Calculating The Hop Amount

Here we will calculate the amount of hops needed for our Bourbon County Stout clone recipe from the previous post. This calculation is greatly simplified by the fact that we have only a single hop addition and we know the final IBU. As stated in the previous post, we will be using the Tinseth method for IBU calculations. Let's take a look at that equation (Information from HowTo Brew):

IBU = (AAU * U * 75) / Volume of Recipe

• AAU = Alpha Acid Units = (weight of hops in oz. * % Alpha Acid of hops)
• U = Utilization factor, which is a factor of the wort gravity and boil time
• Volume of Recipe = the batch size = volume in fermenter (V_fermenter)

Now let's take a look at the utilization factor. We said it is a function of both gravity and time. Therefore we can express the equation for utilization as:

U = f(G) * f(t)

I won't go into an in-depth explanation of why these functions are relevant except to say that the bigger the beer (higher gravity) the less effect the hops will have (the utilization factor decreases). The amount of time the hops are boiled also affects the IBU's.  The longer the boil, the more the alpha acids are isomerized (the utilization factor increases). The equation for each function is:

f(G) = 1.65 * 0.000125^(Gboil - 1)

f(t) = [1 - e^(-0.04 * t)] / 4.15

• Gboil = pre-boil specific gravity or specific gravity at time of hop addition if added later in the boil
• t = time in minutes that the hops are in the boil

We already know the IBU of the recipe,but we need to calculate the hop amount. Therefore we rearrange our IBU calculation to solve for the AAU:

AAU = (IBU * Volume of Recipe) / (U * 75)

Also, remember that

AAU = Weight of hops in ounces * %AA of hops

So far we have all the information needed to solve the equations except for the gravity of the boil (Gboil). Actually, Gboil should be the gravity at the time of the hop additions. In our recipe specifics from the previous post, we know that we are boiling for 80 minutes, and adding the hops with 60 minutes remaining in the boil. From the post on water amounts, we know that I lose 0.117 qt/min. For 20 minutes of boil time (counting down from 80 minutes to 60 minutes), we will lose about 2.34 quarts of wort. The pre-boil volume calculated in the previous post was 6.5 gal or 26 quarts. This means we will have a volume of 26 – 2.34 = 23.66 quarts (about 6 gal.) at the time we add the hops.

We now know our wort volume at the time of the hop addition, but we need to know the gravity at this time. For this, we use the fact that the sugar in the wort remains constant– it is the concentration that changes due to volume changes. This means that the gravity points multiplied by the volume at point 1 is the same as the gravity points multiplied by the volume at point 2. The equation looks like this:

G1 * V1 = G2 * V2

We know the gravity and volume in the fermenter, and we know the volume at the time of the hop addition. Therefore, we rearrange the equation to solve for G2 (point 1 represents the fermenter and point 2 represents the boil):

Gboil = (Gfermenter * Vfermenter) / Vboil

Plugging in the numbers:

Gboil = (130 * 3.25) / 6.0 = 70.4

Represented as specific gravity: 1.0704

In this manner, you can calculate the expected specific gravity values for various points in the process (namely pre-boil) and augment the recipe with DME as necessary in order to hit the expected original gravity. That exercise is for a future post. In the meantime, we now have all the data needed to plug into the IBU equation and find our needed hop amounts. Let's summarize the data we have:

Variable	Value
IBU	60
Volume of recipe (Vfermenter)	3.25 gal
Time in minutes (t)	60 min
Gboil	1.0704

Let's start plugging in these numbers.

