How many yeast packets?

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Rpwallace1

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Newbie here. I've only used dry yeast packets so far and they've treated me well (I think). When do I use more than one packet? Is it above a certain OG? I assume using two packets would never hurt a beer? Thanks in advance
 
Generally speaking, when you're brewing a beer with a higher OG you might want to use two packets. You could also make a starter. Although that's usually for liquid yeasts.
 
For most normal gravity beers, one dry yeast packet will do just fine. However, if you are brewing beer with a high starting gravity (above 1.060) you may need more than one packet.

Jamil Zainasheff has created a great yeast calculator on his Mr Malty website that will tell you how many grams of dry yeast you need to add to your beer based on your starting gravity and the age of your yeast packets. As yeast ages in the package, it loses viability and you need to add more to compensate for that in addition to adjusting based on your starting gravity.

I have always had good luck adding just one package of dry yeast for beers with an initial gravity below 1.060.

The Homebrew Nerd
thehomebrewnerd.com
 
I have used single dry yeast packets on bigger beers, 1.07+. I always wonder if I should step it up to 2, but if I am using s-05 I have never needed more.
 
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