Brewer's Best Kit WAYYYY off in IBUs... how would you fix it?

[Froyd]

I recently purchased a Brewer's Best Continental Pilsner Kit. The label described it as a pilsner with an OG in the 1.040 range and IBUs between 28 and 33. The full recipe is here

Basically 3.3 lbs of LME for 60 minutes and a late addition of 2 lbs of DME at 10 mins to flame out. A few specialty grains: 12 oz Pilsen malt and 8 oz carapils.

The hop schedule was perplexing:

.5oz Hallertau at 60
.5 oz of the same at 20
and .5 oz more at 10 mins

The thre 1/2 oz packages in the kit states an AA of 2.5

Just eyeballing the recipe, it looks like this was goign to come in at way lower than nthe expected 30 IBUs. I ran the recipe through a my calculator and accounted for the fact that the recipe calls for a late addition of the DME, presumably to improve color and boost IBUs, but even then I only came up with 9 IBUs.

I confirmed that the LME was not pre-hopped, so I'm not sure how the recipe is supposed to reach its target bitternes, which is already a tad below the typical IBU range for bohemian/continental pilsners (https://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category2.php).

Am I missing something? I just want to confirm I did not miscalculate something.

If my assumptions are correct, would you recommend "fixing" the recipe with the addition of 2.5 -3 oz of Hallertau (same AA range as what's in the kit)?

 

[dmtaylor]

Wow, yeah, 2.5% alpha acid is very low for Hallertau. I would certainly bump up the bittering addition (just at 60 minutes) with additional hops to make up the difference. 9 or 10 IBUs isn't going to cut it for a good pilsner, no way. Maybe fine for Miller Lite, but not for continental.

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

Is it possible the package was marked incorrectly about the AA%. Did you call who you got the kit from?

 

[Froyd]

I cannot rule out a mistake on the printing of the hops packages, but given the 0.5 oz size of the 60 minute addition, I don't think I would get much of a hop profile even if the hops boasted the 5 AA that is normally considered at the top end of the Hallertau range.

 

[kh54s10]

I would guess that the kit will come out as the mfg intended. I guess it is possible that they didn't change things like the amounts of hops from one harvest to the next as far as alpha acids go.

.5 ounces is not a commercially packaged amount so the kit mfg, must be doing that. I would think they would adjust.

I would brew it as is unless you can determine that indeed the AA and amounts are wrong. I will plug the recipe into Beersmith and see what it says.

 

[kh54s10]

Even at the listed 4.5 AA for Hallertau, if that is for a 5 gallon batch Beersmith only calculates 12 IBU.

Again, unless you have some proof that the kit is not correct I would not change anything. I would have to trust that they put the kit together properly and that we don't have all the right information.

Unless they used Hallertau Blanc, Hallertau Magnum, or Hallertau Taurus. The rest of the Hallertaus don't even come close to giving the IBUs stated according to Beersmith.

 

[Froyd]

My only proof is what it says on the package, and what the recipe calls for as target IBUs, which is something in the low 30s. That IBU range is also aligned with the style guide. However, the ingredients included in the kit are not sufficient to hit those numbers (unless the stated AA is incorrect but I think it's doubtful).

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

I would talk with who you got it from. If it's wrong maybe they will send more hops or at least explain there thought on the kit. Maybe they included the wrong pack of hops

 

[chezhed]

Interesting question....I sell these so let me see what I can find out from the manufacturer.

 

[McGarnigle]

Wait, is that Brewer's Gold for bittering? That's what the link says (now).

To fix: maybe add an ounce of ~5-6% AA hops at start of boil. Doesn't actually have to be Hallertau, although something similar would be nice.

 

[chezhed]

They (manufacturer) change the ingredients (hops and yeast anyway) from time to time I have noticed. So the link today may not match the kit purchased. I discovered this after one person had bought the same kit 3 times and came back and said the last batch tasted different, which I of course attributed to a process change incorrectly because he brought me the instruction sheets later and when we compared them, sure enough, there was a difference to our surprise. KUDOS to him for having a palette! And shame on me for blaming the brewer

 

[Morrey]

I have noted some of the hops I am currently buying are wayyyy lower AA% than the same hop varietal this time last year. For example I bought a prepackaged LB of Hallertau hops at my LHBS and the AA% was listed at 2.5AA%. My last LB from the same place, same hop mfg was close to 5AA%. Same with Northern Brewer...last year was around 9AA%, this year 4.6AA%.

I suppose all of the AA% contributions have to be calculated to get a feel for your final IBU level. I know I am adjusting my recipes on the fly now due to the lower levels than last year. If I am using twice the hops to get to the same IBU level, my hop expenses just doubled on me.

 

[chezhed]

The manufacturer says they have had a few inquiries on this and come to the conclusion that they let some kits out incorrectly. There should have been an oz of Brewers Gold. See image for directions.

 

[Froyd]

Wait, is that Brewer's Gold for bittering? That's what the link says (now).

To fix: maybe add an ounce of ~5-6% AA hops at start of boil. Doesn't actually have to be Hallertau, although something similar would be nice.

Weird. The link (to the PDF of the recipe) still shows (German) Hallertau in the quantities I've described above. In any case, Halertau is ddefinitely what's written on the sheet that was inside the box and on the packages that contain the hops.

Here is the link in full: http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1008 2016 Continental Pilsner Recipe.pdf

 

[Froyd]

Attached is what my recipe sheet shows.

No word from BB on this yet. Thanks Chezhed for reaching out to them and determining that they have caught on to the issue and started tweaking the recipe.

Like others have posted I also noticed that last year and this year some of the hop variaties I've used have lower AA than previous years. However, even plugging in 5% in the recipe calculator gives a pretty wimpy final IBU score. 1/2oz is simply not enough to propell it to Continental Pils territory.

In any case, my plan is to add a few ounces of Hallertau to bring the IBUs to the low 30s.

Thanks for the input from everyone. I'll report back if I hear from the manufacturer.

 

[chezhed]

No problem...it's what we do as your LHBS, even if we are not local They actually told me to give you an oz of Brewer's Gold and they will send me replacement. I now have to check my kits in stock to see what version they are.....so thanks for the heads up