Here is something that I posted on Beersmith. After following up with BYO Magazine, the lady who was helping me returned my call and stated that Jamil Z said it's likely just a difference caused by different brewing software. I was curious what other brewing software rates the total IBU's as. Here is the original post I made on the Beersmith site.
Hi.
I brewed 10 gallons of Janet's Brown Ale (recipe in the October 2009 issue of BYO). I doubled everything because the recipe is for 5 gallons and I brewed 10 gallons (all grain).
The recipe in BYO states "IBU = 63."
Beersmith states "Bitterness (IBUs) 31.6"
I doubled all of the hop additions and I've checked my math. I'm sure it's something simple, but I can't for the life of me figure it out.
The recipe is for a 90 minute boil, with the first hops going in the mash and the last being the dry hop.
My OG and FG are real close to the BYO recipe. I got a little better efficiency than the 65% they base their recipes on (I got 68%).
Anyway, here are the BYO hop additions followed by what I have entered into Beersmith.
.83 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (Mash Hop)
1.04 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (60 Min)
.83 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (15 min).
1.25 oz at 6% alpha acid, Cascade (10 min).
1.25 oz at 6% alpha acid, Cascade (0 min).
1.67 oz at 9% alpha acid Centennial (dry hop)
My additions as entered into Beersmith. Remember, I doubled the amount of hops because my batch size was 10 gallons and theirs is for five gallons.
1.66 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) Mash Hop
2.08 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) 60 Min
1.66 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) 15 Min
2.50 oz Cascade (7.00% Alpha Acid) 10 min
2.50 oz Cascade (7.00% Alpha Acid) 0 min
3.34 oz. Centennial (7.80% Alpha Acid) Dry Hop
Now that I write this, I think I am on to what might be the issue. I entered the 10 min and 0 minute additions as "Aroma Hop-Steep" in Beersmith and I'll bet it doesn't consider
those additions to contribute any IBU's to the beer. Aren't hops added that late just for aroma? Why would BYO count all the hops towards IBU's, even if they use a different scale
than Beersmith uses?
I just changed the 10 min addition to be listed as a "boil hop" in Beersmith and the total recipe IBU's are now up to 41.2. Beersmith shows no IBU's contributed from the "0 minute
addition and no IBU's contributed from the "Dry Hopping." From what I remember reading, I believe that is the way it should be.
Does anyone have any idea why my #'s are so far off from theirs?
Thank you for your time.
P.S. I changed the IBU calculations formula in Beersmith to Rager and the type of hops to pellet and still came up short (47.4 IBU's).
Anyway, if you have different brewing software and could run these #'s, I would appreciate it. My Boil volume was 13.50 gallons and the OG was 1.070.
If you need the exact grain bill, let me know and I will edit this post when I have the magazine handy. Thanks.
Hi.
I brewed 10 gallons of Janet's Brown Ale (recipe in the October 2009 issue of BYO). I doubled everything because the recipe is for 5 gallons and I brewed 10 gallons (all grain).
The recipe in BYO states "IBU = 63."
Beersmith states "Bitterness (IBUs) 31.6"
I doubled all of the hop additions and I've checked my math. I'm sure it's something simple, but I can't for the life of me figure it out.
The recipe is for a 90 minute boil, with the first hops going in the mash and the last being the dry hop.
My OG and FG are real close to the BYO recipe. I got a little better efficiency than the 65% they base their recipes on (I got 68%).
Anyway, here are the BYO hop additions followed by what I have entered into Beersmith.
.83 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (Mash Hop)
1.04 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (60 Min)
.83 oz at 6.5% alpha acid, Northern Brewer (15 min).
1.25 oz at 6% alpha acid, Cascade (10 min).
1.25 oz at 6% alpha acid, Cascade (0 min).
1.67 oz at 9% alpha acid Centennial (dry hop)
My additions as entered into Beersmith. Remember, I doubled the amount of hops because my batch size was 10 gallons and theirs is for five gallons.
1.66 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) Mash Hop
2.08 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) 60 Min
1.66 oz Northern Brewer (6.50% Alpha Acid) 15 Min
2.50 oz Cascade (7.00% Alpha Acid) 10 min
2.50 oz Cascade (7.00% Alpha Acid) 0 min
3.34 oz. Centennial (7.80% Alpha Acid) Dry Hop
Now that I write this, I think I am on to what might be the issue. I entered the 10 min and 0 minute additions as "Aroma Hop-Steep" in Beersmith and I'll bet it doesn't consider
those additions to contribute any IBU's to the beer. Aren't hops added that late just for aroma? Why would BYO count all the hops towards IBU's, even if they use a different scale
than Beersmith uses?
I just changed the 10 min addition to be listed as a "boil hop" in Beersmith and the total recipe IBU's are now up to 41.2. Beersmith shows no IBU's contributed from the "0 minute
addition and no IBU's contributed from the "Dry Hopping." From what I remember reading, I believe that is the way it should be.
Does anyone have any idea why my #'s are so far off from theirs?
Thank you for your time.
P.S. I changed the IBU calculations formula in Beersmith to Rager and the type of hops to pellet and still came up short (47.4 IBU's).
Anyway, if you have different brewing software and could run these #'s, I would appreciate it. My Boil volume was 13.50 gallons and the OG was 1.070.
If you need the exact grain bill, let me know and I will edit this post when I have the magazine handy. Thanks.