Below is some background and link to the calculator mentioned in my NHC Seminar: How to Brew, Blend and Maintain an Acid Beer . This calculator adds a few features to Mike's (Mad Fermentationist) Blending Priming Calculator.
Here is the google doc link - Blending Calculator - pH, ABV and Carbonation (EDIT - Updated 11.13.18 - Do not request edit permission. Go to File -> "Download as"
I have made the following changes from Mike's original work:
The calculations have been used and were found to be fairly accurate over the past year of blending and bottling beers at Council Brewing.
P.S. It was great meeting so many of you and thanks for the great support during my talk.
P.S.S. I'm always looking for ways to improve this tool - so please email (Jeffrey.E.Crane at gmail) with comments (or questions)
Here is the google doc link - Blending Calculator - pH, ABV and Carbonation (EDIT - Updated 11.13.18 - Do not request edit permission. Go to File -> "Download as"
I have made the following changes from Mike's original work:
- Formatted this to easily print on one page and act like a batch summary sheet
- Added ABV calcs
- Added component weight feature for blending
- Added pH calcs
- Added priming yeast calcs + Acid Shock Starter
- Added bottle count feature
The calculations have been used and were found to be fairly accurate over the past year of blending and bottling beers at Council Brewing.
P.S. It was great meeting so many of you and thanks for the great support during my talk.
P.S.S. I'm always looking for ways to improve this tool - so please email (Jeffrey.E.Crane at gmail) with comments (or questions)
You mean to say my convoluted process of using a combination of calculators, spreadsheets and brewing software tools was inefficient? Thanks for doing this. You're good at tackling my "someday I need to" projects.
ReplyDeleteIs the mls of brett section just for documentation, or is it calculated as a substitute for or as part of total yeast needed?
ReplyDeleteYes, just for our documentation when adding at bottling. I have been using 1 - 2 mls of slurry per gallon for quite a while with pretty good results.
DeleteFinally have a chance to use this! Thanks for making it available. Am I right in thinking that long-term ageing in a plastic carboy doesn't count as 'barrel-aged'?
ReplyDeleteI've been making more tweaks and trying to keep the link current. Use this link for the most current edition - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3kKViCCOyVmdUlCRkN0dEhWOHM/view?usp=sharing
DeleteYou are correct that is an assumption that aged in carboys shouldn't lose their CO2 like barrels. However, that assumption also implies you aren't sampling to often and haven't had a lot of oxygen exchange. Also make sure you put the highest temperature that beer has seen after fermentation.
Let me know how it works for you.
I've been making more tweaks and trying to keep the link current. Use this link for the most current edition - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3kKViCCOyVmdUlCRkN0dEhWOHM/view?usp=sharing
DeleteYou are correct that is an assumption that aged in carboys shouldn't lose their CO2 like barrels. However, that assumption also implies you aren't sampling to often and haven't had a lot of oxygen exchange. Also make sure you put the highest temperature that beer has seen after fermentation.
Let me know how it works for you.
The Ph equation for blending works for blending wines of similar pH works, is the difference bigger the deviation gets bigger. For beer it is even less accurate and especially if you want to blend a sour with a none sour (Vlaams rood/bruin). Why not use the total titratable acidity (in g/l), it scale linearly with blending and tells us more about how the sourness of a beer is perceived. The measurement is only a little bit more complex than just sticking a pH probe in the beers (stirring 10 ml beer (you can dilute) and adding drops of 0,53% NaOH solution until pH 7. 1 ml used NaOH solution stands for 1g/l acidity)
ReplyDeleteThe pH equation I use takes into account the log scale and is accurate. I did not use a rule of mixtures equation like you would for gravity, TA, ABV...
DeleteI have also checked it against actual values and been very pleased with how well it works. My initial concern was buffering issues between beers, but that hasn't really showed up.
I'm totally on board for TA and we are starting to use that at the brewery. pH was just what I was familiar with initially.
Thanks for the feedback.
The newest version does have a TA row (it is hidden on row 10 as it confused some people)
DeleteThis is awesome. Thanks Jeffrey!
ReplyDeleteIs it calculating the ABV's properly? When I enter in OG and FG of each component, the calculated ABV's are off compared to other calculators such as beersmith and other sights. For example, I used this for a blended stout I bottled. One batch the OG was 1.101 and the FG was 1.021 with everywhere I checked put that at 10.8% but this blending calculator marked it as 11.6%.
ReplyDeleteThe calculator is using the "Alternate" calculation from Brewer's Friend, which is supposed to be more accurate for higher ABV - https://www.brewersfriend.com/2011/06/16/alcohol-by-volume-calculator-updated/
DeleteCurious about the yeast calcs. Is this grams dry yeast? Slurry? What is the assumed cell count?
ReplyDeleteI'm actually working on that section currently. It currently is grams of dried yeast (cell counts are pretty close for all manufacturers by weight). I'm going to update it so it's a bit more specific to take into account the ABV as well as acid shock treatment starters.
DeleteGood luck and let me know if you have any of questions.
I thought so but wanted to be sure. Awesome, thanks.
DeleteJeffrey, thanks for the spreadsheet. What about fruit refermentations? Would this be a barrel aged yes or no due to the addition of sugars and resulting CO2 in solution?
ReplyDeleteIt depends... Most fruit refermentations are a relatively small amount of sugar compared to the original fermentation. Therefore, I would assume the beer is close to the same residual CO2 after fruit refermentation. Now the exception is if you are using a very large amount of fruit. In that case, you are probably going to want to make an educated guess on the residual CO2. This is still an estimation tool, so don't use this as an absolute. It will just help you get in the ballpark.
DeleteJeffrey, the updated links you supplied to the spreadsheet no longer work. Is there another version that you have pushed out?
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I just tried it and it worked - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1he4KGU6K6nRkOTSMZ5ZAv31n5hbVCnV9/view
DeleteEmail me if you still have issues. I definitely want this to be accessible.
This is awesome..I really appreciate your way of conveying information. Please keep sharing.
ReplyDeleteABV Calculator
no luck getting the download to open... can you email it?
ReplyDeleteI just uploaded a new version - try the link in the post or this one - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cNDRA8XTnoFOO-CAUt0Mi_1M5IWJvx3IcIYWa7wSIMI/edit?usp=sharing
DeleteThis is a long-shot, posing this question here, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteI'm attempting to blend 2 barrel aged beers with similar standalone data points. On their own, both show residual CO2 of 0.43, and if I were to bottle them unblended, the Predict CO2 w/o sugar -> 7.75 oz sucrose for 3.2 volumes.
However, if I blend the two, at 0.43 residual CO2, the total blend Predict CO2 w/o sugar jumps to 1.71, and for the same volume as unblended, the blended batch would need just over 4oz of sugar.
From a practical standpoint, I can't wrap my head around why two similar beers when blended would exhibit Predict CO2 w/o sugar more than 4x higher than the unblended version (thus needing almost half the sugar to bottle condition). Thanks!
Hi Jeff, also issues trying to DL file, possilbe to email it?
ReplyDelete