Hop Utilization question

I have read I get increased hop utilization if I do late LME additions.


If I am trying to get the same target IBUs, what percentage should I decrease in hop weight to the boil? Or should I keep it the same, I will just get better flavor/aroma/bittering? This would be assuming I do half the LME atthe beginnging of boil, and half with about 15 min to go

troutab81 said:

I have read I get increased hop utilization if I do late LME additions.


If I am trying to get the same target IBUs, what percentage should I decrease in hop weight to the boil? Or should I keep it the same, I will just get better flavor/aroma/bittering? This would be assuming I do half the LME atthe beginnging of boil, and half with about 15 min to go

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It's easiest to do with some brewing software. It's not really a linear calculation. You only need to decrease your bittering hops, not the flavor and aroma hops. If you post the recipe, one of us can run it through some software for you if you don't have any.

Or you can bookmark Recipator It doesn't have a late-addition option, so calculate without your extract, just the specialty grains.

Brew Type: Partial Mash Date: 1/23/2010
Style: Imperial IPA Brewer:
Batch Size: 5.00 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 4.08 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.0 % Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)
Actual Efficiency: 0.0
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract 66.7 %
2.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 16.7 %
2.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 16.7 %
1.00 oz Nugget [13.00%] (60 min) Hops 30.4 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00%] (30 min) Hops 23.4 IBU
1.00 oz Warrior [15.00%] (15 min) Hops 17.4 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%] (10 min) Hops 11.9 IBU
1.00 oz Palisade [8.00%] (5 min) Hops 3.7 IBU
1.00 oz Palisade [8.00%] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00%] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs Burton Ale (White Labs #WLP023) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.076 SG (1.075-1.095 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.020 SG (1.012-1.020 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Color: 7.7 SRM (8.0-15.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 86.7 IBU (60.0-110.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 8.2 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 7.3 % (7.5-10.0 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 0.6 %
Actual Calories: 43 cal/pint


Mash Profile Name: My Mash Mash Tun Weight: 5.00 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 4.00 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 4.81 gal Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE

Check the Hop Utilization Chart in Papazian's TCJOHB.

You'll see bitterness extraction is best at a gravity of 1.040 which is achieved using 1 gal of water with 1 lb DME at 1 hour.

This is why when I do small boils I keep the ratio at 1:1:1 (2:2:2, 3:3:3, etc.).

Apparently, you can't get better utilization than that.

homebrewer_99 said:

Check the Hop Utilization Chart in Papazian's TCJOHB.

You'll see bitterness extraction is best at a gravity of 1.040 which is achieved using 1 gal of water with 1 lb DME at 1 hour.

This is why when I do small boils I keep the ratio at 1:1:1 (2:2:2, 3:3:3, etc.).

Apparently, you can't get better utilization than that.

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If I do a late LME addition at 15 min left in boil, shouldn't I be worried about kettle carmelization?

Ok, tell me if my calculation is off:

If I put in half the LME with the grains steeped at boil, I should have an OG of 1.048 (64% of full OG). Using beersmith, I should get about 76 IBU out of my two bittering hops, instead of the 53-54 IBU in the original recipe?

Does beersmith always calculate my recipes for adding all the extract through the entire boil and hence my IBUs have never been accurate?

troutab81 said:

If I do a late LME addition at 15 min left in boil, shouldn't I be worried about kettle carmelization?

Ok, tell me if my calculation is off:

If I put in half the LME with the grains steeped at boil, I should have an OG of 1.048 (64% of full OG). Using beersmith, I should get about 76 IBU out of my two bittering hops, instead of the 53-54 IBU in the original recipe?

Does beersmith always calculate my recipes for adding all the extract through the entire boil and hence my IBUs have never been accurate?

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Yes, unless you check the box that says "add extract at _____ minutes".

You can do something like 2 pounds of extract the whole time, and 4 pounds of extract at the end, and Beersmith will calculate the IBUs for you.

In the case you posted, you have a 4 gallon boil so the IBUs are calculated with all of the extract in a 4 gallon boil.

YooperBrew said:

Yes, unless you check the box that says "add extract at _____ minutes".

You can do something like 2 pounds of extract the whole time, and 4 pounds of extract at the end, and Beersmith will calculate the IBUs for you.

In the case you posted, you have a 4 gallon boil so the IBUs are calculated with all of the extract in a 4 gallon boil.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the question but where is that box?

troutab81 said:

Sorry for the question but where is that box?

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When you're in your recipe, double click on the malt extract. Or, when you adjust the amount, it's in that screen. About 4 lines below the amount. It says "Add extract at _________ minutes" or something like that. You can put 0 minutes in there, if you want to add it at 0. That's what I would do, since adding the extract late can stop the boil.

YooperBrew said:

When you're in your recipe, double click on the malt extract. Or, when you adjust the amount, it's in that screen. About 4 lines below the amount. It says "Add extract at _________ minutes" or something like that. You can put 0 minutes in there, if you want to add it at 0. That's what I would do, since adding the extract late can stop the boil.

Click to expand...

Ok, I heard 15 would be enough to pasteurize. If 0 is ok, then I am good with that as I was also concerned about scorching and stopping the boil altogether.

I saw where I could check "add after boil" and that seemed to affect (which I can then play around with).

Thanks Yooper