Hey guys/gals. I just finished up brewing my second ever beer. I am doing a spin-off of Maui's Coconut Porter, although I plan on adding in a little vanilla in the secondary. Anyways, the recipe I adopted ended up having 6 gallons in the fermenter. Everything went smoothly until I sat down after pitching the yeast to go over my notes to make sure I didn't miss anything. I got to thinking about the yeast. I only pitched one tube of WLP 002 English Ale yeast. The tube said it should contain over 100 billion cells, but for a 5 gallon batch. Since I have 6, should I be worried? Should I run out first thing tomorrow and grab another pack to pitch? Thanks for the help.
Depends on the OG. Too late for this one but use a calculator for pitch rate such as this one: http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php There are others but I like this one. If you don't want to jump into starters ( and you should eventually), for now just get a pack of Fermentis S-04, which is basically the same English yeast. Rehydrate in about a 1/3 cup of water boiled and cooled to around 95F. Just sprinkle it on top of the warm water and let sit for 15 min. Then stir it around with a sanitized spoon and pitch. There will be more than enough cells to finish your brew. Good Luck!!
My OG was 1.062. So it will be OK until tomorrow when I can run out to my nearest brew shop and grab some more yeast?
Should not be a problem, I wouldn't worry. Even if you did nothing it would still ferment but the yeast would spend more time in growth phase, producing more by-products, esters, phenols. It would still be beer and English yeast are already known for their fruitiness. Let us know how it goes.
It also depends on the Process date on the yeast vial. The number of viable yeast cells diminish rapidly with age. If it's only 1-3 months old, you won't have to worry too much. Usually, it's always best to make a yeast starter with liquid yeast.
The MFG date is 8 Dec 2015. Would you recommend I leave it alone or pitch another tube tomorrow? The earliest I can get more yeast is 12 p.m. tomorrow.
That vial is quite new, so I wouldn't worry about it. Check how it ferments in the next day, and if it's active, you're fine.
Sounds good. I guess I was just worried since the OG is 1.062 and I have 6 gallons instead of 5. If it isn't fermenting by late tomorrow I'll consider grabbing another pack. Probably run it by the nice looking gal in the brew shop as well.
If you don't add more yeast, the beer will *probably* ferment to completion. The end result will contain more esters than the same beer with more yeast. This could be more desirable depending on what you want to achieve. If a yeast calculator says you need X, it doesn't mean X/2 won't ferment the batch. X is safe. X/2 is more risky. They produce different results. X/2 will have more character from the yeast. This could be good or bad depending on your taste and aroma preference. However, you have approximately 50B cells in your old vial of yeast and the "proper" amount of yeast for the batch is 250B. So you currently have X/5. I am a staunch advocate of calculated underpitching to achieve flavors and aromas "proper" pitching won't produce, but I highly recommend you get some more yeast in that wort STAT!!!
Your insight and knowledge is extremely helpful! The soonest I can get some yeast is 12 tomorrow. My LHBS is closed on Mondays but there is a great little homebrew shop about 20 minutes from my house. Assuming I can pitch the yeast at 1230 tomorrow, am I in the clear? I am looking to have a sort of sweet vanilla coconut porter much like Maui's coconut porter.
Tomorrow would be fine. Rehydrated dry yeast is the way to go for this situation. Which one is a tough call. S-04 or Danstar Windsor. S-04 is kinda yeasty/bready which some people don't like. It's comparable to wlp007. Windsor is probably the closest dry yeast to wlp002. Rehydrating dry yeast is harder than it sounds, but it isn't hard. Follow the manufacturer's protocol.
I fully understand your anxiety here. Your vial of yeast in all probability has more than 50 billion viable yeast cells; the yeast calculators have a conservative value for yeast cell death rates. In all likelihood your fermentation will turn out OK. If you want to make the effort to add more yeast that will do no harm so do so if that will make you sleep better at night. Your other option is to just let the present pitch 'ride' and do its job. At the end of the day this is your choice based upon your comfort level (which seem to be uncomfortable based upon your post so far in this thread). Cheers!
Thanks for the reassurance! This being my second brew (other than the easy Mr. Beer barrels) keeps me wondering if I have done everything correctly. I'm sure as I gain experience and receive knowledgeable tips from fellow brewers as yourself my comfort level in brewing will only grow! I appreciate it.
