Is it possible to pitch too much yeast?

[StrongBad42]

I'm going to make a starter for an OG of 1.086. The Brewer's Friend calculator said I need 323 billion cells. With a 2L starter I would get 462 billion cells. Is that too much? Does that calculator take into account left over cells needed for priming?

 

[Poynton Blue]

I'm going to make a starter for an OG of 1.086. The Brewer's Friend calculator said I need 323 billion cells. With a 2L starter I would get 462 billion cells. Is that too much? Does that calculator take into account left over cells needed for priming?

John Palmers book suggests a pitch rate of 58bil cells per gallon for ale at .75 billion cells per litre per 4gps, based on a wort SG of 1.085.

He also suggests its “difficult to hurt a fermentation...by pitching too much”. Keen to hear other comments as I’m a beginner and reading more than doing at the moment!

 

[Miraculix]

As long as you are not hugely overdoing it, I see no harm in pitching more yeast.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I have heard people refer to off-flavors from over-pitch, but I'd say on the level it is way less potentially damaging to a fermentation than under-pitching from what I've experienced and seen of other peoples' experiences.

 

[MaaZeus]

Dont worry about overpitching, you need to go way overboard before it becomes a problem. Even SLIGHT underpitching is not a big of a deal because yeast is alive thing that replicates (your fermenter is essentially a one big starter) to fill the missing cells on its own.