Plugged recipe into 3 programs, got 3 different IBU estimates.

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
itsme_timd

itsme_timd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
249
Reaction score
63
Location
Woodstock, GA
Tomorrow I'm brewing the White House Honey Ale that Pappers posted here.

I plugged the recipe into BeerSmith and it estimated my IBUs at 13.5.
So I plugged it into Brewtarget and it gave me 24.3.
Then I put it in Hopville and it says 32.8.
* All three are using Tinseth calculations.

Wut?

Each program has Challenger AA @ 7.00% and East Kent Goldings @ 5.00%.

I'm hopping as follows for a 4 gallon batch:
- 3/4 oz EKG @ 60
- 3/4 oz EKG @ 20
- 2/4 oz Challenger @ 5

Why the huge variation in each program? Which one seems correct?
 
There are three difrent scales used to calculate IBU. I can't think of there names right now. They I know in beersmith you can pick which one to use. It's possible they were all set to use difrent ones.
 
JFK said:
There are three difrent scales used to calculate IBU. I can't think of there names right now. They I know in beersmith you can pick which one to use. It's possible they were all set to use difrent ones.
Click to expand...

Thanks, just edited my post to mention all 3 programs are using Tinseth calculations.
 
My only thought then is they are calculating using difrent algorithms and there is error in the formulas. Most people I know use beersmith but I couldn't tell you if one is more accurate than the others the third site you mentioned I tried one and or the same recipe in twice and it gave me two difrent answers so I have been using beersmith ever since.
 
JFK said:
My only thought then is they are calculating using difrent algorithms and there is error in the formulas. Most people I know use beersmith but I couldn't tell you if one is more accurate than the others the third site you mentioned I tried one and or the same recipe in twice and it gave me two difrent answers so I have been using beersmith ever since.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. If they were a few points off from each other I wouldn't care but almost 20 points difference is a pretty big jump.
 
Some programs don't really allow much settings, which is kinda bad since a lot of it matters in the calculations.
 
Yes, the three different algorithms can give widely different estimates. However, if all three programs really use the same algorithm, they should all be the same. Not sure why you are getting differences.

The best thing you can do as a homebrewer is to pick one algorithm/program and use this to help dial in your brewing. This way, at least your own beers will be "internally" consistent - for example you will know what 35 IBUs tastes like in YOUR beers and you can then adjust other recipes up or down from there. Personally, I use the Rager algorithm and have been quite happy with my results.
 
JLem said:
Yes, the three different algorithms can give widely different estimates. However, if all three programs really use the same algorithm, they should all be the same. Not sure why you are getting differences.

The best thing you can do as a homebrewer is to pick one algorithm/program and use this to help dial in your brewing. This way, at least your own beers will be "internally" consistent - for example you will know what 35 IBUs tastes like in YOUR beers and you can then adjust other recipes up or down from there. Personally, I use the Rager algorithm and have been quite happy with my results.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought they should be the same if they're all using the same calculations. I looked back to see if I entered anything differently but it all looks the same as far as I can tell.
 
OK, looks like I found the issue... operator error. I had the equipment set to Extract, when I changed it to 5-Gal Mini-BIAB the numbers are now correct. I'm at 37.8 IBU where the original shows 37.9. Derp.
 

Similar threads

4_Sons_Brewing
12 Beers of Christmas - 2023 Edition
11 12 13
Replies
512
Views
20K
passedpawn
passedpawn
kevin58
Historical Beers 1890 Truman Porter
Replies
5
Views
1K
sibelman
sibelman
csantoni
Estimated OG Extract vs Partial Mash
Replies
19
Views
1K
csantoni
csantoni
TBC
12 Beers of Christmas 2022 Edition
6 7 8
Replies
281
Views
18K
wetmk
wetmk
FswBG
Imperial Pumpkin Stout Recipe
Replies
3
Views
975
FswBG
FswBG

Latest posts

Back
Top