Brewer's Friend Water Chemistry Calculator

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Hi, I'm Larry one of the people who work on brewersfriend.com.

The calculator uses pre-boil volumes of water and balances the minerals against that. The reason being, that is how it would work if the water coming off the tap was exactly what you wanted.

If you are doing multiple mash steps then you would want to take into account total water usage and balance the mineral additions across the infusions.

If you are doing an extract style recipe, add the minerals to the water before you start steeping or boiling. If you really wanted to dial it in, add small mineral additions to the water you are diluting with (for flavor ion concentration). I'm not actually sure this is necessary, probably overkill, but I've never done any experiments.

The beer will work itself out - RDWHAHB!
 
Glad to see you here, Larry! The NaCl addition on the form looks to be problematic. It sometimes shows an amount in teaspoons even when the amount by mass is blank.
 
By the way, I LOVE the calculator. It's among the best and simplest I've seen.

A suggestion for your site overall: give credit where credit is due.

To my knowledge, the term SMaSH originated on this forum, yet you make no mention of that in your post. I think Orfy coined the term.

Your "How to bottle beer from the keg" post outlines a method that originated here, also (the "BMBF"). BierMuncher is the man on that one.

Your CCB Haus Pale shares its name and basic recipe outline with EdWort's Haus Pale. While no one will ever be 100% sure, it certainly looks like Ed's recipe was the basis for yours.

Your "no chill" post closely mirrors the timeframe that no chill brewing was a hot topic here as well. Again, we'll never be able to prove it, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. Consider mentioning deathweed, The Pol, et al on your site.
 
Thanks for the praise on the calculator!

In terms of the similarity of materials, The Pol writes articles for Brewer's Friend.

As for giving credit, that is a good point, we'll make sure to do that.
 
FWIW...

The CCB Haus Ale (not Haus Pale Ale) is my own recipe, and I wrote the article. I have never paid much mind to Eds Haus Pale Ale recipe... but recipe similarities are pretty common. This was one of my first brews about 4 years ago. (looking at Eds recipe now... I dont see a stark similarity, the malts differ, the OG, and the IBUs are way off FWIW...)

The No Chill thing, again... I wrote that, no need to give credit to me, the information comes from my useage of the method and the plethera of information scattered about.

The bottling from a keg article was based upon what I learned from building and using BMs tool here on HBT as well as other sources, including method recomendations from friends who are also HBers.

I also wrote the article on SMaSH brewing... I am completely unaware where the term was coined. Everthing gets its name somewhere, from someone, and I am not familiar with the roots of these terms. Sorry, dont know how I would have known this.

Sorry for all this? I guess I dont know what to say...
 
I love the calculator. In my opinion it is the best one out there.

The only thing that would be nice to see, based on the OP, is an entry for mash/sparge volume - that way it could calculate the amount of additions for each step. Right now I change the water volume and do it in two steps.
 
I forgot to add - the calculator and the articles on brewersfreind got me started on the path to fixing my water. Prior to which my beer was ruinous. So I guess you could say it saved my life. Although that's probably a bit of an understatement.
 
Pol, it wasn't an attack, just constructive criticism. I understand recipe similarities, so I'm not bent up over that one. I also now realize that you've done your own work on the no chill article. I do think you should credit HBT and Orfy/BM in the SMaSH and kegging articles. My $.02.
 
Pol, it wasn't an attack, just constructive criticism. I understand recipe similarities, so I'm not bent up over that one. I also now realize that you've done your own work on the no chill article. I do think you should credit HBT and Orfy/BM in the SMaSH and kegging articles. My $.02.

I dont have the power to go back and edit the articles.

I also never knew that HBT and Orfy coined SMaSH.
 
Just for reference and clarity.

SMaSH. A little history.

There are many beers and recipes world wide with one variety of hops and malt.
I was looking to learn more about my brews and the ingredients so I started brewing a lot of Single Malt and Single Hop brews and a group of brewers started to do the same and discuss. The term Single Malt and Single Hop was turned into the Acronym SMaSH by Cheesefood.

So the Acronym was born of the threads on HBT. I also believe the idea of using wide scale SMaSH brewing to learn about individual malts and hops can also be credited to HBT.
It would be silly to suggest the idea of a single malt and hop combination brewing come from HBT.
If the term was used before HBT discussions I'd be very surprised and I'm not sure if any other brewing communities have started to use it since.

IN short the acronym SMaSH and it usage for multiple batches to learn about the ingredients was born on HBT.
Using single varieties of hops and malts in one brew was not. Although I don't know where else the method has been widely tried and discussed.


That being said I have not read the article but I think some mention that the term SMaSH was coined, discussed and widely employed by member's of HBT would add to the article and let readers know where the acronym and usage of the method of learning started.

