


Yeah I know all about kolsch yeast, just seeing if anyone's done a lighter style like that


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## wobbly

DJR said:


> Anyone done a Kolsch with it yet? Might be a bit estery and doesn't seem to like the cold though? Might end up giving a good profile and flocc better than some other options


I am aware of a couple of brewers who have used a 50/50 mix of BRY-97 and Nottingham to good effect

Wobbly


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## Mattrox

I have put down another Golden Ale with this yeast. 2nd time I've used it. I was worried that this packet was purchased when there were problems with this strain.

I rehydrated with both brews. The current brew is charging headlong into day 4.

I'm going to this yeast often.


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## WWDWD

Using BRY-97 for the first time. Always head great success with US-05 but thought I'd change it up. Sprinkled on top, good stir, pitched at probably around 20/22C. Been sitting at 16C in the fridge and took literally 72 hours to get going. I was really worried at first, but this thread gave me some relief. Then finally this morning there were signs of action through the glad wrap and tonight it's well and truly working. I look forward to tasting what it does to my beer.


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## Yob

Never had an issue with it's finished result.. clean as you like for it's style and drops better than 05..

so = win

ed: though I personally prefer other yeasts not in the dry form B)


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## droid

done about 6 brews with this and I'm getting big apricot/mango type flavours, my grain bill is largely unchanged and I am using different hops so has anyone noticed this stone fruit kind of smell and taste? This last brew I dropped down to 18, the others were 20 as I thought I may lose some of that aroma and taste going lower but this last one at 18 had a huge krausen compared to the others and that apricot sort of profile is there again

Gonna have to try another yeast just to see I spose


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## dicko

Put down a pale ale with BRY 97,
Two packs in a 1.046 wort hydrated as per the instruction and fermented at 20 deg.
pitched last Sunday and the beer is finished today down to 1.010. 7 days.
It took a good day to show an o2 bubble but when it gets going it works pretty hard.

I much prefer this yeast to s05 but I must say that I have never experienced any apricot/mango flavours.

Cheers


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## droid

wonder what else it could be, cheers dicko


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## Spiesy

droid said:


> done about 6 brews with this and I'm getting big apricot/mango type flavours, my grain bill is largely unchanged and I am using different hops so has anyone noticed this stone fruit kind of smell and taste? This last brew I dropped down to 18, the others were 20 as I thought I may lose some of that aroma and taste going lower but this last one at 18 had a huge krausen compared to the others and that apricot sort of profile is there again
> 
> Gonna have to try another yeast just to see I spose


What are the hops you're using? 
Hops can definitely throw stone fruit.


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## Yob

I found it to be a pretty neutral sort of yeast, especially at 17-18 

Do I still owe you some Bry-97 Dicko? Shoot me a pm with details and I'll get them out to you


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## verysupple

The recent activity in this thread has reminded me...

I recently brewed a couple of recipes that I'd previously fermented with BRY-97, but this time fermented one with US-05 and one with Wy-1056. The biggest difference I noticed was that the BRY-97 versions seemed much maltier and slightly fruitier. They were both darker (~30 EBC) beers with prominent but not dominating hop character. All of the beers were fermented at 18 C until late in the fermentation when I let them free rise a few degrees to finish off.

I'm starting to prefer this to US-05/1056 just for the more malty character. The fruitiness is OK, but I'm not that fussed and wouldn't mind the same beers fermented really cleanly.


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## droid

Spiesy said:


> What are the hops you're using?
> Hops can definitely throw stone fruit.


galaxy mostly dry h and waimea ?, bittered with Ella, Summit, Galaxy or Waimea, got a full mosaic in the fermenter at the mo 

What say yee?


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## Spiesy

droid said:


> galaxy mostly dry h and waimea ?, bittered with Ella, Summit, Galaxy or Waimea, got a full mosaic in the fermenter at the mo
> 
> What say yee?


Galaxy can certainly display stone fruit/passionfruit. 
I don't have any experience with Waimea


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## droid

thanks mate, I do like the yeast, maybe I need to back off the Galaxy a bit, the next couple are Galaxy free so that'll confirm it I spose

cheers


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## dicko

Yob said:


> I found it to be a pretty neutral sort of yeast, especially at 17-18
> 
> Do I still owe you some Bry-97 Dicko? Shoot me a pm with details and I'll get them out to you


Hi Yob,

I am really not too worried about it mate, all the beers so far have worked fine using this yeast.
I have not had any problems with attenuation and I have been happy with the result.
The problem may have been part of a batch but I have been very happy with each result with my beers.
I have two packets left and I will run them in the next APA or similar....you owe me nothing I am pleased with the great service and the generous offer.

Cheers and thanks for your attention..

Dicko.


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