In the online research I've done, it seems like there are differing points of view on the subject, all of which reference materials and research to back up their point. I read one interesting post in which someone claims to have done 2 separate boils with different gravity but the same hop schedule, and that they yielded identical results in aroma a bitterness. I find this hard to believe, as all the calculators out there point to this not being the case in standard practice. I hadn't really concerned myself with it before, but then realized that I had built my recipes based on a smaller boil size and then had to tinker with my hop additions when I changed the boil size. In the end, I decreased the hop amounts, as I'd rather go with what the calculator says than to end up with a Hopslam that I can't share with anyone. It's an interesting topic, but after reading more, it does seem to make sense that a higher-gravity wort would make for poorer AA extraction. However, much of what I've read seems to indicate that it's not actually the gravity that impacts the extraction. In the end, I suppose I'll look at it like actual gravity: it's still a theory and does not actually have a proof, but it works, so why question it. I'll let those who are smarter than me create the tools and I'll use them without worrying about the "why" and I'll just enjoy the end result.