Utilization Equations

f(G) = 1.65 * 0.000125^(1.0704 - 1)
f(G) = 0.876

f(t) = [1 - e^(-0.04 * 60)] / 4.15
f(t) = 0.219

U = 0.876 * 0.219 = 0.192

IBU Equation

AAU = (60 * 3.25) / (0.192 * 75)
AAU = 13.54

Hop Amount

Recall that AAU can be represented with the equation:

AAU = weight of hops in ounces * %AA of hops

Solving for the weight in ounces:

weight of hops in ounces = AAU / %AA of hops

Our recipe calls for Willamette hops, which have a %AA in the range of 3.5 to 6.0. For this example, we will assume that the %AA = 4.75 (average value). When I purchase the hops, I will use the %AA on the package and re-calculate the number of ounces needed. For now, we get a good ballpark value:

weight of hops in ounces = 13.54 / 4.75

weight of hops in ounces = 2.85

Summary

We calculated our utilization number,but we could have just used a simple lookup table found here. You will see that we are right in line with the table values. I do question whether or not the volume in the fermenter should be used, or if we should have used the volume after boiling. I'm not sure it matters since these equations are nothing more than estimates. It is more important that we solve for the equations in the same manner each time, and that we use the same equation each time (Tinseth as opposed to Daniels or Rager or Mosher or....). Through the consistent use of equations, we build up correlations between the IBU value and the hop profile sensed in the beer.

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Recipe Formulation with Water Calculations

In this post, we will formulate a new recipe and calculate the needed water amounts at the same time. This is not a big deal since the only real water change is the amount of water absorbed by the grains. Because we do not yet know the amount of grains we will use, we calculate the water from the target batch size back until we get to the water absorbed by the grains. At that point, we are able to calculate our grain amounts and then complete the water calculations. Rather than just talk about this process, I want to demonstrate the steps needed so that it serves as a complete example for reference.

Before moving on, I feel I need to make something clear: The Original Gravity (OG) and Final Gravity (FG) measurements are both taken from my fermenter. The OG is measured prior to adding the yeast for fermentation, and the FG is measured after fermentation has completed. This is important, and I did not make this distinction previously which could lead to some confusion when talking water amounts used in calculations.

OK, I am excited about this recipe because it is a first attempt at cloning my favorite beer: Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. In this post, I do not want to get into my feelings towards the InBev purchase of Goose Island, so I will just summarize that my initial optimism and acceptance was turned sour by the discovery/learning of the unscrupulous InBev corporate views of the craft beer industry and their unethical business practices. So, all the better if the beer can be replicated at home. On to the recipe....

As I mentioned, I am excited to try and brew this beer, but the recipe guidelines are not from me. The grains and hops used are from the Goose Island description linked above; The gravity values used are from a post in the HomeBrewTalk forums (using the 2007 version of the beer); The grain percentages used are also from a post in HomeBrewTalk. Here are the specifics we are using:

Recipe Parameters

Parameter	Value
Batch Size (fermenter volume)	3.25 gal.
Target Original Gravity	1.13
Target Final Gravity	1.042
Color	Black ~100 SRM
IBU	60 (assume Tinseth method)
Length of Boil	80 min.
Mash Steps	Single infusion 152°F for 60 min.
Brewhouse Efficiency	70%

Grains

Grain	% Used	Max Extraction	Color (°L)
2-Row	34	37	1.8
Munich	30	34	10
Chocolate	14	34	350
Crystal 60	10	34	60
Roast Barley	10	25	300
Debittered Black (Briess Blackprinz)	2	25	500

Hops

Willamette 3.5% to 6.0% AA @60 min. ~4 oz. (TBD)

Yeast

Safale US-05 Dry Yeast 3 packets

STEP 1: Calculate Initial Water Amounts

Remember that the constants used in finding water amounts are specific to my system. Your values may be different. In some cases they are just guesstimates waiting for me to collect more accurate information

• V_final = 3.0 gal (amount in bottles or keg)
• bottling losses: ~ 0.25 gal.

• V_fermenter = 3.25 gal.
• Transfer and trub losses: ~0.75 gal.

• V_post-boil = 4.0 gal.
• Temperature shrinkage: 4% ~ 0.2 gal.
• 80 minute boiloff: 2.34 gal.

