adjusting recipes based on better efficiency?

[kellzey]

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I seem to come across a lot of good recipes on other forums. Many are quite detailed.

How should I handle 'adjusting' recipes based on the fact that the Electric Brewery tends to have better efficiency?

For example, this is a popular recipe: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/denny-conns-wry-smile-rye-ipa-84515/

It's quite detailed with all of the ingredients, specs, etc. However it's based on 75% efficiency.

I know our systems can push 90 to 95% efficiency.

Using my BeerSmith software, should I plug in the published recipe with known SG and FG figures, IBUs, and published efficiency?

Then plug in my adjusted efficiency and tweak the amounts of grains/hops to get a similar result from the software?


Thanks,

[kal]

Here's what I do:

Figure out the percentages of grain in the original recipe. For example: If they call for 19 lbs of 2-row and 1 lb of carafoam that means:

95% 2-row
5% Carafoam

Set your software to your efficiency (95% in my case).

Increase the grain amounts in your software keeping the percentages the same until you hit the expected target gravity. Some software lets you do this scaling automatically. I usually just do it manually because it's easy.

That's it.

FG has nothing to do with it, IBU has nothing to do with it, the original published recipe efficiency isn't important either. All you want is the percentages as they're not system specific. It's a big pet peeve of mine: I wish all recipes just gave percentages as then anyone could use them. They're also not batch size specific either.

Kal

[kal]

Here's what I do:

Figure out the percentages of grain in the original recipe. For example: If they call for 19 lbs of 2-row and 1 lb of carafoam that means:

95% 2-row
5% Carafoam

Set your software to your efficiency (95% in my case).

Increase the grain amounts in your software keeping the percentages the same until you hit the expected target gravity. Some software lets you do this scaling automatically. I usually just do it manually because it's easy.

That's it.

FG has nothing to do with it, IBU has nothing to do with it, the original published recipe efficiency isn't important either. All you want is the percentages as they're not system specific. It's a big pet peeve of mine: I wish all recipes just gave percentages as then anyone could use them. They're also not batch size specific either.

Kal

[perogi]

You can do it how Kal does it and you will have good results.

For BeerSmith, this is what I do.

1) Add all of the ingredients from the recipe.
2) Put the recipe efficiency into the "Total Efficiency" piece.
3) Click on "Scale Recipe" from the Design view.
4) In the window that pops up, put in your Kal Klone efficiency into the Tot Efficiency section.
5) IMPORTANT: Make sure that the "Match original gravity, color and bitterness" check box is checked.
6) Hit okay.

That should scale the recipe for your system.

Hope this helps,
perogi.

[kellzey]

Thanks Perogi... I hadn't found that feature yet. But now I know!