Which beer calculator is best!

[CoreyG]

Hey,

I'm doing a batch this weekend, fairly simple extract with a little specialty grains and I wanted to get an idea for using the beer calculator online so that when I start designing my own recipes, I can have a good idea of the end product. Problem is all 3 gave me different results.

The recipe is as follows:

6.6 lbs dark lme
1.1 lbs light lme
0.75lbs crystal 80L
1.25 oz kent goldings (7.3%) for bittering
0.5 oz kent goldings (7.3%) at 5 mins
Safale SO-4 yeast.

Boil Volume : 2 gallons ( I have a ****ty stove)
Final Volume: 5 gallons

I got these results:

Beer Tools
OG 1.056
FG 1.013
Color 19.83
Bitterness 33.4
Alcohol 5.6%

TastyBew
OG 1.054
FG 1.014
Color 39
Bitterness 38
Alcohol 5.2%

BeerCalculus
OG 1.059
FG 1.016
Color 16
Bitterness 15.5
Alcohol 5.7%

the biggest difference is in color and bitterness, anyone know why it came out like this?

 

[jbrookeiv]

There are different methods for calculating IBUs and SRMs using different formulas. The different programs could be using these different formulas.

 

[lostboysbrew]

just download Beersmith and be done with it.............you get it for free for 14 days......and its only $20 for a liscense.......best buy ever......

 

[Nikkimaija]

+1 to Beersmith
Your different calculators could also have different values for the AA of the hops...Beersmith lets you edit when you create recipes. For example it has Perle programmed as 8%, but my Perle was 9.5% - so poof, you just change the number and it re-calculates for you.

 

[Revvy]

Best is subjective....The best is which works for you. I use Beersmith, but before that I used beercalculus. I quit using that because back then you couldn't SAVE your recipes. So I tried a couple others and chose Beersmith. Then 6 months later Beercalculus created hopville with the ability to save recipes. Had that happened before I switched I might never have left BC...

But I am happy with beersmith.

Like other's have said, each software may use slightly different formulas or scales (like for IBU) or a hybrid of all formulas. That accounts for the differences in results, NOT that one is better than the other, they just are going about their calculations slightly differently.

 

[evilhomer]

Brewmate is a good free program, but I prefer Beersmith.

 

[CoreyG]

Cool, thanks for the input.

This is a very stupid question, but these gallons are talking about Us gallons right ( not imperial gallons?) .

 

[Revvy]

Cool, thanks for the input.

This is a very stupid question, but these gallons are talking about Us gallons right ( not imperial gallons?) .

It depends on what the default setting is, or if it was changed. Usually the software give you the choice to set it as liters/gallons/imperial gallons, as well as the measurements pounds or kilos.