I piched 1 full packet of dry yeast into 2 1/2 gal of juice with a sg of
1.088.

I have read that yeast multiplies expontially and very rapidly at warmer
temps. (65-70f is what I fermented at). The primary ferment took about 14
days and then stopped completely. The wine (beet) was almost completely
clear and sg around .994.

When I racked it off the lees, I of course tasted it and it had a very
yeasty taste. Did I pitch too much yeast and will this yeasty taste
diminish with time or is there anything I can do to help diminish it?

Pat Kennedy wrote:

I piched 1 full packet of dry yeast into 2 1/2 gal of juice with a sg of
1.088.

I have read that yeast multiplies expontially and very rapidly at warmer
temps. (65-70f is what I fermented at). The primary ferment took about 14
days and then stopped completely. The wine (beet) was almost completely
clear and sg around .994.

When I racked it off the lees, I of course tasted it and it had a very
yeasty taste. Did I pitch too much yeast and will this yeasty taste
diminish with time or is there anything I can do to help diminish it?

The yeast will settle out with time. The only think you can do is be
patient.

Pat -
The yeasty taste is simply because it is very new. That taste will
fade away over time -- it has nothing to do with how much yeast you
added initially. As you mentioned, yeast multiplies exponentially, up
to a saturation level, after which point the yeast devote their
energies into fermentation rather than reproduction. So within a
pretty broad range, using more or less yeast initially just changes how
long it takes to reach saturation. It doesn't change the amount of
yeast you end up with, and should have no impact on flavor.

As far as I can tell, there is no way to pitch "too much" yeast; it
is possible to pitch too little, but not too much. The more yeast you
add, the sooner the yeast population reaches saturation.

Doug