I'm a new brewer with only a handful of batches under my belt. I jumped straight to all grain brewing because... well, why not? :rockin: Because I am new and I haven't completely dialed into my system's capabilities I have been getting varying results in efficiency. There has been a small variance in my expected volumes and a lot of variance in my mash extraction efficiency (I suspect crush has something to do with it as I don't yet have control over it).
Because I am still working through my issues, I thought it would be nice to have a calculator that can help me make adjustments during my brew day to correct my missed pre-boil gravity and volume targets. There are several online calculators that can help you (somewhat), and if you use beersmith it has a collection of calculators as well. The issue is used individually they can correct one problem but create another.
I couldn't find quite the tool I was looking for so I put together a real simple spreadsheet to meet my needs, I thought I would share it with y'all in case any other new brewers might find it useful in the future. (If anyone is aware of something that already has the same functionality please let me know)
The idea is that before brew day you would input your boil kettle's boil off rate, your hydrometer's calibration temp, and your current recipe's target values. On brew day, after you mash and collect your runnings, you would input into the spreadsheet your actual measured volume and gravity and the spreadsheet would calculate exactly how much water to add or boil off and/or how much fermentables (DME, LME, sugar, etc.) to add to hit your target values.
I came up with 3 different methods to make these adjustments:
It would be up to the brewer to decide which method (if any) would be most appropriate for there particular situation. For example, I can't imagine why I'd ever go with option 3 but you never know.
I've tested all the formulas against online calculators and beersmith and they all seem to agree, so I'm confident in its accuracy. The only formula that has a slight discrepancy is the hydrometer reading temperature correction formula, but it's close enough for me.
If any one has any suggestions, corrections, or other ideas please do send them my way.
View attachment Brew Day Adjustments.xml
Because I am still working through my issues, I thought it would be nice to have a calculator that can help me make adjustments during my brew day to correct my missed pre-boil gravity and volume targets. There are several online calculators that can help you (somewhat), and if you use beersmith it has a collection of calculators as well. The issue is used individually they can correct one problem but create another.
I couldn't find quite the tool I was looking for so I put together a real simple spreadsheet to meet my needs, I thought I would share it with y'all in case any other new brewers might find it useful in the future. (If anyone is aware of something that already has the same functionality please let me know)
The idea is that before brew day you would input your boil kettle's boil off rate, your hydrometer's calibration temp, and your current recipe's target values. On brew day, after you mash and collect your runnings, you would input into the spreadsheet your actual measured volume and gravity and the spreadsheet would calculate exactly how much water to add or boil off and/or how much fermentables (DME, LME, sugar, etc.) to add to hit your target values.
I came up with 3 different methods to make these adjustments:
- Add or boil off water AND add a fermentable to achieve the exact pre-boil gravity and volume the recipe calls for. Depending on the fermentable you use this could really alter the flavor of the brew.
- Add or boil off water ONLY. Technically you should be able to do this to achieve any gravity you need, however your volumes and BU:GU ratio will be off. The idea here is to make whatever adjustment needed to hit your recipe's post-boil gravity.
- If your gravity is too high dilute with water to achieve target pre-boil gravity then remove or discard any extra wort. Obviously this is wasteful, but should be the most accurate to your recipe.
It would be up to the brewer to decide which method (if any) would be most appropriate for there particular situation. For example, I can't imagine why I'd ever go with option 3 but you never know.
I've tested all the formulas against online calculators and beersmith and they all seem to agree, so I'm confident in its accuracy. The only formula that has a slight discrepancy is the hydrometer reading temperature correction formula, but it's close enough for me.
If any one has any suggestions, corrections, or other ideas please do send them my way.
View attachment Brew Day Adjustments.xml
