Lallemand LalBrew BRY-97 American West Coast Ale Yeast

The clean, no-nonsense West Coast yeast that a surprising number of people quietly switched to from US-05 and never went back to. It does basically the same job — gets out of the way and lets your hops and malt do the work — but with a little extra credit in the head retention department.

Best For American Pale Ales, IPAs, Blondes, West Coast-style beers, and any clean ale where you want the hops to stay bright and the beer to finish dry with a nice cap of foam.

Hard Specs

• Attenuation: 78–84%
• Flocculation: Medium-High
• Temperature Range: 59–72°F (ideal 64–70°F)
• Alcohol Tolerance: Up to 12% ABV
• More tech specs here

Flavor & Behavior Super clean with minimal esters or phenols under normal conditions. It’s not trying to be interesting — it’s trying to stay out of the way. That’s the whole point.

It behaves a lot like US-05, but a lot of brewers report it drops a touch clearer and keeps better head retention. If US-05 is the reliable truck, BRY-97 is the same truck with slightly better tires.

In Practice This is the one a lot of people reach for when they want that classic clean American profile but with a little more polish on the finish. It’s become a quiet favorite among brewers who got tired of US-05 being just okay on head retention. Not dramatically different — just a small upgrade in the areas that actually matter on brew day.

Pitching & Rehydration One 11g sachet does a standard 5 gallon batch around 1.050 OG. Rehydrate in 86–95°F water for 15–30 minutes before pitching. Same story as most dry yeast — skipping this step is still one of the fastest ways to make dry yeast underperform.