Edit:


This may give you an insight. There are many SMaSH treads and brews after this on.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/single-malt-single-hop-45890/
 
Couple questions here....

When is it OK not to cite the root of a term or process?

How is one who is not involved in the creation of the term or process to know the root of what is, at the time, tribal knowlege?

Why arent you concerned about giving credit to the inventor of the false bottom? The first Firts Wort Hopper? The creators "no chill" wort production?

Where is that line? What makes one term or topic different from another, when they are all tribal knowlege?

These are all valid, if the issue over the root of SMaSH is valid. If I am to continue providing content to BF, this is of great interest to me.

Now, if I am cutting and pasting excerpts from any source, then that is NOT my creation, and demands credit given.

I am just trying to have an open dialogue here, not picking a fight... but some of the allegations made in this thread have no basis whatsoever, making me wonder what the motivation was in the first place.
 
By the way, congrats on the success of your site Larry and the Water Calculator...
 
If an allegation is to be made, dont lead with this... this seems like a huge stretch and makes it look like you are just picking a fight, and in this case, with the wrong guy (Larry).
.

I've read through the whole thread, and I don't see any allegation or anybody picking a fight. As Yuri said, recipe similarities are very common so no one is criticizing that. I think it's more the name, along with the ingredients. Edwort lived in Germany for years, and he's married to a German woman, so he's one of the people who use words like "haus" in his brew names. He's certainly not the only one who can use it, and it must just be a coincidence that it's got the same ingredients in different amounts. No one is picking a fight with you, or with Larry.

When we write articles, we definitely use our own experiences so citing the source isn't always easy. But, taking information directly from our site, and incorporating into articles, does take some of us aback. No one is complaining, they are just mentioning it to you. Comparing the knowledge gained from this site into having to site sources for recognized brewing methods like FWH and using a false bottom is not a good comparison.

What if I wrote for a magazine, and used all of the info from your no-chill brewing experiments. It wouldn't be cut and paste; I'd write it myself. But I'd make no mention of you at all, just saying that "brewers are doing this". I bet you would say, "Hey! Thanks for putting the info out there, but I'd appreciate a little bit of acknowledgement" That's all anybody is saying here.
 
I'm with you on this one Pol. If every term or phrase related to brewing was due credit to the coiner every time its mentioned, I think we'd all be in trouble. To my knowledge SMaSH is not copywrited or trademarked. 'nuf said.

And yes, nice calculator at brewer's friend (although I'm partial to the one in my sig :))
 
I've read through the whole thread, and I don't see any allegation or anybody picking a fight. As Yuri said, recipe similarities are very common so no one is criticizing that. I think it's more the name, along with the ingredients. Edwort lived in Germany for years, and he's married to a German woman, so he's one of the people who use words like "haus" in his brew names. He's certainly not the only one who can use it, and it must just be a coincidence that it's got the same ingredients in different amounts. No one is picking a fight with you, or with Larry.

When we write articles, we definitely use our own experiences so citing the source isn't always easy. But, taking information directly from our site, and incorporating into articles, does take some of us aback. No one is complaining, they are just mentioning it to you. Comparing the knowledge gained from this site into having to site sources for recognized brewing methods like FWH and using a false bottom is not a good comparison.

What if I wrote for a magazine, and used all of the info from your no-chill brewing experiments. It wouldn't be cut and paste; I'd write it myself. But I'd make no mention of you at all, just saying that "brewers are doing this". I bet you would say, "Hey! Thanks for putting the info out there, but I'd appreciate a little bit of acknowledgement" That's all anybody is saying here.

Obviously you have not compared the 2 recipes. (2) of the (4) malts in mine are the same, one of those being 2-Row. The OG 1.050 to 1.040? The IBUs 39 compared to 18? The BJCP styles are totally different, one is a Pale Ale, one is a Blonde... and mine is CCB Haus Ale, not CCB Haus Pale Ale is Yuri incorrectly stated. They only share Vienna and Cascade (2-row is a given, cmon)... wonder how many recipes here on HBT use Vienna and Cascades?:confused:

In my travels I see plenty of beer or brewery related names what have the term Haus in them, now we are getting silly.

Still not seeing the striking similarity
 
As for taking my No Chill experiment information and creating content from it without giving me credit, I wouldnt care. This isnt my job, it is a simple hobby and I intentionally place all of this information on a free website to share it, for free.

There is no intellectual property here on HBT, and personally someone could cut and paste what I post here and use it for other purposes, as it harms me in no way. Further distributing it would do what I had intended in the first place, to help others, whether I get credit or not doesnt affect me in any way.

If I wanted to stake a claim to something, I would certainly write it in a book and copyright it and charge you all for my ideas ;)
 
FWIW... I grew up in MI too, spent plenty of time in Frankenmuth, where every business has the word Haus in it.:drunk:
 
I love the calculator. In my opinion it is the best one out there.