• V_pre-boil = 6.5 gal.

This is as far as we can get without knowing the grain amounts.

STEP 2: Estimate Grain Amounts

To summarize the values of interest here:

• Original Gravity: 1.13 (130 Gravity Points)
• V_fermenter : 3.25 gal.
• Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%

     ► Total Gravity (GT)

GT = Gravity Points * Volume

GT = 130 * 3.25

GT = 422.5

This is the total number of gravity points in our fermenter that we need to be contributed by the grains.

     ► Individual Grain Contributions to Total Gravity

Here we use the percentage of each grain used to determine the amount of gravity points each individual grain contributes.

Grain	Percent Calculation	Grain Contribution
2-Row	0.34 * 422.5	143.6
Munich	0.30 * 422.5	126.7
Chocolate	0.14 * 422.5	59.2
Crystal 60	0.10 * 422.5	42.25
Roasted Barley	0.10 * 422.5	42.25
Blackprinz	0.02 * 422.5	8.5

     ► Grain Amounts Needed to Achieve Gravity

Now we use the individual gravity contributions, the maximum gravity that can be extracted from the grain and our brewhouse efficiency to find the grain amount. Here is the equation used:

Grain Gravity Contribution / (Brewhouse Efficiency * Max Extract Points)

Grain	Formula	Value (lbs)	Value (lbs And oz)
2-Row	143.6 / (0.7 * 37)	5.5 lbs.	5 lbs. 8 oz.
Munich	126.7 / (0.7 * 34)	5.3 lbs.	5 lbs. 5 oz.
Chocolate	59.2 / (0.7 * 34)	2.5 lbs.	2 lbs. 8 oz.
Crystal 60	42.25 / (0.7 * 34)	1.8 lbs.	1 lbs. 13 oz.
Roasted Barley	42.25 / (0.7 * 25)	2.4 lbs.	2 lbs. 6 oz.
Blackprinz	8.5 / (0.7 * 25)	0.5 lbs.	0 lbs. 8 oz.
TOTAL:		18 lbs.	18 lbs. 0 oz.

STEP 3: Calculate Remaining Water Amounts

We now continue where we left off calculating our water amounts. Our last calculation was for the pre-boil volume, so we start there:

• V_pre-boil = 6.5 gal.
• Transfer loss: ~0.25 gal.
• Grain Absorption: 18.0 lbs. * 0.2 gal./lb. = 3.6 gal.

• V_total = 10.35 gal. ≈ 10 gal. 1.5 qt.
  
  

STEP 4: Calculate Mash and Sparge Volumes

For my mash, I am going to use 1.3 quarts of water per pound of grain. Also, remember that I have a full 4 quarts of space under my false bottom in my mash tun, so that needs to be added to the mash water.

V_mash = 1.3 qt/lb * 18.0 lbs + 4 qt

V_mash = 27.4 qt ≈ 6.85 gal. = 6 gal. 3.5 qt.

The sparge volume is now just a matter of subtracting the mash volume from the total volume.

V_sparge = V_total – V_mash

V_sparge = 10.35 gal – 6.85 gal.

V_sparge = 3.5 gal. = 3 gal. 2 qt.

Since I doubt I am 100% correct, I will make sure I have probably 5.0 gallons of sparge water available. I will just need to make sure I hit the proper volume in my boil kettle while watching the gravity readings of my runnings.

