Is it possible to overpitch?

[Carne de Perro]

The brew I'm planning for this upcoming week is a mild. (Sumtin fer da missus) I'll be making a starter for the first time and was curious if it was possible to pitch too many yeast into a batch. So far as I know the only downside to overpitching is wasting the extra starter wort on yeast you didn't need, but is there a detrimental effect on the beer?

 

[david_42]

No. Many people routinely pitch high gravity worts on the cake from a previous batch, which is far more yeast than any starter would have.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I think the only way you could see any detrimental effect is if you have such a large yeast starter that it actually flavors your beer (i.e., you have a lot of wort/beer in your starter, and you didn't pour it off first). Of course, that's not really overpitching so much as diluting and modifying.

 

[Glibbidy]

Overpitching is possible, and could contribute to autolysis, however as a homebrewer the remote possibility of any of us overpitching is, well er....remote.

Underpitching on the other hand, I'd hazard a guess that 60-80% of homebrewers in the universe underpitch most of the time. I'd be more concerned with underpitching then overpitching.

 

[Carne de Perro]

Good to know, I've seen lots of ink on how important it is to pitch enough yeast but never seen anything on pitching too much. Figured if it was a problem it was a small one but thought I'd ask. Ironicly I'll be pitching a starter for the first time with my upcoming batch. Why is that ironic? Cause I'm brewing a mild for the SWMBO and the estimated SG is only 1.035! Thought I'd take the opportunity to try my hand at starter making with a batch that wasn't too expensive. (Slightly underhanded I know, but it's for a good cause.)

 

[Beer Snob]

Is it possible... yeah... probable... no. Of all the things possible, overpitching yeast is probably something of the last thing you should worry about. Underpitching actually is much more of a problem.