Yeast is part of the numerous species of the single-celled fungi that belong to the Ascomycota phylum, but a few belong to the Basidiomycota phylum. Yeasts can be found in different parts of the world on the surfaces of plants, soils, and mostly sugary mediums like fruits and flower nectar. Yeasts are commonly used in beer, bread, and wine production. Yeast is used to causing leavening and fermentation when food is being manufactured. Yeast feed on sugars before it goes ahead to produce alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. For beer and wine production, alcohol is the desired product, but for baking, carbon dioxide is what is needed. A yeast cell can ferment its weight of glucose per hour approximately.
It is always good to stick to the right amount of yeast that you need to ferment your beer, but sometimes you might end up adding too little or too much yeast to your beer. For those who might be wondering if too much yeast can be added to beer, you can overpitch yeast in your beer. Although your beer may end up tasting yeasty, it is not too much yeast that causes it; rather, early bottling does.
How much yeast do I add to the beer?
For a normal gravity of 5 gallon batch of beer, you need at least 10g of dry yeast, but if your beer is above 1.065 OG, you will need to add at least 20g of yeast. This same thing applies to liquid yeast; use one tube below 1.065 and two tubes above. Some breweries use the equivalent of one tube for every gallon because it is quite easier for them to do that. Ensure you don’t get under-pitch the yeast in your beer, so you don’t alter the normal taste of the beer.
If you want high-quality homebrew, then, it would be best if you learned to use the correct amount of healthy yeast.
If you want to estimate a reasonable pitch date for your beer, you will find out ways of determining that below.
- The strength of your wort
To promote a healthy fermentation, for a denser wort, you need more yeast. The strength of your worth can be expressed in gravity points, which are the three figures to the right of the decimal point of the original gravity.
- A 1.050 pale ale wort, it has fifty points.
- A 1.080 double IPA wort, it has 80 gravity points.
- A 1.120 barleywine wort has 120 gravity points.
2. For lager or ale?
When yeast is cold, it becomes slow. Lager ferments at a much lower temperature than ale, so you will need more yeast for it to ferment well. The rule is that you should put about twice as much yeast for a lager than that of an ale. You should use 0.007 fresh liquid of yeast vials or packs per gallon per gravity point for ale, and then you should use about 0.015 fresh liquid yeast vials or packs per gallon per gravity point for a lager.
So how much yeast do you need?
To determine how much yeast you need, multiply the number of gravity points by the multiplier you chose above before multiplying it by your batch size in gallons.
- For 5 gallons (19 liters) of 1.050, ale will require (0.007 packs per gallon per gravity point) × (50 gravity points) × (5 gallons) = 1.75 liquid yeast packs.
- For 2.5 gallons of 1.080 lagers will need (0.015 packs per gallon per gravity point) × (80 gravity points) × (2.5 gallons)= 3 liquid yeast packs.
- Dry or liquid yeast?
Most homebrewers don’t like using dry yeast, but it is good because it is easy to use and cost-effective. You should also know that a packet of dry yeast has up to twice as much yeast as a package of liquid yeast. For ales from 1.065 to 1.070, use one 11.5 gram sachet of yeast but for higher gravity ales, use two sachets of yeast. For lagers, you will need twice as many sachets of yeast for the same strength of wort.
Dry yeast can be stored in the fridge, and it will remain viable for a year.
This method works well if you are sure of the freshness of your liquid yeast. For yeasts that are just a few months old, they won’t have many viable cells in them, and this easy method may not account for that. You can take advantage of online calculators available and help you determine the age of the yeast and other things.
How long does it take for yeast to activate in beer?
You will need to give the yeast in your beer about 12 to 36 hours to begin to show signs of fermentation.
Yeast undergoes a phase known as respiration–this is the period before yeast begins to turn wort into beer.
Usually, the respiration phase lasts between four to eight hours, and you might not see much while this is happening. This is when the yeast starts to gain and preserve energy for future activities and reproduction. It is after the respiration phase is over that you will start to see some action, and then the yeast will start to turn the sugars in the wort to alcohol.
The particular time it takes for yeast to get activated in beer is different because of the following factors:
- Temperature: Your yeast will work at a slow pace if it is too cold, but if they are warmer, they will work faster, but you need to watch it to make sure it’s not too hot. This is because if you use a very hot yeast, it may affect the beer. Always stick to the required range on the yeast packaging or the recipe.
- Oxygen levels: Your yeast will work faster if there is much oxygen on your wort. Always oxygenate your wort very well before you try adding your yeast.
- Kind of yeast: Some kinds of yeast tend to work faster than others because of their natural metabolism. But you should not just switch to using any yeast because of how fast it works. There are different kinds of yeast for different kinds of beer.
- Quantity of yeast: If the quantity of yeast is not much, they will end up spending so much time reproducing instead of fermenting your wort.
- High gravity beers: Your yeast will have so much work to do if the fermentable sugars in the wort are much.
- Water: You should ensure that the water you use doesn’t have a high pH level or other irrelevant minerals because if they are present, it could affect the effectiveness of the yeast.
It would be best if you were patient if you don’t notice any form of activity within 36 hours. You can conduct a gravity reading to see if the levels have changed from the initial gravity reading.
What happens if you add too much yeast to beer?
Nothing will happen if you add too much yeast to your beer. The only thing that will happen is that the yeast will eat the sugars present before it falls to the bottom. Beers can have a yeasty taste, but adding too much yeast doesn’t cause it; it is bottling too early that causes it.
Adding too much yeast is not that harmful.
Does adding more yeast increase alcohol content?
Adding more yeast to your beer does not increase its alcohol content, but adding more sugar will increase it. This is because yeast converts sugars to alcohol. So, even if you add more yeast to the beer and there is no sugar available for the yeast to consume, it won’t produce more alcohol. Adding sugar to the beer will multiply the alcohol by volume (ABV)band dry out the beer.
Over pitching yeast effects
Over pitching yeast in your beer may affect its health, while underpitching can affect the flavor. Whether you under-pitch or overpitch the yeast, your beer can lead to a less than ideal fermentation with high levels of diacetyl, acetaldehyde, and low attenuation.
After pitching yeast in your beer, before fermentation begins, the yeast cells start to multiply, and they produce the correct quantity of compounds that add flavor to the beer. When you pitch too much yeast in your beer, it means that there will be less yeast growth, which will lead to a cleaner tasting beer that might not fit a certain style.
If you overpitch the yeast in your beer, its growth cycle will not be complete, and this will lead to few new yeast cells that will make the yeast unhealthy. It will also lead to low viability when fermentation finishes.
Overpitching yeast in beer is not that bad, but it is good you pitch the right amount.
Conclusion
You can add too much yeast to your beer. Many homebrewers have made the mistake of over pitching yeast in their yeast at some point in their home brewing journey.
Adding too much yeast to your beer is not harmful, but you must stick to the right amount. Overpitching yeast doesn’t increase the alcohol content of your beer.