Should I adjust for full volume boil?

Shoemaker · 09-11-2009, 12:43 AM

Should I adjust this recipe for an Octoberfest extract if I do a full volume boil?

Wondering if I should take some of the hops out?

**Yooper** · 09-11-2009, 01:04 AM

Possibly. It depends on the recipe, and the amount of hops. If you post the recipe along with the changes you want to make (say, boiling 6.5 gallons instead of 2.5) then we can help you figure it out.

Shoemaker · 09-11-2009, 01:22 AM

Its an octoberfest...5 gallon batch, I'm boiling about 6 gallons now...

8lbs of Ultralight malt

Grains:
8 oz of Caravienne
8 oz Caramunich
8 oz Aromatic

Hops:
1 oz Perle
1 oz Vanguard

**Yooper** · 09-11-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoemaker

Its an octoberfest...5 gallon batch, I'm boiling about 6 gallons now...

8lbs of Ultralight malt

Grains:
8 oz of Caravienne
8 oz Caramunich
8 oz Aromatic

Hops:
1 oz Perle
1 oz Vanguard

That hopping schedule makes it hard for me to tell you, since I don't know what hops are being added when, or the AAUs of them. Some perle hops are around 7% AAU, but some aren't. Same with the Vanguard.

I'd guess that the perle hops are the bittering hops, and the vanguard are the flavor hops, but without knowing the times you're adding, I have no clue what to tell you. Sorry!

Shoemaker · 09-11-2009, 01:36 AM

the perle are bittering (60 mins)

vanguard are the aroma (1 min)

I think this is what you mean? Not sure about all this...

**Yooper** · 09-11-2009, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoemaker

the perle are bittering (60 mins)

vanguard are the aroma (1 min)

I think this is what you mean? Not sure about all this...

Well, that helps. But hops vary in the amount of alpha acids they have. That's marked on the package. So, perle 6.9% would be used in a different amount than perle 4.8%, for example.

In order to really adjust it, you'd need to know those numbers, as well as the target IBUs of the recipe. That's usually on the recipe sheet. Without knowing what you have, and what you're trying to acheive (the target), it'd be a guess as to what you should do with the hops.

Generally, if you are going from a 2.5 gallon boil to a 6 gallon boil, you can reduce the 60 minute hops by 25%, assuming all other things are equal (like the AAUs of the hops). But that's not always necessary- sometimes using all of the hops give you the proper result.

Shoemaker · 09-11-2009, 01:47 AM

Oh I see it...

The Perle have 7.5% alpha acid and the vanguard have 5.0%

The target IBU is 22-26

I guess I'll just use all the hops and see what happens.

VTBrewer · 09-11-2009, 01:55 AM

Club HomeBrew* Recipes And Blogs > Calculators

Your OG is predicted at 1.050. So your IBU's in the above calculator are:

Garetz Rager Tinseth Daniels
Hop 1 IBU: 27.2 32.7 25.9 33.7
Hop 2 IBU: 0 3.7 3.4 4.5
Total IBUs: 27.2 36.4 29.4 38.2
Average IBUs: 32.8

Shoemaker · 09-11-2009, 01:57 AM

Ummmm....can you explain these numbers please?

VTBrewer · 09-11-2009, 02:03 AM

International Bitterness Units scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think garetz and rager are the one most breweries use, but I could be wrong.

Each hop is going to add a certain amount of IBU based on it utilization, which is calculated by the AA% and the time in the boil.

Most BJCP judges cannot differentiate between +/- 5 IBU. So you're slighly over your target maybe, but most likely not even noticeably.