Grain fractions

[Lowlyric]

Being sorta new to this hobby and doing recipe searches I often see .1 pounds etc, specifically Joan Palmer's siason calls for . 1 lb, 1/10 tenth on all the grains. Is it that necessary to be that exact. I mean the guy knows his stuff but what's the purpose of building the grist with 10.1 lbs for example.

 

[Minbari]

Will it make a day and night difference? No. But once you are getting good at it. Every bit of accuracy and technique pushes your work a little more.

 

[Dave Y]

Being sorta new to this hobby and doing recipe searches I often see .1 pounds etc, specifically Joan Palmer's siason calls for . 1 lb, 1/10 tenth on all the grains. Is it that necessary to be that exact. I mean the guy knows his stuff but what's the purpose of building the grist with 10.1 lbs for example.

probably you have 10.1 pounds of grain and don’t want to waste it.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Recipes should indicate the percentages of grain used, not the weight. Each system has different efficiencies, so it better to know the ratios of grains to each other and is best way to transfer recipe from system to system.

As far as the the differences in the recipe, it really not super critical. It may make a bigger difference on specialty grains, but as long as the amounts are close, you're good.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

Unless you are brewing small batches (1-3 gal), being off by a tenth of a pound difference will have no effect.

 

[Zambi]

As a small batch brewer, I would say: stick with the proportions (percentages).
You can adjust volume (and thus alcohol percentage) to a certain extent, but you cannot change the proportions...
As a wise person on this forum once mentioned: brew by gravity, don't brew by volume.
It was an eye opener to me