pitching rate by temperature

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.

tgmartin000

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
1,319
Reaction score
99
Location
Denver
Quick question for y'all...do ale pitching rates need to increase as temperature decreases, or do standard rates work fine?

For instance, I like to ferment a little lower, say 64, than the typical 68 that recipes call for. Should I increase my pitching rate, or does the standard .75 million per mL still apply? I was thinking how hybrid pitching rates are higher than ale rates. I assocciate hybrid rates with lower temps - is that correct?

Do lower temps result in lower growth rates such that I could be under pitching? I still feel like I'm not getting optimum fermentation, even with O2, stir plate, and nutrients. I seem to prefer the final product from a lower fermentation temp - fewer esters and a cleaner taste, but I wonder if it could be better.

Or maybe i'm just listening to too much brew strong, and I've heard the phrase "homebuyers always under pitch" too many times lately.
 
I would definitely pitch more yeast. I assume that you are pitching low for a clean ferm. My understanding is that if the yeast do not complete the growth stage quickly before the active stage you can get increased ester formation. So I would probably pitch a little bit extra or pitch regular and drop the temp over the first 24 hours.
 
You could go up to 1 million per mL, but .75 is normal. I'm not sure if having more yeast will fix the ester problem. Are you having trouble fully attenuating? Maybe 3 days at lower temp then raise slowly a few degrees to clean up? The homebrewers underpitch line isn't applicable to you, you have starters and oxygen.
 
I wouldn't directly correlate pitching temp with pitching rate. But you could correlate ester profile with pitching rate. So pitch a bit more if you want a cleaner beer. But 64F is not low enough to need to alter anything with most ale yeast. If you were going below 60, you might want to get closer to lager pitching rates.
 
Yea, I typically just pitch the recommended rate per yeastcalc. I'm going to overpitch my next batch and see how it works. I typically try to hold the temp steady for about 5 days before I ramp it up to 68 or so. I'm definitely digging the lower fermentation temps though.
 
I generally over pitch a little bit. I tend to get a pretty predictable level of esters as long as I keep the yeast healthy and the temp low. I have never really experienced any negatives from overpitching. Under pitching will be very obvious to most.
 
Back
Top