I recall a recent thread on this but couldn't find it. Maybe it was just a tangent in an unrelated post.
I have a pale ale just about fully carbed on tap. I did a light bittering with Magnum, then the rest of the hops went in at whirlpool. I do my whirlpool at 170F for 30 minutes. By then the temp is down to about 165F. Anyway... in my calculations I've been using 5% for the utilization number. After tasting this latest beer I think I will just plug in 0% for utilization. The 5% figure tricks me into not using enough of a bittering charge at 60 min. The flavor and aroma is there, just a little wimpy on the bitterness. I think next time I will bump up the amount of whirlpool hops too. Why not, right?
You guys who do beers this way, do you bother with predicting IBUs from the whirlpool? How much are you using in the whirlpool for an APA? Or an IPA? This particular one was 14 grams of Magnum at 60, 40 grams each of Cascade and Centennial at 170/30. Next time I think I'll go 28g magnum at 60, and 60g each of cascade and centennial. (6 gallon batch)