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BeerSmith Newbie: Extract or partial mash?

muckypup

Apprentice
Joined
May 13, 2017
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Hi,

I am new to BeerSmith and need advice on when creating a recipe if to use Extract setting or partial mash.

I am brewing using a light malt extract but mashing out some speciality grains in a bag in the boiler prior to boiling. I have added my speciality grains to the recipe. If I select Extract then I get one value for estimated original gravity (and it changes when I change the amount of grains). If I set up a BIAB mashing profile, select this and select partial mash the estimated original gravity jumps up significantly.

Which is the correct setting for what I am trying to achieve?
 
Are you mashing or just steeping?  If the grains are all specialty grains (caramel/crystal, chocolate, black, brown, biscuit, amber, etc.) then you are doing an extract with steeping grains.  If the grains contain a base malt where the starches must be converted to sugars, then it is a partial mash.

One way to check this is to click and check out the properties of each grain listed in the recipe.  You can double click on each of the grains in the recipe and then click on 'edit details'.  There will be a box on the right side labeled as 'recommend mash' which tells you that the grain should be mashed in order to extract fermentable sugars from it.  I have attached a pic of a base grain for you identify the box.
 

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The grains are Dark Crystal Malt and Caramalt (Caramalt isn't one of the pre-defined ones). I believe these are just speciality grains. So I should just use the 'Extract' type?


 
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