The only thing that would be nice to see, based on the OP, is an entry for mash/sparge volume - that way it could calculate the amount of additions for each step. Right now I change the water volume and do it in two steps.

That does sound like a nice addition, especially since you need to do one salt addition in the mash and the other in the boil kettle so that the brewing salts will actually dissolve.
 
Nobody that posts anything on here wants to protect the information. They do it because they want to share the information for others to use as they wish. Even better if it spreads beyond HBT.

As for giving credit to the source of the information it's not mandatory but it is courteous. Something along the lines of SMaSH is an acronym coined by a group of brewers on HBT to describe the following method of...........
The term is now perculating through other brewing groups/communities and it would be good if some of the credit was given to HBT.
 
The biggest flaw with online calculators is that you have to input your water profile every time and there's no way to save the info. I like the spreadsheets because I can save a bunch of them and name them Overbrook Dark, Pils, etc to reference anytime.
 
Nobody that posts anything on here wants to protect the information. They do it because they want to share the information for others to use as they wish. Even better if it spreads beyond HBT.

As for giving credit to the source of the information it's not mandatory but it is courteous. Something along the lines of SMaSH is an acronym coined by a group of brewers on HBT to describe the following method of...........
The term is now perculating through other brewing groups/communities and it would be good if some of the credit was given to HBT.

It is only courteous if you know who the source is in the first place.

My last post here, but like I said before... I never knew SMaSH came from HBT. For all I know it was copied here, from somewhere else. I learned about FHWing here too, I have no idea if it originated here. I have learned much here, but I dont assume that all things orginate from HBT.

Again, I cannot ammend articles, I dont have that authority. Credit to Orfy.
 
The biggest flaw with online calculators is that you have to input your water profile every time and there's no way to save the info. I like the spreadsheets because I can save a bunch of them and name them Overbrook Dark, Pils, etc to reference anytime.


Good point Bobby. I've also wanted to find one that would let me save my profile.
 
Nah, The Calculator site looks good. I'll check it out.

No Credit to me for this brew method, others did it before.
Credit due to HBT for coining the acronym SMaSH and running with the "Ethos"

POL.

I think people are just trying to let you know the origins of the term.
It's understood you can't edit directly but if you wanted to you could supply additional information to those who can.
 
He is Larry, he is the on Yuri conversed with initially. He knows.
 
The biggest flaw with online calculators is that you have to input your water profile every time and there's no way to save the info. I like the spreadsheets because I can save a bunch of them and name them Overbrook Dark, Pils, etc to reference anytime.

That is on the list of things to update. It is designed in but not coded for. The first version will store the information in a cookie. Later we will set it up so it stores the information in a user profile. Of course this is totally optional for the user of the calculator.
 
Nobody that posts anything on here wants to protect the information. They do it because they want to share the information for others to use as they wish. Even better if it spreads beyond HBT.

As for giving credit to the source of the information it's not mandatory but it is courteous. Something along the lines of SMaSH is an acronym coined by a group of brewers on HBT to describe the following method of...........
The term is now perculating through other brewing groups/communities and it would be good if some of the credit was given to HBT.

Thanks for the feedback about this, the SMaSH post has been updated:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/09/05/what-is-smash-brewing/

SMaSH stands for single malt and single hop. The acronym was coined by a group of dedicated brewers at the popular home brewing forum HBT (http://www.homebrewtalk.com). A SMaSH brew is.....

We are merely trying to disseminate information, make it easier for people to brew, and more fun. No intention here of ripping off anybody. We take copyright seriously. Contact me or The Pol if you ever have a question or concern.
 
Oh, and I'm really touched by the nice things everyone has said about the water chemistry calculator. It was a combination of everything I knew on the subject, my chemistry background, and my software background. I use it personally, and I'm glad it is helpful.
 
I love the calculator and the entire site. The articles are great. And all of the calculators are very helpful, interactive, and intuitive... Thanks!
 
Oh, and I'm really touched by the nice things everyone has said about the water chemistry calculator. It was a combination of everything I knew on the subject, my chemistry background, and my software background. I use it personally, and I'm glad it is helpful.

I've been using it for only about a month- and I have really liked it! Water chemistry has been kind of the "last frontier" with my brewing. I knew it would improve my beer, but seemed overwhelming. Your calculator made it easy to see what impact any salts/RO water made. I didn't know it was something you had done, though. Thanks for putting that together.
 
So with the calculator, under the heading "pre boil" volume. Is that the entire amount of water I will be using for the process. ie, mash volume+sparge volume. Maybe I'm over thinking it but the pre-boil thing suggest it's the volume after you have completed those steps. Thanks for your help.
 
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