Pitching ?

I have been trying to read on pitching yeast and wondering how do you know if you are under pitching or over pitching(if you can over pitch)? Using the extract kits and the packets of yeast they come with.

There are a few yeast calculators out there that will tell you how many cells you need. Try mrmalty.com or yeastcalc.com.

Doesn't yeast just reproduce until it hits whatever ratio it likes? I've been trying to figure out why people do starters and such, I would think with enough time it would work itself out in the end.

It sure will multiply to required levels but it will also produce off flavors in a beer.

Yes, the yeast will ferment your beer. The key is getting a clean fermentation. This means pitching the right amount of cells, and controlling your fermentation temperatures. Under pitching your yeast will still result in fermentation, but stressed yeast will produce off flavors in your beer.

FYI - they don't recommend using starters for dry yeast. The manufacturer goes through a lot of effort to prep them before drying, so you just need to rehydrate them. If you're short on yeast cells you'd want to pitch extra packet(s)

Note that most beginner kits only come with 1 packet of dry yeast. Don't panic if you didn't buy extras and now you don't have enough. It isn't ideal, but the beer should still be fine.

So is there a way to figure out the amount of yeast needed without going to the website and using the yeast calculator? And no offense but still trying to figure out my original question. How to know how much yeast to use.

jsiesener said:

So is there a way to figure out the amount of yeast needed without going to the website and using the yeast calculator? And no offense but still trying to figure out my original question. How to know how much yeast to use.

Click to expand...

You'll have to do the math by hand or using excel. The article below has the calculations. You'd need to look up original cell count of the yeast packet/vial that you are going to use.

http://www.mrmalty.com/pitching.php

brewguyver said:

You'll have to do the math by hand or using excel. The article below has the calculations. You'd need to look up original cell count of the yeast packet/vial that you are going to use.

http://www.mrmalty.com/pitching.php

Click to expand...

Thank you