TheHappyHopper
Well-Known Member
Alternate post title: "Make sure you understand the math rather than just trusting what a calculator spits out"
I have been using Brewtoad for awhile now for putting together recipes, I like the fact that it calculates everthing out for you (OG, FG, IBUs, SRM, etc.) depending on your ingredients. For about my first year of brewing, I didn't pay much attention to the efficiency of my system. After my first few batches, I stopped worry about even checking the OG and FG. I generally just copied other people's recipes and didn't worry about brewhouse efficiency.
Recently I have gotten much more diligent about my note taking, trying to document every possible variable so that I can create some consistency from batch to batch and improve my processes. Using the equations in Palmer's book, I put together a spreadsheet so I can document my system's efficiency.
Well, for this last batch, I tweaked the recipe on Brewtoad to consider the 80+% efficiency that I have been getting with my system. I took my pre-boil readings, plugged them into my spreadsheet and came up with an efficiency of 83%. However, at the end of the day, my OG read 1.036, and according to Brewtoad it should have been 1.051. My first thought was that I had some kind of error on my spreadsheet, so I double checked on the Brewer's Friend efficiency calculator, and sure enough it gave me 82% efficiency. If I tinker around with the efficiency % on Brewtoad and instead tell it that I get 59% efficiency, it matches up with what the numbers that I measured.
So what gives? Anybody else use Brewtoad and have this problem?
I have been using Brewtoad for awhile now for putting together recipes, I like the fact that it calculates everthing out for you (OG, FG, IBUs, SRM, etc.) depending on your ingredients. For about my first year of brewing, I didn't pay much attention to the efficiency of my system. After my first few batches, I stopped worry about even checking the OG and FG. I generally just copied other people's recipes and didn't worry about brewhouse efficiency.
Recently I have gotten much more diligent about my note taking, trying to document every possible variable so that I can create some consistency from batch to batch and improve my processes. Using the equations in Palmer's book, I put together a spreadsheet so I can document my system's efficiency.
Well, for this last batch, I tweaked the recipe on Brewtoad to consider the 80+% efficiency that I have been getting with my system. I took my pre-boil readings, plugged them into my spreadsheet and came up with an efficiency of 83%. However, at the end of the day, my OG read 1.036, and according to Brewtoad it should have been 1.051. My first thought was that I had some kind of error on my spreadsheet, so I double checked on the Brewer's Friend efficiency calculator, and sure enough it gave me 82% efficiency. If I tinker around with the efficiency % on Brewtoad and instead tell it that I get 59% efficiency, it matches up with what the numbers that I measured.
So what gives? Anybody else use Brewtoad and have this problem?