Conclusion and Remaining Information Needed

So that is it for calculating our grains and water. Of course, there is some information missing in regards to brewing the recipe:

1. We really didn't do anything with the hops. We know the IBU we need to hit, and I mentioned that we are using the Tinseth method for IBU calculations. Through that, we can estimate our hop amounts (it also depends on the actual %AA of the hops you purchase). Maybe this will be my next post.
2. Based on the gravity and volume amounts, I believe the 3 packages of dry yeast will be sufficient for this big beer. One thing we did not cover is the fermentation schedule (times and temps). This will definitely be racked to a secondary fermentation where we will allow the beer to sit on bourbon-soaked oak cubes for probably 6 months. I am not 100% sure, but I will probably let this sit in primary for two weeks; with week one being at a cooler temperature of maybe 60 degrees or so, and the second week at around 68 degrees. The secondary will be 6 months, and that temperature will probably be the same 68 degrees (not a lot of options for my basement).
3. Speaking of bourbon-soaked oak cubes, how much bourbon and how many cubes? Since we only have 3 gallons, I am assuming one 1 ounce cube. As far as the bourbon, I am not sure yet (amount or brand). I used Makers Mark and oak chips for my last beer and was less than happy, so this time I am moving to cubes and some other bourbon brand.

So these are questions that still need to be answered, but we are well on our way to making a first attempt at our clone. If this recipe doesn't work out, we get to drink what will probably still be a great beer and then try again. If it does work, we make more. Truly a win-win.

Math Equations Test

Here are some examples of entering math equations (normal text representations added for readers that strip JavaScript):

• SimpleFraction:
• 23/6.75

$$\frac{23} {6.75}$$

• Test:
• cos(x) = (e^(ix) + e^(-ix)) / 2

$$\cos x = \frac{e^{ix}+e^{-ix}}{2}$$

Hopefully we see equations above and not gibberish. I say this because the preview of the page is not rendering correctly, but someone stated that the published version is fine. So, here goes....

Woo Hoo, it worked! Thanks to this post. I still need to test this on mobile readers (and resize my images too), and then it is back to beer again.

Edit: So it does not work in my iPad blog reader (Blogshelf II - an awesome reader that apparently simplifies the blog pages for easier reading). This is where I also have an issue with the image sizes. If I view the blog with a web browser, all is fine. What I would like to find is a way for the equations to default to some text if the MathJax JavaScript is not present (kind of like displaying text instead of a SVG graphic if it is not supported by the browser). I will continue to look into this, but will still get to the next post as well (in case anyone cares). Since the equations are nothing fancy, I really can represent them without an equation renderer; so I will change to the standard characters if a solution is not found)

Recipe Formulation

This post is going to be all about formulating your own recipe.  Sure, there are plenty of recipes out there for you to brew, but there is a feeling of accomplishment when you brew a beer that is of your own making.  I think you gain a greater understanding of the process as well.

Before going through the steps, I need to point out that I use an iPad app for brewing called iBrewmaster.  This software allows you to create recipes and store them, track batches and share information.  The app also comes with a large database of existing recipes you can use and tweak.  The software is important to mention because I use it for refining the recipe initial estimates, which I will go over later.

Create a Recipe

Step 1: Determine the malts and hops that should be used

In this step, we want to determine which grains will be used and the percentage of each grain for the mash.  We also want to find which hop(s) to use and how long they should be boiled.

I like to leverage the work others have performed.  Some day I hope to be smart enough to immediately know which grains to use for a particular style, but right now I am not that smart. So I will go to our friend Google and perform a search for say "Northern England Brown Ale Recipe".  By the way, all the different style names can be found in the BJCP Style Guidelines.

Anyway, I will go through a dozen or so different existing recipes and keep track of the grains and hops used and their quantity (as a percentage of the total).  Reading the BJCP guidelines for the style will also help in determining the ingredients.  Once I have chosen the most popular grains and hops, I like to go read the grain descriptions and possibly modify the grain bill based on flavors I am looking for.

