Doubled up yeast pack

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

vegas20s

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
310
Reaction score
4
I brewed a batch this weekend and due to some research and a trip to mr malty I decided I needed to use two yeast packs in my 7 gallon 1.059 og batch.

My last few batches have been high og and over the 5 gallon mark and have all been slow starters. Didn't really question why. Now I realize I was under pitching a bit.

Mr. malty said use a packet and a half for my seven gallon batch. The lag time was way down ( from 24 to like 8). And fermentation seems to be finishing up faster.

I just wanted to share my discovery.

The one question I have is this:
Since you can't buy a pack and a half of the yeast I used I just went ahead and used two whole packs.
Is this going to effect the beer in any way, either positively or negatively?

The research I did says it's hard to over pitch but what do you all think?

It was the t-58 yeast and I want the spice notes this yeast gives of can I loose this by not stressing the yeast?
 
Im assuming you didnt rehydrate so you loose half the viability of each pack so pitching 2 was the right thing to do and as you noticed you'll get shorter lag time, faster fermentation and faster cleanup.
 
I've never heard the "if you don't rehydrate, you'll lose viability" thing. I know that rehydrating can decrease lag time by waking the little buggers up, but I'm skeptical on the actual loss of viability. Could you explain further?
 
If pitching two packs gives you peace of mind then it is a good idea. Many brewers would consider this an unnecessary expense and would make a starter to ensure they pitch enough yeast. However, if the cost doesn't bother you and you get a great start to a proper and thorough fermentation which (most importantly) leads to a batch you are happy with, then you have done well.
 
This is the explanation from Dr. Clayton Cone of Lallemand:

"For the initial few minutes (perhaps seconds) of rehydration, the yeast
cell wall cannot differentiate what passes through the wall. Toxic
materials like sprays, hops, SO2 and sugars in high levels, that the yeast
normally can selectively keep from passing through its cell wall rush right
in and seriously damage the cells. The moment that the cell wall is
properly reconstituted, the yeast can then regulate what goes in and out of
the cell."

also you dont have to aerate when you properly rehydrate
 
This is the explanation from Dr. Clayton Cone of Lallemand:

"For the initial few minutes (perhaps seconds) of rehydration, the yeast
cell wall cannot differentiate what passes through the wall. Toxic
materials like sprays, hops, SO2 and sugars in high levels, that the yeast
normally can selectively keep from passing through its cell wall rush right
in and seriously damage the cells. The moment that the cell wall is
properly reconstituted, the yeast can then regulate what goes in and out of
the cell."

also you dont have to aerate when you properly rehydrate

Really - please explain?
 
Really - please explain?

http://www.danstaryeast.com/frequently-asked-questions

I always aerate my wort when using liquid yeast. Do I need to aerate the wort before pitching dry yeast?

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. The only reason to aerate the wort when using wet yeast is to provide the yeast with oxygen so that it can produce sterols and unsaturated fatty acids which are important parts of the cell membrane and therefore essential for biomass production.

If the slurry from dry yeast fermentation is re-pitched from one batch of beer to another, the wort has to be aerated as with any liquid yeast.
 
So I use dry yeast almost always. I typically sprinkle onto the wort. But if I hydrate then I do not need to worry about aeartion? Will have to try that out.
 
If pitching two packs gives you peace of mind then it is a good idea. Many brewers would consider this an unnecessary expense and would make a starter to ensure they pitch enough yeast. However, if the cost doesn't bother you and you get a great start to a proper and thorough fermentation which (most importantly) leads to a batch you are happy with, then you have done well.

I don 't make starters cause I'm lazy and 2 packs of dry yeast seem to cost around the same as liquid and a starter kit.

I used 2 pack to ensure a good start to a 7 gallon batch.

The thing I'm wondering about is since I didn't stress the yeast will I get the nice spice note from the t-58 yeast. I've used this yeast before and it has quite wonderful spice notes.
 
Back
Top