Altitude Adjustment for All Grain

Dillon D'Adamo

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Would it be possible to do an altitude adjustment in the brew house setup section? Due to the fact that I live in a higher elevation, my mash and sparging numbers are off each time. When i do the calculations through an app that I have that takes that into account, It is much more accurate. i know this is a big ask, but I think it will improve a lot of homebrewers results.
 
What exactly are you asking be adjusted for altitude?
I live at about 7000 ft, so my boil temp is lower, I always wondered if it effected my hop usage.
But cool thing is I can do whirlpool additions right after flame-out

T
 
I've never bothered to ask, but does below sea level altitude affect brewing?
 
For every 1,000 feet in altitude you lose about 5% hop utilization due to the lower boiling temperature. As for differences below sea level, I don't know of anywhere that's low enough to make a measurable difference.
 
brew at 4300 ft and i can tell you the main difference is that my water boils at 108.3 ....I didn't know about the hops thing though
 
brew at 4300 ft and i can tell you the main difference is that my water boils at 108.3 ....I didn't know about the hops thing though
108.3? Sounds more like 43,000' to me... ;-) I brew at 6,000', our boiling point is around 200 degrees. About the only effects I know of are accounted for in the mash calculator - our infusions have to be a bit larger to make up for the lower amount of heat in the water. Here are some references:
https://beerandbrewing.com/brewing-high/

Then there's this article: https://byo.com/article/high-elevation-brewing/

For the nerds like me, here's an equation:
TF (Temperature Factor) = ((Elevation in feet/550)*0.02)+1 (here in Denver, it would be a factor of 1.19 - an ounce of hops at sea level would be roughly equivalent to 1.19 ounces here - hardly worth the difference. The article also mentions that maintaining a good, rolling boil seems to increase the utilization rate and make up for the factor. I don't adjust recipes and get good results.

There's also less oxygen in the air (about 80% of sea level at 6,000', if I remember my high school chemistry correctly), meaning if you're a "shake the carboy" kind of aerator, shake it some more. If you're using airstones and pure oxygen, not a factor.

You'll also boil off more water up here due to lower pressure.

Both articles are good reads for high altitude brewers. But given what they say and my experience brewing here on the high plains and talking to brewers even higher up, there are better things for the Brewer's Friend developers to work on for us. My 2 cents....
 
Thanks for the hops info, at that rate, I will just roll on. On a side question is there a place in BF to set your boil temp?
I have not set up equipment in years, but will have to when I get my new stuff, by the end of the month I hope. ( at least have it ordered)

T
 
There's no place to set boil temp in the equipment profile. About the only place it really comes into play is in the mash calculator, where you can set it.
 
108.3? Sounds more like 43,000' to me... ;-) I brew at 6,000', our boiling point is around 200 degrees. About the only effects I know of are accounted for in the mash calculator - our infusions have to be a bit larger to make up for the lower amount of heat in the water. Here are some references:
https://beerandbrewing.com/brewing-high/

Then there's this article: https://byo.com/article/high-elevation-brewing/

For the nerds like me, here's an equation:
TF (Temperature Factor) = ((Elevation in feet/550)*0.02)+1 (here in Denver, it would be a factor of 1.19 - an ounce of hops at sea level would be roughly equivalent to 1.19 ounces here - hardly worth the difference. The article also mentions that maintaining a good, rolling boil seems to increase the utilization rate and make up for the factor. I don't adjust recipes and get good results.

There's also less oxygen in the air (about 80% of sea level at 6,000', if I remember my high school chemistry correctly), meaning if you're a "shake the carboy" kind of aerator, shake it some more. If you're using airstones and pure oxygen, not a factor.

You'll also boil off more water up here due to lower pressure.

Both articles are good reads for high altitude brewers. But given what they say and my experience brewing here on the high plains and talking to brewers even higher up, there are better things for the Brewer's Friend developers to work on for us. My 2 cents....
 

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