Workflow

I've recently purchased BeerSmith and am trying to learn how best to use it for my situation. I've done a couple of extract and extract/specialty grain batches and am planning to try my first all grain batch next Sunday.

I'm trying to get a handle on managing my workflow and recipe storage. I found a recipe on the BeerSmith recipe site and downloaded it. I've created an equipment profile, but now how best to setup my brewing process and work from there?

The recipe I downloaded isn't going to match my equipment profile and may need modification based on my profile, should I simply change the equipment profile to mine in the dropdown menu? Will that adjust the recipe? Should I then save that as a new version of the recipe? When I'm ready for brew day, do I then save that modified recipe to my brew log and modify with what I measure? How do I add more steps to the brew day sheet for checklist item?

These are a lot of questions, but the software, while flexible and powerful, doesn't really provide an intuitive workflow. This would be a fabulous topic for an article or better yet, a video or serious of them. I know there are videos that show the basics of making a recipe and setting up a profile, but one that gave step-by-step info on taking a recipe from creation through brewing, including how to use an existing recipe, with modifications based on your setup or brewing preferences.

I apologize if this information is out there somewhere, but I can't find it. If there is, a link to it would be more than sufficient.

Thanks for some fabulous resources, the website, podcast, videos and software are terrific.

sjbrouillard said:

I've recently purchased BeerSmith and am trying to learn how best to use it for my situation. I've done a couple of extract and extract/specialty grain batches and am planning to try my first all grain batch next Sunday.

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Cool and congrats! You're learning a lot of new things and BeerSmith is just part of it.

The recipe I downloaded isn't going to match my equipment profile and may need modification based on my profile, should I simply change the equipment profile to mine in the dropdown menu? Will that adjust the recipe?

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No and No. It will simply alter some of the stats based on your profile, but not the actual recipe. To modify the recipe based on your equipment, you'll use the Scale Recipe function.

Should I then save that as a new version of the recipe?

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Yes, or simply rename it in the recipe design tab.

When I'm ready for brew day, do I then save that modified recipe to my brew log and modify with what I measure?

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Yup!

How do I add more steps to the brew day sheet for checklist item?

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• Add the checklist task(s) into the Misc database.
• Simply add the item as an ingredient in the recipe.
• Set the time left in the boil you want to perform the task.
• You can then line up a bunch of steps the same way.

Something similar can be done with mashes where a step is named as the task (i.e. Record pH).

• Name it as the task
• Place it into the proper order within the mash
• Set it as a "Temperature" step
• Match the water ratio to the previous step
• Match the temperature of the previous step, plus 0.1 degree
• The tenths place will disappear, but will be used by BeerSmith to ordinate the steps.

Timing: The added task will add time to your mash. Simply reduce the step time of the previous step so that the two add up to the total rest time desired. You can make the task as little as 1 min rise and 1 min step (hold).

Thanks much. That gives me a sense about how to proceed.

It isn't exactly intuitive, so I would say that a good workflow tutorial would be very useful. Don't get me wrong. I'm a software developer by trade and I understand the difficulty in balancing flexibility and complexity with ease of use. It's clear that Brad was going for flexibility, which adds complexity.

I'm going to do my first all-grain brew this coming Sunday and I'll happily post my results from using BeerSmith for managing the process afterward.