How do I adjust "The Calculator" for a dextrose addition?

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OK So I have had a bit of time to go over the BIABacus and have adjusted it to what I think it should be for my setup an recipe. At first glance it looked very complicated but as soon as I started using it I found that it is very simple to use and the way it is laid out makes it simple. As soon as you start going through it from A-Z you just can't go wrong and I've started it after a few brews.

I have 1 question about the BIABacus. As I am using a cube to "no chill" I usually adjust my hop additions like this
anything over 20mins take 20mins off the time
20min = Cube hop
10 -15min = First Wort Hopping
and 0-5 min = Dry hopping
Should I add these to the BIABacus or do as I have done on the attached version?

BIABacus PR1.2 - IPA Double - Pliny the Elder - Sweetmofo Edit1.xls

From using the BIABacus there is only one alteration that would of made it easier for a novice brewer like myself to use and that is when I entered my kettle height the Warning message that appeared could of offered a solution to the problem instead of just the warning, I'm thinking along the lines of "Warning: Mash Volume Exceeds Kettle Size, Adjust section "W" to compensate". I hate to "complain" about something that is so good but I think it may help others in the future.

Thanks for the help so far and for an absolutely amazing piece of software.

Chris

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Morning Chris ,

It does look scary at first . Good on you for getting over the initial glance. I suspect you found it a lot easier to use than The Calculator.

As for the warning suggestion, that's not a complaint at all. It's probably a suggestion we won't be able to do anything about though given the spreadsheet form. For example, if the 'mash volume' warning does get triggered, there are several solutions such as reducing desired Volume into Fermentor (VIF) or, as you said, playing with Section W. A pop up that included such advice would be great but unfortunately we can't do this in the spreadsheet without it causing other problems. So, this means that space becomes a real limitation .

Just looking through your sheet now and the first thing that is hitting me is the very small pot height of 10 cm. I'm guessing this is an error? If it is, hopefully changing it will get rid of the 'Mash volume exceeds kettle size' warning.

Next thing is in Section C. On the right hand side, you have re-typed in the grains. You only need to so this if you are using a different grain from what is on the left hand side.

I'm skipping the hop section until later...

Great job on al the otehr sections - you have cracked it . I like the way you have put a ? in for fermenatin time. That's exactly what you should do if you haven't brewed the beer or one similiar to it. Maybe 1.9 vols CO2 in Section H but do a bit of googling on this first - preferably BJCP. Excellent notes in Sect I.

Now to the hop question. I've actually written a lot here but I am going to cut some of it and post it later as there is too much info in the one post. It is a very tricky area as hop estimate formulas are so primitive. Have a read of this thread I reckon. Once you have read that and allowed it to settle in, please read on...

From that thread you'll see that hop estimate formulas can be quite inaccurate. For late or post-boil additions, they are totally flawed. Who knows on FWH? The situation where they are most accurate would be in the case where you employ an immersion chiller at flame-out. Allowing the kettle to settle, then whirlpooling and then chilling changes the beer as does no-chilling. On some beer styles, these changes won't be noticeable. It's nothing to get hung up on, it's just something to bear in mind.

Given the above, what becomes of most importance is information on your hop and chilling management and you have done an excellent job at providing this. You could probably leave it as is but put a note somewhere that explains why you have written the times where you have on the right hand side but...

I think there are several other ways around this that might be simpler and serve you better. I think its best to cut this post at this stage and post the rest of what I've written later.

Can you let me know about the kettle height thing? Also can you let me know if the above is spinning a few wheels?

Great question ,
PP

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HI PP, as always a very detailed post. I think I have read many thousands of you words on this site (and that's just 1 post ). Only kidding, it's is great that you go to so much effort and time to explain yourself in a precise way that is easy to understand, please keep it up.

You are correct in assuming that I do not brew in a frying pan and the correct depth is 38.5cm, I put the 10cm in to see what changed in the rest of the BIABacus and forgot to change it back.

That was a very interesting thread about hops, I had done a bit of snooping about the web for what to do about no chill hopping alterations and came across what I thought was "the answer". I should of realised that by now there is always more than 1 way to cook an egg. I think I may build myself a hop spider and try experimenting with pulling the hops at or soon after flame out (or switch off in my case) and see how that affects my beer and see which method I prefer.

I am glad that everything looks good enough to brew as my brewing time slot is in about 8 hours from now and most of you guys will be sleeping then. Thanks

p.s. I understand now that there is more than one option to not over fill your kettle, I just never thought of making less beer and realise the limitations of the BIABacus being a spreadsheet at the moment. But it is awsome and you are right when you said it was easier than the calculator, that took me 3 brews and multiple googles to work it out fully.

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I use a hop spider for my bittering and flavour additions then pull it at the end and add a hop sack of my 0 minute additions (just letting it float around) and leave it in the kettle while I drain to my cube, which takes about 4 or 5 minutes. I think.
I like the results.

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HbgBill wrote:Is it necessary to adjust the calculator water measurements for the hops. They absorb water too.

Thanks.

Good question Bill,

Down the track, we might end up getting some estimates on this but it is not a big priority atm. The very few numbers around on hop absorption are not very reliable. It depends a lot on flowers, pellets, plugs and the way they are managed.

But, as you say, it does also depend on the amount of hops used. This amount though becomes less important as your trub management develops.

If you were doing a brew with a massive amount of hops, you can choose to over-ride the Kettle to Fermentor Loss (KFL) in Section X of the BIABacus.

For most brews though, you really don't need to worry about this "Wort retained by hops" question.


PP

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That's great to hear . CHeers for letting us know .

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