Once you know the style you are brewing, we can list our known parameters:

• Target Original Gravity: 46 gravity points
• Vfermenter: 6 gallons
• Brewhouse Efficiency: 70% (just use it, we will cover this in a later post)
• Recipe grains, percentages and maximum gravity points:

Grain	Percentage	Gravity Points
Maris Otter	66%	38
Crystal 60	13%	34
Brown	10%	32
Carapils	08%	33
Chocolate	03%	34

Step 2: Determine the amount of each grain needed

In order to find the amount of each grain, we must first calculate the total extract from the grains.  Total extract is calculated with the following equation:

Etotal = GU x V

GU: Gravity units
V:    Volume

The total extract remains constant in the wort.  So, for example Etotal prior to the wort being boiled is the same as Etotal after the boil.  We happen to know the gravity and the volume post-boil (our known parameters above).

Etotal = 46 x 6.0 = 276

Now that we know the total extract from the grains, we can calculate how much each grain contributes to this total extract amount by multiplying the total extract by the percentage of each grain:

• Maris Otter = 0.66 x 276 = 182.16
• Crystal 60 = 0.13 x 276 = 35.88
• Brown = 0.10 x 276 = 27.6
• Carapils = 0.08 x 276 = 22.08
• Chocolate = 0.03 x 276 = 8.28

With the extract provided by each grain, we can now calculate the amount of grain needed to achieve the extract amount.  This is calculated with the following equation:

Grain Amount = grain extract total / (brewhouse efficiency x grain gravity points)

• Maris Otter = 182.16/(0.7 x 38) = 6.8 lbs = 6 lbs 13 oz
• Crystal 60 = 35.88/(0.7 x 34) = 1.5 lbs = 1 lb 8 oz
• Brown = 27.6/(0.7 x 32) = 1.2 lbs = 1 lb 3 oz
• Carapils = 22.08/(0.7 x 33) = 1.0 lbs
• Chocolate = 8.28/(0.7 x 34) = 0.35 lbs = 0 lbs 5 oz

Step 3: Refine the results
It seems we should be done now that we have the grain amounts, but the values need further tweaking.  Also, we have done nothing with hops to this point.  For this, I use the iBrewmaster iPad app.  The grains, grain amounts, hops and hop amounts are input into the iBrewmaster app.  The target volume and boil time are also input.  One of the coolest features of this app is that I can now set the appropriate style for the beer (Northern England Brown Ale) and check all the parameters against this style:

• ABV
• IBU
• Original Gravity
• Final Gravity
• SRM

If the beer is outside the BJCP range for any of these values, the app will let you know.  Here is an example where all the ranges are good:

If I choose a different style - Dry Stout, for example - you can see that I am not within the proper ranges (yellow means you are close; red means you are way off):

Typically, I seem to run into issues with the SRM value and I end up lowering the amounts of the dark grains.  Here also is where I refine my hop amounts and/or hop varieties used.

So this final step is really just about tweaking values until I am within the proper ranges.  Of course, no one says that you must be in these ranges.  Go ahead and brew whatever you want and feel free to experiment.  But, if you plan on entering your beer into a competition, you probably want to stay within the proper style specifications.

The technique outlined in step 2 was taken from Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels.

Calculating Water Amounts

Introduction

This post is going to be about calculating the amount of water needed to brew a specific volume of beer  using a specific amount of grains on my specific system.  This is important because everyone's system is different.  This is the reason for the previous post where I calculated specific values for my system - values that will be used in my water amount calculations.  Before calculating my water amounts, let me quickly go over the details/reasons for my brewing posts....

Reason for Brewing Posts

I believe I mentioned this previously, but let me again state that these posts are not a basic step-by-step how to brew.  There are plenty of great resources for this, and I think the best place to start is with Palmer's book How To Brew.  This book is great for both the beginning brewer and the advanced brewer.  In fact, I am writing these posts because there is so much information out there.  I read enough to successfully brew a couple of batches of beer, and now I need to advance towards brewing better.  I am not an expert, but I am simply detailing my journey of trying to become one.  My hope is that someone smarter will correct my mistakes and answer my questions.

