Side by side experiments are always the best. Of course, you need to repeat them on different styles and, often, on the same style, to draw conclusions. (We did a similiar experiment here, about five years ago, on an IPA and also got the same sort of results.)
I would have liked to have seen Tinseth IBU estimates rather than Rager as Tinseth has been shown to be better on all-grain brews.
Contrarian wrote:Calculating late additions in terms of IBUs is fraught with danger. There really is no clear understanding of what actually happens so it really comes down to personal taste.
This is a good summary of what we've talked about here for over six years now. (
This post and the first link in it are relevant here.)
There is a massive focus on IBU's by homebrewers at the expense of flavour and aroma. First wort hopping adds bitterness and flavour. Late boil or post-boil additions are about adding flavour and aroma however, you rarely hear this discussed. So, what to do?
...
Firstly, find recipes you can trust when starting out.
Secondly, it took a very long time to get Section G in the BIABacus so concise. Make sure you use that; no other software asks for chilling or hop management information despite it being really important.
Thirdly, a different version of what Contrarian said above - when tasting your beer, see what you like. If there is something you don't like hop-wise, is it an imbalance in bitterness, flavour or aroma? Analysing numbers has its place but only up to a certain point. At some point, especially when working on flavour and aroma, you'll have to get away from the numbers and ask questions or experiment.
Focussing on IBU's is a bit like focussing on colour in malts. Two completely different grain bills can result in exactly the same colour but completely different beers.
PP
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