What percentage can I overpitch by

[cshulha]

I want to make a yeast starter. I know that there are some problems with over pitching. By what percentage can you overpitch without issue 10% 20%. I am using the brewer's friend calculator.

 

[STMF]

13.53%.

Seriously, no one can answer that. The calculator is are just estimats that probably are off 10-20% most of the time.

Perhaps you like the beer better when its a 100% overpitch.

 

[RPh_Guy]

You know you added too much when you have more yeast than wort.

 

[yourlastchance89]

I have searched all over for an answer to this and have yet to find any sort of explicit answer. The only thing I've found that comes closest is there seems to be a consensus of thought that dumping wort onto trub from a finished patch is over pitching.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I would feel good if I overpitched 100%

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I have searched all over for an answer to this and have yet to find any sort of explicit answer....

And therein lies the answer. If over pitching yeast were a real concern, much would be written about the topic. For example 12 of us recently pitched 6 ounces of WLP530 into a Belgian Strong Ale, brewed for our club's 55 gallon Big Barrel fill. Long story short my 5 gallon batch finished at 9.6% ABV and 90% attenuation.

The yeast was donated to our club by Jason Goldstein, owner of Icarus Brewing in Lakewood NJ, for us to ferment our beer with. This was the first time that I had ever pitched that much yeast in any beer before.

 

[Queequeg]

The problem you have with this question is it assume there is an general consensus on optimal pitch rate. There isn't. It style dependant, strain dependant and brewer dependant.

 

[premington]

I've heard this address by John Palmer and also other brew masters on BeerSmith podcasts. The general consensus is you'd have to pitch an "obscene" amount of yeast to damage a beer.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it, unless you're dumping in a massive amount into a relatively small batch.

I guess a question to the peanut gallery here is, has anyone ever pitched so much that it messed up your beer? If so, how much did you pitch into how much wort?

 

[cshulha]

I've heard this address by John Palmer and also other brew masters on BeerSmith podcasts. The general consensus is you'd have to pitch an "obscene" amount of yeast to damage a beer.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it, unless you're dumping in a massive amount into a relatively small batch.

I guess a question to the peanut gallery here is, has anyone ever pitched so much that it messed up your beer? If so, how much did you pitch into how much wort?

I heard that 20% overpitch is the max from a proffessional award winning brewer. But he said better to be 20% over than under. So im working on 10% over to be safe.

 

[STMF]

I heard that 20% overpitch is the max from a proffessional award winning brewer. But he said better to be 20% over than under. So im working on 10% over to be safe.

The problem with these kinds of numbers is that there is no way on a homebrew level to know when you are 10% over.

All the calculators out there are just semi guessing. Don't think that you have 259B cells when a yeast calculator spits that out. Maybe you have 208B, maybe 303B.

But, that said, moste people agree that overpitching (with so much that the beer gets worse) is hard to do at a home brew level and that for most styles its probably better to overpitch that underpitch.

 

[eadavis80]

I used 2 packets of rehydrated 05 on my last brew - NB Dead Ringer extract. The reason I used 2 is because I added a pound of corn sugar so I was hoping for an OG of at least 1.070. The recipe calls for 1.064. I know 1 packet of dry is the standard for 5 gallons for 1.060 wort so I figured I'd add the 2nd packet just to be safe. However, when I took my OG reading on brew day it was only 1.062. Not really sure why. I did a full boil, used all extract and ended with 5 gallons exactly in the Bubbler. Maybe it was because the extract was several months old. Anyway - it's bubbling away nicely in the mid 60's so I can't fathom there will be a problem using 2 packets on this brew, but was just curious if anyone else could chime in.