Some of the topics I intend to cover are water amounts needed to brew, how to formulate a recipe, calculating efficiencies, yeast starters, equipment and software tools, water reports, water modifications and possibly even writing my own software tools.  Hopefully we will all learn something as we go along (otherwise this is a complete waste of time when I could be brewing instead).

On to Calculating Water Amounts...

So I have brewed two batches of beer so far.  They were both supposed to be five gallons and they were both short on that amount.  I don't even want to count my first batch since it really was a learning batch; trying to put into practice the loads of information I had crammed into my poor brain.  I learned a lot - mainly information in the "what not to do" category.

So let me go through my water calculation that I have created.  I will know how accurate this is when I brew my next batch, and I will post those results at that time.  For now, here are the parameters we have:

• Target Batch Size: 5 gallons
• Total Grain Weight: 9.5 pounds
• Boil Time: 80 minutes

From the previous post, we saw that during a 60 minute boil, I will lose 1 gallon and 3 quarts or 7 quarts per hour.  If I divide the 7 quarts by 60, I will get the number of quarts per minute:

7 qt. / 60 min. = 0.117 qt/min

So if I have an 80 minute boil, I should lose:

80 min * 0.117 qt/min = 9.36 quarts or about 2.34 gallons

OK, so let's start with our final target volume and start moving backwards through the process.  We are interested in tracking the following volumes: Final volume (Vfinal), Volume in fermenter (Vferment), Volume post-boil (Vpostboil), Volume pre-boil (Vpreboil), Total volume needed (Vtotal).

Vfinal = 5 gal.

• Add any beer lost while bottling.  This is any beer caught in the settled yeast and equipment dead space.  I am guessing at this number, and will need to adjust this number based on observations when I brew.  For now, I am assuming 0.25 gallons.

Vferment = 5.25 gal.

• Add water lost to trub and hops in the boil kettle as well as transfer losses between boil kettle and fermenter.  I am guessing with the trub and hop losses with a value of 0.5 gallons.  My system tests showed that I lose about 0.25 gallons pumping from my kettles.  So total loss here is 0.75 gallons.

Vpostboil = 6.0 gal.

• Add adjustment for temperature shrinkage.  It seems water occupies a different volume at higher temperatures so we need to adjust for this.  I cannot claim that I totally understand this, but I am using (trusting) the value described in Ray Daniels book Designing Great Beers page 65: divide by 0.96.  Therefore, 6.0 / 0.96 brings us to a total of 6.25 gallons.
• Add the water lost in the boil (2.34 gallons) to the 6.25 gallons.

Vpreboil = 8.6 gal. = 8 gal. 2 1/2 qt.

• Add water lost in transfer from mash kettle to the boil kettle (0.25 gal from system measurements)
• Add water lost to grain absorption.  Here again, I put my trust in Ray Daniels and assume about 0.2 gallons per pound of grain gets absorbed: 0.2 gal/lb * 9.5 lb. = 1.9 gal.

Vtotal = 10.75 gal. = 10 gal. 3 qt.

I am using a total of 10.75 gallons of water, but I will mash with some smaller amount and sparge with the rest.  I use the fly-sparge technique.  If you batch sparge, then you will want to look into he optimal size for the number of runnings you perform.

When I mash, I will be using the ratio of 1.5 quarts per pound of grain:

1.5 qt/lb * 9.5 lb = 14.25 qt.

BUT, remember from my system measurements that I have a full gallon of water that sits below my false bottom in my mash kettle.  Therefore I need to add this amount (4 quarts) to my mash water: 14.25 qt + 4.0 qt = 18.25 qt.

Mash Water: 18.25 qt. = 4 gal. 2 qt.

Once I know my mash water amount, I simply subtract that from the total water to get my sparge water amount: 10.75 gal - 4.5 gal = 6.25 gal.

Sparge Water: 6.25 gal. = 6 gal. 1 qt.

