Don't let a bad pitch ruin your beer

[Kealia]

A recent conversation in another thread made me realize that we covered things like pitch rates, etc. on the old boards but I don't think it's been covered here. In the interest of helping those that aren't familiar with the topic I thought I would post some details/thoughts and open up the discussion to take the mystery out of yeast health and pitch rates.

I'll keep things simple and we can get detailed if there are questions.
I am by no means an expert here.

How many yeast cells do I need for my beer?
Without having to do math yourself, there are two great tools for your use which both essentially do the same thing:
Mr Malty (created by Jamil and his work with Chris White)
Yeast Calc

Both allow you to input the size of your batch and the gravity and will tell you how many yeast cells you need for an ideal pitch.
They both also allow you to put in the production date of your yeast (note that Wyeast and WhiteLabs vary in how they stamp their packages) to tell you how viable your yeast is. The takeaway here is that even if you are brewing 5G or less and your OG is 1.050 or less (the recommended size for a single pack/vial) you may not have enough yeast to do a proper pitch based on its age.

It says I need a starter - how do I make one?
There are plenty of tools out there to help but the rule of thumb is that your starter should be between 1.030 - 1.040 and can easily be made with water and DME/LME. The size will vary depending on the yeast count needed, the age of the yeast and the method of your starter.

I don't have a stirplate, can I still make a starter?
Yes! All you need is a sanitized container (mason jar, flask, etc.) that you can cover loosely with foil and you too can make a starter! Just give it a swirl every time you walk by and think about it to keep the yeast in suspension and active. You'll see the tools allow you to choose between a simple starter, a stir plate, etc. and the growth rates will vary.

Do I just dump the whole starter into the beer?
This is a matter of opinion. Some folks swear by letting the starter ferment out, cold crashing it and then just pitching the yeast. Others swear by pitching the entire starter at high krasuen (usually about 18 hours in). You'll have to decide for yourself which is better.

That's it. It really is easy to pitch the right amount of yeast and it can dramatically improve your beer. Sure, you don't HAVE to do this, but it's so easy why wouldn't you?

If there are questions - post 'em up. Hopefully this helps somebody and demystifies some of the uncertainty about yeast health and starters.

(I'm sure I left a lot out, but I'm winging this while on a conference call...)

[berryman]

Good thread Kealia. I know I under-pitched on my last one, a Lager, so I'll be following this post. Thanks for starting it and it should end up with some good info.

[Kealia]

And you already brought up a good point: Lagers need MUCH more yeast than ales (and there is a dropdown on both tools to allow you to choose which one you are brewing).

[mashani]

An easy answer for any new 2.x gallon LBK/LBC brewers is to simply pitch always a full 11g pack of fermentis/danstar dry yeast into the LBC/LBK batch of beer - don't try to save it and penny pinch. You are assured an excellent pitch rate and you will get nice beer as a result. I would suggest this to any new brewer.

Personally, sometimes I will split an 11g pack or make a smaller starter then Mr. Malty suggests sometimes, but it's for a reason - IE a wheat/Belgian where I want to make the yeast work harder to coax out more flavor. But this is special and I know what I am doing and why. The yeast calcs are great for most beer, but it sometimes over does the pitch rate for some types of beer that are all about yeast driven flavors. Your beer *will* still ferment out with a lower pitch rate as long as the wort is oxygen/nutrient rich enough to extend the growth phase so you end up with enough cells. The question is do you want the extra flavors produced by that extended growth phase?

Most brewers probably do not, especially IPA / APA / lager types. But those yeast calcs do not understand the difference between an APA or a wheat beer or a Belgian - to them an "ale" is an "ale".

Lagers... lager always need a higher pitch rate. Except perhaps steam beer.

[Kealia]

Excellent points and I agree with them. I thought about adding something in there along those lines and then backed out just to keep things simple.

Personally, sometimes I will split an 11g pack or make a smaller starter then Mr. Malty suggests sometimes, but it's for a reason - IE a wheat/Belgian where I want to make the yeast work harder to coax out more flavor. But this is special and I know what I am doing and why.

This is what I could consider a Phase II approach to somebody learning about yeast. Phase I - Pitch the 'right' amount. Phase II - Manipulate phenols and esters based on pitch rate.

FWIW, I found this video from WhiteLabs to be very educational:


Yes, it's 42 minutes long but at least you're not staring at your typical brewer!