Overpitching yeast

[jstringer1983]

Okay. I know this topic has been adressed a million times over, so please forgive me bringing it up. Its just that a post i made a few days ago started some discussions about my overpitching of dry yeast, i got confused, so here i am. I have been pitching 2 packs of US-05 in my beers for some time. My beer tastes good, but being new to brewing there are probably several off flavors in there that i just dont notice because im green. It was brought to my attention that 2 packs is waaaay overkill, a waste of yeast and is probably leading to some of my flavor qualms. I am from the belief that 2 packs of US-05 is not a huge deal for 5 gallons, gives me some leeway for various yeast problems and will result in a quick, clean and healthy ferment. Am i wrong, ruining my beer and wasting yeast? Tell me your thoughts guys.

 

[d3track]

Could be wasting money. Us05 is pretty neutral so the flavor impacts from over pitching are lessened.

Pitch rates are about batch volume and gravity for a strain.

 

[cyberbrew]

Depends on the beer. If you're talking about a 1.040 session ale, you don't need 2 packs of 05. Whether it would create off flavors I can't really say, but certainly for a small to medium sized gravity beer you really only need a single pack. Now, if you're brewing 1.070+ beers, I'd probably advise using 2 packs.

Edit: I'm assuming you're brewing 5 gal batches...

 

[brew_ny]

pitching dry without rehydrating the yeast two packs are right about for five gallons

if you rehydrate two packs of 05 pitched in five gallons that might be an over pitch


all the best

S_M

 

[BigFloyd]

pitching dry without rehydrating the yeast two packs are right about for five gallons

if you rehydrate two packs of 05 pitched in five gallons that might be an over pitch


all the best

S_M

Quite true, but probably not enough of an overpitch to cause issues.

Practically the only way home brewers tend to seriously overpitch a beer is to rack a batch onto a whole yeast cake from a previous batch (except for big lagers and ultra-high gravity ales)

 

[brew_ny]

Quite true, but probably not enough of an overpitch to cause issues.

no issues at all

S_M

 

[RM-MN]

Here's a little experiment about overpitching and underpitching yeast in a batch of beer. Read it carefully to see how much the batches were overpitched and underpitched and the flavor contributions of each. http://sciencebrewer.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/

Once you have read this, you can quit worrying about overpitching and just pitch the correct amount for the batch. You might even get wild and underpitch a batch just to see what differences it makes. Note that yeast will multiply in the wort if you give it the building materials, mostly just oxygen since you wort should contain everything else needed.

 

[madscientist451]

Thanks for the link, interesting blog

 

[jstringer1983]

Thanks for the link, definitely has me thinking. Im going to brew my pale ale tomorrow and try to pitch dead on to see what differences come through in the finished beer. I have used a few pitch rate calculators with mixed results and unfortunately my beersmith 2 mobile doesnt have one. What is a solid one that i could try out?

 

[Basevol]

Great read- thanks for posting the link!

 

[slym2none]

I have used a few pitch rate calculators with mixed results and unfortunately my beersmith 2 mobile doesnt have one. What is a solid one that i could try out?

I use Mr. Malty.