Hi folks, As av been learning a fair few facts wi the help oh the guys on here for ma 5 litre BIAB batches, more questions pop up in ma heed. I hav done a few 4.5 litre batches in the past and with each would would buy a small sache oh the required Mangrove Jacks dry yeast, until now I have always just used the whole 10g pack.. and it appeared ti dae the job, but in recent reading have learned a specific pitch rate can very much improve the fermentation and the batch. Came across the pitch calculator on here but having a fair bit trouble understanding it Can anybody assist me in understanding this or enlighten me on an easy go to rule. the batch I plan to brew the morn is a porter using mangrove jack imperial ale yeast with a desired og of 1.055 any help would be much appreciated
A full sachet is technically an overpitch. I've never used the pitch rate calculator on such a small batch, less than 3 gallons isn't worth my time. I hand pitched a whole sachet into a gallon of extract wort with no ill effects. It's hard to damage beer by overpitching so I'd recommend pitch half a sachet and call it good.
Yeast is one of the ingredients where the amount is not an exact science. From a practical standpoint, most yeast packets have enough yeast for a 20 liter batch of normal gravity. I brew 10 liter batches and routinely use a half packet. Why? It’s cheaper. I’ve used a whole packet on 10 liter batches and have found no difference in pitching a whole or half packet. Having said that, under pitching can stress the yeast. But a half sachet for your 5 liter batches will work just fine.