The only time that I used BRY-97 there was a lag, but the beer came out great. I have two packs in my fridge waiting to be used.
It’s become my go to dry yeast for American styles. Can’t recall ever having a lag more than 48 hours. Last couple times it’s been more like 16.
That is the point. The who thing about pitching rate is to ensure that the culture owns the wort. However, if one’s brewery hygiene is sound, then the risk of an infection taking over the fermentation is significantly reduced. I seriously used to push things when I would innocculate 40ml of 1.020 autoclaved wort with just a one or two loopfulls of yeast. The reason why I was able to do so was because I was using aseptic technique to transfer yeast into absolutely sterile wort. If I had not used aseptic transfer technique and just boiled wort, the process would be hit or miss.
Once again, pitching rates are about ensuring that the pitched yeast owns the wort. They are not about flavor or terminal gravity. Flavor is the result of wort composition and its carbon to nitrogen ratio as well as yeast genetics. Terminal gravity is about yeast genetics and dissolved O2. The reason why the suggested pitching rate for lager is twice that of ale is due to the fact that the replication period is extended at colder temperatures. It also helps to mask high carbon to nitrogen ratios by reducing replication count. If aerated well, the typical larger will ferment to completion with ale pitching rates. It will just take longer to do so. Plus, lager yeast has the advantage of being cryotolerant. Very few wild microflora exhibit cryotolerance at a level high enough to compete with lager yeast strains. Cryotolerance is the main reason why lager beer made brewing at the industrial level possible.