I'm losing my rag with BeerSmith. It's trying to be too clever and giving me an ABV a whole 1% higher than it should be. Just interested what other folks are using?
I've used a number of different programs - Brewtarget, Brewmate, Brewsmith, and online calculators such as Brewer's Friend.
Although it doesn't have all the frills of other programs, for some reason I keep coming back to Brewmate. The ingredients database is limited compared to some others, but can be added to. Lacks some of the more sophisticated features, such as step mashing, but it's really simple to create recipes, swop ingredients, and scale volumes, and I just find it intuitive and dead simple to use.
If you were looking for an online recipe calculator I can recommend Brewer's Friend, again, it's simple and intuitive - like me! :D
im quite fond of http://brewgr.com/ its dosnet have the level op options brewing smith woud have but is fairly handy for my level and a simple to use interface and designing recipes shows where it should be for bjcp style
I learned on ProMash. very simple to use free software.
I really like Beersmith I have to say. The only thing is recently, it seems the FG calculations don't match my results (I seem to be attenuating more) and the mash temperatures are still very misleading, even after adjusting for my equipment. Both of these areas are ones where I'd like to try something else so I can have a comparison.
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
I really like Beersmith I have to say. The only thing is recently, it seems the FG calculations don't match my results (I seem to be attenuating more)
If you're getting different FG then calculated then it's about the yeast and fermentation.
High mash will give more body and higher FG. Lower, less body, more % and lower FG.
Different OG - efficiency. What's the % that you're currently using?
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
mash temperatures are still very misleading, even after adjusting for my equipment. Both of these areas are ones where I'd like to try something else so I can have a comparison.
Can PM u my mash profile if you want. No prob with temps. Single step - 67C.
Quote from: Jacob on March 13, 2015, 01:58:58 PM
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
I really like Beersmith I have to say. The only thing is recently, it seems the FG calculations don't match my results (I seem to be attenuating more)
If you're getting different FG then calculated then it's about the yeast and fermentation.
High mash will give more body and higher FG. Lower, less body, more % and lower FG.
Different OG - efficiency. What's the % that you're currently using?
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
mash temperatures are still very misleading, even after adjusting for my equipment. Both of these areas are ones where I'd like to try something else so I can have a comparison.
Can PM u my mash profile if you want. No prob with temps. Single step - 67C.
Brew-house efficiency is set to 67%, which is giving 72% mash efficiency. I have a 45L Igloo cooler mashtun; Adding 18L water @ 75 into 6.7KG grain@10C gives me a 66C mash, which falls to 64 over 40 minutes, followed by losing another 3.5C after a stir for the final 20 mins. Temp was measured with an STC probe in the mash.
I'd assume that should be a fairly medium mash for conversion. The last brew however, with WLP002, got 80% attenuation, which seems a bit wacky to me, as it's meant to be 63-70%. It's either my measurements or the initial calculations are off, but I'm not sure.
Getting your mash profile would be great, as then I can slot it in and compare against my records to see how accurate it works out.
Was using 60L cooler for over a year and never noticed temperature drops above 1C in 60minutes.
Two things:
- was always preheating cooler with 3-5l of boiling water for 10-15 minutes before put grains in
- used cheap sleeping bag for insulation :)
I use beertools pro
Its been very reliable and accurate to me.
I tend to adjust brew-house efficiency according to my results, as I dont really sparge, I get between 66-70.
The yeast attenuation very much depends on the yeast but again, I get consistent according to the strain that said I adjust according to my previous experience.
In generally I get within 2-3 points of the software estimate, mash temps / grain age, there can be a few things that can cause a bit of a dip in your numbers
If its really wrecking your head - you can take a sample 30 mins into the boil and let it cool for a few mins (make sure its 20C) then take an SG reading and add water or DME accordingly !
We brewers are deamons for getting hung up on our numbers and efficiencies but neglecting our fermentation once everything is sealed up.
When in reality, fermentation is the most important part ! No yeast .. no beer ;-(
Yeah I'm focusing on the numbers again just because one of the brews I entered in the nationals went crazy and became solvently, with a constant temperature of 19C in a fermentation fridge. Looking back at my notes points to the unexpected attenuation, so trying think I need to put a bit more effort in there. Only other thing I can think of is did I pitch at too high a temperature.
Thanks for the pointers Jacob. I'll give the preheating a go next time and see how I get on.
I better stop derailing the thread ;)
Yea,
that would do it alright. Depends on the yeast - but for most if you pitch at around 19C and then let it rise thought the power of fermentation to 20/21C you cant go to far wrong.
Barring that - pitch rate / yeast age can be a factor. If the dry yeast is very old or stored badly, the viability can be low, eg 10%. That puts a huge strain on the yeast.
Presuming your temperatures are good -
If, after 24 hours, you don't have active fermentation (bubbles in the airlock), generally the problem is low pitch rate / bad yeast.
The easiest solution is to make a starter - you can inspect and see the viability of the yeast prior to adding it to the batch.
That would be my two cents on that !
Quote from: Partridge9 on March 13, 2015, 04:40:46 PM
Presuming your temperatures are good -
If, after 24 hours, you don't have active fermentation (bubbles in the airlock), generally the problem is low pitch rate / bad yeast.
Pitched straight from the 1/2 trub of the previous batch. After 12 hours, saw no activity, so pitched the rest, but there was quite a lag alright. In future, going to put all yeast on the stirplate for 36 hours to check viability and make sure they're nice and active before pitching :)
I love these competitions - a great way to focus and improve!
In theory, the slurry contains about x10 the required pitch.
So if you retained 1/2 the slurry - then you should have a huge over pitch.
You should have seem activity within 6 hours.
You could have been unlucky - ie taken a wrong section of the slurry.
or if the wort was excessively hot - it could have shocked the yeast.
All just theories !
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 02:51:03 PM
Quote from: Jacob on March 13, 2015, 01:58:58 PM
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
I really like Beersmith I have to say. The only thing is recently, it seems the FG calculations don't match my results (I seem to be attenuating more)
If you're getting different FG then calculated then it's about the yeast and fermentation.
High mash will give more body and higher FG. Lower, less body, more % and lower FG.
Different OG - efficiency. What's the % that you're currently using?
Quote from: molc on March 13, 2015, 12:50:40 PM
mash temperatures are still very misleading, even after adjusting for my equipment. Both of these areas are ones where I'd like to try something else so I can have a comparison.
Can PM u my mash profile if you want. No prob with temps. Single step - 67C.
Brew-house efficiency is set to 67%, which is giving 72% mash efficiency. I have a 45L Igloo cooler mashtun; Adding 18L water @ 75 into 6.7KG grain@10C gives me a 66C mash, which falls to 64 over 40 minutes, followed by losing another 3.5C after a stir for the final 20 mins. Temp was measured with an STC probe in the mash.
I'd assume that should be a fairly medium mash for conversion. The last brew however, with WLP002, got 80% attenuation, which seems a bit wacky to me, as it's meant to be 63-70%. It's either my measurements or the initial calculations are off, but I'm not sure.
Getting your mash profile would be great, as then I can slot it in and compare against my records to see how accurate it works out.
Don't forget that the temperature. Of he grain is also a factor especially over the winter months. Beersmith allows you to set the grain temperature.
Shanna
Yeah I really don't get why it didn't take off like a rocket with the slurry as well. As for grain temp, I adjusted for it before mashing in beersmith and all my temp readings were from the mash.
It's starting to read like I pitched too warm or just somehow utterly stressed out the yeast, as otherwise I can't see how those flavours were developed.
@molc: Profile attached.
Thanks. I'll have a go with it later and see how the results differ