Partial vs. Full Boil

[IndyPABrewGuy]

I've run into a lot of information about partial vs. full boil and hop utilization. It came from my recent need to switch brewing software. I used to us BTP, but got fed up with the bugs, so I decided to try BeerSmith. All well and good, like it, set up a recipe of mine from BTP in BS, and low and behold, the IBU's dropped by like 50%. So I looked into it and found that it was the system that BS uses to calc IBUs. So I switched to the same calc method as BTP, and voila!, it's back to the same IBUs as before.

Ok, so that's the story. Here's my question:

It is my assumption that since I have been using the calc method that takes into account a full boil, that the recipes I've written are the correct IBU, but their taste will be different once I switch to AG and start doing full boils. Is this correct? Would it be smart for me to switch the calc method I use now (I think from Rager to Tinseth) to achieve the actual taste that said recipes would put forth??

Thanks in advance,

 

[Rick_R]

An interesting question, and I'll go ahead and stomp out any hope you'll get an answer from me. I use Brew Smith with it set to Tinseth, but that's just the way it came. Promash suggests using Tinseth for full wort boils and Ranger for concentrated boils, as does at least one thread here -- but the question of course is if switching from concentrated to full does switching formulas keep the taste the same.

There looks to be a fairly good article here:
http://www.realbeer.com/hops/FAQ.html
as to the various formulas, though I've no idea how accurate it might be. I've never really noticed the various different formulas before, so have marked this for later reading. But not tonight.

Rick

 

[slim chillingsworth]

An interesting question, and I'll go ahead and stomp out any hope you'll get an answer from me. I use Brew Smith with it set to Tinseth, but that's just the way it came. Promash suggests using Tinseth for full wort boils and Ranger for concentrated boils, as does at least one thread here -- but the question of course is if switching from concentrated to full does switching formulas keep the taste the same.

There looks to be a fairly good article here:
http://www.realbeer.com/hops/FAQ.html
as to the various formulas, though I've no idea how accurate it might be. I've never really noticed the various different formulas before, so have marked this for later reading. But not tonight.

Rick

Hop utilization directly correlates to the density and volume of the wort in which the hops are being boiled. IBU calculation is dependent on accurate knowledge of hop utilization. If your formula calculates the IBU's before dilution, and then adjusts them for the final volume, it should be relatively accurate. The best solution, imo, would be to do full boils regardless of AG or extract, and not worry about inaccurate calculations.

 

[IndyPABrewGuy]

Hop utilization directly correlates to the density and volume of the wort in which the hops are being boiled. IBU calculation is dependent on accurate knowledge of hop utilization. If your formula calculates the IBU's before dilution, and then adjusts them for the final volume, it should be relatively accurate. The best solution, imo, would be to do full boils regardless of AG or extract, and not worry about inaccurate calculations.

Thanks for the answers, all. The link was a good read, Rick. And Slim, I'd love to jump in with some full boils, but I don't have the equipment. Once that happens, I'm all over it, but right now I have to stick to the stove.