Help me decipher This hops bill.

**Revvy** · 02-10-2008, 04:16 PM

I'm trying to imput this recipe into my software but I'm having a hard time deciphering the author's hops amounts. I'm not a noob, I know how to read recipes...know how to work them out in beercalculus. But I can't figure out what he is meaning by the info in parenthesis under each hops...

Am I just having a senior moment?

The thing that bugs me is this is a BYO online recipe...and they're not usually this confusing... Here's the recipe.

Quote:

Ingredients
6.6 lbs. Briess light malt extract syrup
14 oz. Briess Victory malt
14 oz. Briess Special Roast malt
14 oz. Briess crystal malt (60° L)
2 oz. Briess chocolate malt
6.2 AAU Cascade hops (bittering hop)
(0.75 oz. of 8.3% alpha acid)
3.25 AAU Nugget hops (bittering hop)
(0.25 oz. of 13% alpha acid)
1.2 AAU Fuggle hops (flavor hop)
(0.25 oz. of 4.7% alpha acid)
2.4 AAU Fuggle hops (aroma hop)
(0.5 oz. of 4.7% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss for 45 min.
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast

Is the author not giving the amount of the hops at their regular AAU but in parenthesis giving the amount for a stronger AA% replacement?

Plus it appears his percentages are off on the AA's of the Hops, I'm looking at my stash of pellet packs and my Cascade packets read 6.3% (as opposed to 6.2).

And my Fuggles are 4.0% not 4.7....

I've had 2 cups of coffee...so I think I'm awake...what am I missing here?

mrfocus · 02-10-2008, 04:46 PM

AAU or HBU are pretty dumb. It's Weight (ounces) x AA.
Example: 6.2AAU = 0.73ounces x 8.3 (AA)

(Here is the recipe: http://byo.com/recipe/932.html)

He gives the IBUs to be about 30.

The Cascade is added most likely at 60minutes, the flavor hop (0.25oz fuggles) at about 20 minutes, the aroma hop (0.5oz fuggles) at about 7 minutes, so the last one to figure out (Nugget) would depend on the target IBU. If you share

If you're Cascade is at 6.3AA% and your Fuggles at 4AA%, then the Nugget would be added at about 30 minutes, which gives you 31.9 IBUs.

Also, variation in AA levels are quite normal, even in the same plant, so use the numbers you have for your hops.

**Rick_R** · 02-10-2008, 05:13 PM

The parenthetical info is an example of the amount of hops used; 0.75 oz of 8.3% AA is 6.2 AAU (0.75*8.3=6.225). Use the AAU to determine the amount of hops to use based on the AA of your hops. If, say, your hops are 7.3% AA Cascade hops then you would need not 0.75 oz but 0.85 oz (6.2/7.3=0.849 oz). In both cases (0.75oz of 8.3AA and 0.85oz of 7.3AA) you get the same AAU which gives you the same IBU for a 45 minute boil.

Edited for clarity.

Rick

**the_bird** · 02-10-2008, 05:24 PM

I understand the use of AAUs for bittering additions.

I don't agree with using AAUs/HBUs for flavor and aroma additions. If your 5-minute hops happen to be 4% AA% instead of 6% like the recipe assumed, does that mean that you should use a third more? No - because the AA% is reflecting how much bittering power you are getting from that addition, which is distinct from any flavor and aroma impact.

**Revvy** · 02-10-2008, 06:26 PM

LOL I'm even more confused...math has never been my strong point....

I'm used to the recipes saying something like "1 oz Cascade (5.9 AA) @ 60."

Time to dig out my beat up and stained copy of papazian or Palmer...

About the grainbill. I know that Victory and Biscuit are the same. Is Special Roast the same as Special B?

And if my math is right 6.6 pounds of LME is = 5.87 pounds DME, correct?

**Rick_R** · 02-10-2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

No - because the AA% is reflecting how much bittering power you are getting from that addition, which is distinct from any flavor and aroma impact.

Good point. There is some bittering that comes from even a five minute boil addition, so I assume if you are after an exact IBU you'd adjust . . . but can you assume an equivalent amount of, say Fuggle will give you the same "strength of aroma" from crop to crop? Or, how much difference in aroma will you get between, say 0.25 and 0.35 of Fuggles if you do adjust for bitterness? (I've never seen an aroma "measurement" though it may exist.) Same question would be there for flavor.

Rick

Poindexter · 02-10-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick_R

I've never seen an aroma "measurement" though it may exist.
Rick

I saw a table once somehwere that showed cohumulone amounts, but the table expressed co-humulone with respect to alpha acid. So it ass/u/me-ed or implied, for isntance, that all Fuggles would produce the same amount of co-humulones reltive to alpha acid, no matter what the weather was that year, or the soil type.

/jack

I think the OPs original question is covered, but just to beat the dead horse since I jacked...

FWIW my brew notes both edited into posts here and in my paper log express hop amounts as HBUs. 3.9 HBUs of Amarillo(60), for instance.

The Amarillo I used yesterday was 9.8%AA. I needed 3.9 HBUs. There is no "into button" on a calculator, but squinting at the numbers I expect I need between a third and a half an ounce.

3.9/9.8= 0.3979 ounces, rounds up to a nice even 0.4 ounces.

AFAIK the (60) -not showing in post one- is customary to indicate that hop should be added with 60 minutes remaining in the boil. I don't have a firm and fast rule about converting subjective "bittering adition" to objective (x).