Who to trust?

[nettekdl]

So I was just making a recipie with odds and ends from my freezer on brewersfriend because I don't have beersmith on my phone, it gave me about the numbers I expected. I got a phone call, it refreshed, I lost the recipie, so I figured I'd grab my computer and just use beersmith. Well I put in the exact same recipie which gave me 127 ibu whereas brewersfriend put me at 49 ibu. I understand a little fluctuation but that is a huge difference so the question is which do I trust?

 

[Reisende]

Check the scale for IBU that each is using. BIG diferences depending on which one, Rager vs. Tinseth. Suggestion: pick one and stick with it for your brews.

 

[tim_c7]

I would trust both of them. Can you prove that you got these results from the same recipe? Take screen prints and post them that show the difference?

 

[nettekdl]

I use tinseth on both beersmith and brewersfriend. I don't think I trust ibu calculations on BS as much because it always adds an awful lot of ibu for whirlpool hops and the 127 seems awful high for 1oz of apollo at 60 and 1.5oz each equinox, lemon drop and galaxy at a 180*f whirlpool

 

[brewfun]

127 seems awful high for 1oz of apollo at 60 and 1.5oz each equinox, lemon drop and galaxy at a 180*f whirlpool

Anything over 100 IBU you can ignore, since it won't be in the finished beer. Different hop textures and flavors result from those numbers, but not actual IBUs.

BeerSmith doesn't account for WP temperature. It simply works from a baseline percentage that is adjustable by going to Options > Bitterness > Steep/Whirlpool Util Factor. If you're consistent about reducing your WP temperature, then lower the utilization factor by at least half.