How do you adjust hop additions for variations in alpha acids?

All additions are adjusted to hit the IBU target, except for the dry hop amounts. More dry hopping can be easily added to taste if there is not enough from the first charge.

 

I do adjust the amount of hop additions in regards of AA% variation , mainly for bitterness and flavor additions to get my BU:GU target. Aroma additions do not need to be adjusted, IMHO

 

I only adjust for bittering units. I do not adjust for aroma.

Cheers!

 

I generally only adjust the bittering addition, to hit the same total IBUs (including the changed AA contributions of the flavor/aroma hops). IOW, I don't assume that the flavor/aroma compounds will be proportional to the AAs, rather I assume they will be roughly constant. I'll also add that neither assumption is probably correct. But you gotta pick something.

 

I adjust for bittering and aroma additions (using the logic you posted from Hops). I also arbitrarily reduce the alpha amount by 10% annually for stored hops, but admit that figure was acquired from my rectal database. That's for hops vacuumed sealed in a freezer. Other techniques?

 

Below is a link to an article on this topic. The ‘executive summary’ of the article is:“How Long Will Hops Last?

Like most things in brewing, the answer is, "It depends." If you keep them very cold and free from oxygen, hops should last a few years. It's not uncommon for hop brokers to be selling pelletized and vacuum-sealed hops from two or three seasons ago. Commercial breweries continue to use last year's crop well into the current year's harvest. This is not to say that the oils and a-acids will be exactly the same as when you purchased them, but the hops won't be "bad"; hops are not considered "bad" until they get below 50% of their original a-acid value (5), at which point the degree of oxidation will produce a definitely cheesy aroma.”

http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.1/garetz.html

Cheers!

 

I mostly adjust only the bittering and flavor (more than 30 min). Aroma hop rate stays the same.

 

Does anyone not adjust their recipes at all to embrace the variability of hops?

 

I pretty much put together my hop schedule for hop forward beers backwards nowadays. For me its just easier, and it makes more sense in my mind. After the whirlpool, FO, 1, 5 & 10 additions (where applicable) are calculated, then I determine the quantity, timing, and sometimes even type of bittering hop that I use to get to the desired level of IBUs/BU:GU. So, in that respect, I guess you can say that I adjust my bittering charge moreso - but a lot of times my later additions get tweaked a bit too.

EDIT: For most non-hop forward beers, it's a bittering charge only. Or a bittering charge and one later addition, with the timing being the main variable to get to the bitterness level I'm after.