Does under pitching always make bad beer?

[WillieBananas]

A few questions about under pitching yeast. Last night I brewed a Falconers Flight IPA the O.G ended up being higher then expected (1.080) It was late so I just dumped in the WLP001 Pure Pitch without a starter. This morning it was bubbling away and seems to fermenting just fine. So my question is, does under pitching always lead to bad beer? If so can I add another pack tomorrow afternoon? I also have a few older Mr.Beer yeast packs that I've had for years, could I just throw those on top?

 

[Cathedral]

Er, I think it's time for you to let go of the Mr. Beer packets. Do yourself a favor and toss them.

Underpitching doesn't make bad beer all the time. Honestly, how do you know you under pitched? What was the package date on the yeast? Did you keep it cool until brew day?

The best thing you can do is provide a good environment for the yeast to do it's thing. Right temp, no light, etc. I wouldn't worry about not having enough yeast unless it stalls out. I think the flavor from stressed yeast is such a nuance that most people wouldn't ever notice it, at all.

 

[WillieBananas]

Yea the Mr.Beer packets are OLD. The reason I think I under pitched is just because my gravity reading was so high. Yeast was purchased hours before I pitched and kept cool. Right now it is fermenting in a converted chest freezer with a temp of 62F.
Hopefully I'm just being a worry wort.

 

[masscarriers]

It does not always results in bad beer, but it might stress the yeast enough to produce some off-flavors that you wouldn't want in a given style. It also depends at the temperature you're fermenting at, if you keep it on the low side it might come out clean in the end. Yeast pitching rate, (if dry yeast) rehydrating, oxygenating the wort, fermentation temp... you want to control the most of these parameters to end up with a beer that will have the characteristics you aim for.

Some people purposefuly pitch low yeast rates to produce specific flavors in a saison or hefeweizen beer for instance.

 

[Cathedral]

Yea the Mr.Beer packets are OLD. The reason I think I under pitched is just because my gravity reading was so high. Yeast was purchased hours before I pitched and kept cool. Right now it is fermenting in a converted chest freezer with a temp of 62F.
Hopefully I'm just being a worry wort.

It's always important to look at the date on the package of yeast when you're buying it. You might have bought it just a few hours before, but how long was the HBS holding on to it?

Either way, don't stress. Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew. If it's bubbling away and looks healthy, It'll be fine.

62 might be a little high for that high a gravity, if you're talking just an external temp and not in-carboy. Remember, it's always higher inside than outside. The happier you keep the yeast, the better they'll work. My high OG beers I usually set at around 58 (external) for the first few days, until activity slows, then I up the temperature. This stops them from working *too* hard. But again, RDWHAHB.

 

[WillieBananas]

Sounds great I'll back her down to 58

 

[tgmartin000]

For most ales, it sure doesn't help, but for belgian beers, underpitching can be an important part of the style. Sounds like you underpitched this batch, but it's probably too late to do anything about it. That's why I always try to keep a little dry yeast on hand.

 

[Calder]

It may take longer to finish. It may finish a couple of points higher. It may produce some extra esters from the yeast. It may take longer to clean up (diecetyl, and acetaldehyde). But unless you brewed the 'perfect' beer and had side-by-side taste, you probably wouldn't notice the difference.

As someone else noted, sometimes people deliberately pitch low to get more esters from the yeast.

It is a waste of time and money adding any more yeast now. You have alcohol created, and the O2 is used up, so any new yeast pitched will probably do very little, and be a small amount of the population compared to what the original pitch has multiplied to now.

And the Mr. Beer yeast. Don't toss it away. Toss a pack in boiling wort of your next beer. It provides nutrients for the new yeast. Forget about using it to ferment any beers.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

For me, brewing beer is about repeatability. Keep accurate records of how you brewed the beer and tasting impressions at 30,60, and 90 days. That will answer your question better than opinions of any rando forum lurker.

There is no such thing as "bad beer" there's only beer you don't prefer, and beer that didn't come out as you expected.

Give 5 guys a Bud Light, some will think its great, some will think it's swill. Same thing with Orval, you'll get the same result.

 

[WillieBananas]

Well its day 10 and I took a gravity reading when i dry hopped. came in at 1.021 I guess the yeast are doing ok.

 

[cjones]

it may take longer to finish. It may finish a couple of points higher. It may produce some extra esters from the yeast. It may take longer to clean up (diecetyl, and acetaldehyde). But unless you brewed the 'perfect' beer and had side-by-side taste, you probably wouldn't notice the difference.



As someone else noted, sometimes people deliberately pitch low to get more esters from the yeast.



It is a waste of time and money adding any more yeast now. You have alcohol created, and the o2 is used up, so any new yeast pitched will probably do very little, and be a small amount of the population compared to what the original pitch has multiplied to now.



And the mr. Beer yeast. Don't toss it away. Toss a pack in boiling wort of your next beer. It provides nutrients for the new yeast. Forget about using it to ferment any beers.

+1

 

[WillieBananas]

Well finished at 1.018! Right were it was supposed to be.

 

[Mexibilly]

Sweet!
You're good dude. Learn and progress in your knowledge and ability based on every brew.