So it is doubtful we have the exact amount of water, so to be safe I will actually make sure I have 7 gallons of water for my sparge - or perhaps place 12 gallons of total water in my HLT before removing the mash water amount (I initially place all water in my HLT so that I can use a campden tablet to remove the chloramine - but that is for a future post).

This should be a good first estimate.  Values will get tweaked as I gain a better insight during the brew process.  So this works great when you know the total amount of grains you are using.  What about when you are designing a recipe?  When calculating water, you need to know the amount of grain.  When creating a recipe, you need to know the amount of water.  How do you calculate the two together?  This will be addressed later.  First we will go through recipe formulation and then tie that together with calculating the water amounts.

Brewing System Information

In order to understand my processes and equations later, I need to cover some details now.  As I mentioned, I am using the 15.5 gallon Ruby System.  Here is an image from their website:

The Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) feeds hot water into the Mash/Lauter Kettle (MK) via gravity.  The HLT merely holds hot water used for dough in and sparge - I actually add my grains directly to water in the MK, so the HLT is only used to hold sparge water.  The MK uses the pump for recirculation of the wort as well as transfer to the Boil Kettle (BK).  The BK also uses the pump for recirculation (to sanitize the hoses and pump as well as assist in cooling via an immersion chiller) and transfer of wort to my primary fermentation (6.5 gallon glass carboy).

Each kettle is the same size, but the MK and BK both contain a false bottom:

In the next post, I will go through my calculated water amounts.  Before determining the amounts, I had to run through some tests on my system:

Test 1: Find losses when pumping water from one kettle to another.

• Basically I just put 2 gallons in my MK and then pumped the water to the BK.  The result was a loss of 1 quart.

Test 2: Find losses from boiling for one hour.

• Just as the test suggests, I filled a kettle with 3 gallons of water and boiled it for one hour.  Keep in mind that I am at about 5400 feet in South Denver, Colorado.  The result was a loss of 1 gallon and 3 quarts.

Test 3: Find how much water exists under the kettle's false bottom.

• I added water 1 quart at a time.  The result was that a full gallon of water exists under the false bottom

There are more tests that could have been done, but as you will see in the next post, I will use some pre-calculated constants instead.  That is it for now.  Next time we will use these numbers to figure out how much water I need to brew a batch.

Something New Brewing

I'm alive!  So I am going to take this blog in another direction.  Not that I am no longer interested in software development - after all, it is my job - but I have found a stronger passion.  So my software interests still reside in modular development, and I may revisit that topic from time to time.  My new interest involves brewing beer!

I have been in love with craft beer ever since moving to Boulder in 1994.  My love remained firmly in the tasting realm only.  I always had the desire to brew, but time, space limitations, job commitments and kids always seemed a good excuse not to get started.  The excuses ended in August of last year when I finally bought a self-contained brewing system that was easy to use, mobile and had a small storage footprint.

This was purchased from Ruby Street Brewing (a Fort Collins company) via The Brew Hut - my homebrew shop of choice - conveniently located right next to Dry Dock Brewing.  I can't say enough about how easy it is to use this system. The hose connections are super simple, the 15.5 gallon kettles are awesome, and the pump makes life so much easier.  Huge thanks to the folks at The Brew Hut for helping me get all the accessories needed for brewing...and there were a lot of accessories!

So, I want to start going through my brewing steps and documenting what I am doing in hopes of getting feedback as to where I am wrong and what I can be doing better.  I have brewed two batches already and I am in the process of building a recipe for my next batch - all designed to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can (who knows, maybe someday I can get out of that software job).

My plans for this blog (at least in regards to the brewing topics) is to go over my process, talk about recipes I brew, talk about software I use and document the calculations I am using to help determine water amounts, efficiencies and recipe creation.  I will also talk about some of the beer I have that I really like.  This isn't intended to be a how to brew series, but because I am new to this, hopefully others will find something useful here - or hopefully correct me where I am doing something wrong.

Hopefully someone finds this enjoyable, and by following my learning process they can learn too.