adjusting hops in a brew session based on pre-boil SG

[SatanPrinceofDarkness]

How does Brewer's Friend handle a different efficiency than expected?

I don't know exactly what my efficiency will be. Let's say I guess 75% in my recipe, and then I hit Brew It! Now, say I come in at 85%. That means I need to adjust the amount of hops I use. Is there any way Brewer's Friend will update the recipe with the correct amount of hops to hit my IBUs? I know something(s) will ultimately change - IBUs, ABV, and/or final volume, based on the change in efficiency.

If I change the Snapshot recipe, will it change my brew steps in the current session to match my updates? I don't think it does, but that would solve this problem.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

your efficiency is determined by you after trial and error, you would create notes on a certain brew and adjust efficiency accordingly after you get dialed in,

the brew sheet on each brew will only be updated after changing a recipe when you hit the rebuild button, its not automatic, you can but you don't necessarily want to change a snapshot , just create another one and look back on the changes, thats why its there

efficiency has nothing to do with hop ibu, its for sugars extracted from the grain and how much you get out of it,

what you would do is change the next brew to what you had last time and add or subtract your base grain to reach your target alcohol level

 

[SatanPrinceofDarkness]

Hi Ozarks, thanks for the reply. My understanding is that SG effects hop utilization. This would also be part of why a partial boil requires more hops than a full boil.

From: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/hop ... lculations

"Gravity of the Boil
The recipe volume is 5 gallons. The gravity is figured by examining the amount and concentration of malt being used. As noted in the previous chapter, dry malt extract typically yields about 40 pts/lb./gal. Since this recipe calls for 6 lbs. of extract to be used in 5 gallons, the calculated OG = 6 x 40 / 5 = 48 or 1.048

But, since we are only boiling 3 of the 5 gallons due to of the size of the pot, we need to take into account the higher gravity of the boil. The boil gravity becomes 6 x 40 / 3 = 80 or 1.080

It is the gravity of the boil (1.080) that is used in figuring the Utilization. As you will see in the next section, hop utilization decreases with increasing wort gravity. The higher concentration of sugars makes it more difficult for the isomerized alpha acids to dissolve. I use the initial boil gravity in my utilization calculation; others have suggested that the average boil gravity should be used. (The average being a function of how much volume will be boiled away during the boiling time.) This gets rather complicated with multiple additions, so I just use the initial boil gravity to be conservative. The difference is small—overestimating the total bitterness by 1-3 IBUs."

As for dialing in my efficiency. I'm getting there. Looks like I'm typically going to be getting in the high 80s, but I'm not experienced enough to know if that will vary when doing different mash densities, etc.

I will look at this rebuild button, I had never noticed it before. That might be just what I am looking for. Thanks!

 

[SatanPrinceofDarkness]

your efficiency is determined by you after trial and error, you would create notes on a certain brew and adjust efficiency accordingly after you get dialed in,

the brew sheet on each brew will only be updated after changing a recipe when you hit the rebuild button, its not automatic, you can but you don't necessarily want to change a snapshot , just create another one and look back on the changes, thats why its there

efficiency has nothing to do with hop ibu, its for sugars extracted from the grain and how much you get out of it,

what you would do is change the next brew to what you had last time and add or subtract your base grain to reach your target alcohol level

I replied to you previously but failed to quote. Also, do you know when selecting 'rebuild brew', does it rebuild from the original recipe or from the Snapshot recipe (assuming there is one created)?

Thanks!

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

in your Brew Session, meaning as you are brewing or looking at a future or past brew session there are several tabs, click the edit tab then rebuild brew, all this does is change the brew sheet to match what you changed in your recipe and adjust the water levels

and yes hop utilization does change on more sugar or not in a brew, as a new person to the site I recommend throughly going through the faq pages and Ill point to a page on site efficiency

http://www.brewersfriend.com/faq/#recipes18