TOPIC:

Hi all,

I only recently started out and picked BTP for brewing software. It is all pretty straightforward and fairly easy to use..... until I stumbled across the 'Utilization Formulas'. <!-- s:shock: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_eek.gif" alt=":shock:" title="Shocked" /><!-- s:shock: --> Is it just me or are these just very confusing?
My question is: How do these work? Which one to use?
I do full 22 liter boils, which formula do I use? or will I use them at all?

Any suggestions, info on this will be greatly appreciated!

-F

I have been thinking a bit about this recently. I think it is difficult to calculate the actual percentages in homebrewing. I feel its an approximate. I end up leaving behind wort at every stage of the process..I am not sure if this can be taken into account. If there is a lot of trub I will leave behind more than usuall ... I have not gotten into the finer details of BTP. I type in my recipe it gives me a rough idea of what I will get and will tell me at times that I am nowhere near the STYLE GUIDELINES which doesn't bother me in the slightest but I am happy with my beer at the end which is the most important thing.

For people starting off all these graphs can get in the way of making beer. It's an easy process once you know what you are doing but I know a couple of friends who are slaves to what the computer says and argue about a beer not being in a style or whatever...frankly who cares! ..... I digress

I don't pay too much attention to it. Take your measurements and pay attention to how much water you use and how much gets boiled off and you can have a good idea of what you need to reach a certain volume and then get a pen and paper and work out your own utilisation percentage based on what you have done and don't worry if it's only 70% as you still get beer!

So to answer you're q No idea but don't worry have a homebrew.

I agree on the ignoring the Style Guidelines. For guidance only, unless you want to match a style.
But by selecting different formulas it can make the eg bitterness go up/ down significantly. Sometimes the difference in bitterness between formulas is as high as 15 points. And that worries me a bit.

&amp;quot;rossa&amp;quot;:1npocuz0 wrote: So to answer you're q No idea but don't worry have a homebrew.[/quote:1npocuz0]
Sound advice <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

Regardless of the formula you use it's an estimate and will be affected by the condition of the hops, for example how old they are, how they were packaged and stored before you got them etc. It's also worth mentioning that the perception of hop bitterness can be effected by flavour and aroma hops not to mention an individual's own perception. What might seem like 40 IBU to one person may seem like 60 IBU to another. I also use BTP and I use the default formula - I've never even checked which formula this is. The only advice I could give is to stick to one formula so your calculations are consistent from one batch to the next.

Ok, I'm happy with it. Ignoring it so <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Cheers lads, thanks for the advise!