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Help for a first timer

andyg55

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Hi everyone

First-time poster and very new to brewing! I'm just stepping into the world of all-grain and BeerSmith, so finding my way slowly. I have input an equipment profile and saved it.

I am creating a new recipe where I've been given a guideline to follow: 75% 2-row, 20% wheat, and 5% acid malt. I would like to use BeerSmith to calculate the following:

1. How much mash water do I need to result in a 6.5-gallon batch of beer?

2. What will the ABV be?

3. How can I get BeerSmith to modify the recipe for me if I wanted, for example, 6% ABV rather than 4%. Or an 8-gallon batch rather than a 6.6-gallon batch?

Any help much appreciated!

Andy
 
Welcome Andy!

To enter a new recipe, you can click on 'add recipe' on the tool bar ribbon.  This will open up a recipe template.  The first thing you should do from there is to change the equipment profile to your new custom profile and click 'set as default' (also on the toolbar ribbon).  This will save the current recipe as a template, so that the next time you click 'add recipe' it will already have your custom equipment profile loaded.  This will also set the batch size and efficiency to match your equipment profile.

Now in your recipe, give it a name and then click on 'add fermentables'.  This pops up a window with the listing of fermentable grains and additives. You can use the search bar on top to limit the list of grains, sugars and other fermentable items to just what you want.  In your case, you can type in '2-row' and you will see the options for 2-row base malt.  Once you have found the one you want, click on 'add fermentable without closing.  Repeat this with the wheat.  After selecting the acid malt, you can just click on 'ok' to exit the fermentable profiles. 

Now go over to the far right and there will be an option labeled 'grain pct'.  Click on this and you will get a pop up window of your grains which will allow you to enter in the percentage for each grain as you have been given.

You can add your hops the same way as with the fermentables.  Here you can edit each item either before you click to add it to the recipe or afterwards by double clicking on each hop entry in the recipe box.  You can adjust the amount, where the addition will be (boil, whirlpool, dry hop, mash, or first wort), and the time the addition will be added or the contact time.  If you want to adjust the bitterness of each addition, you can do the same trick as with the grains by clicking on 'hop ibus' on the far right side. 

Now select the yeast you want to use and enter that into the recipe.  The yeast strain will primarily determine the amount of sugars which will be fermented. 

Now the fun part.  Below the ingredient box in the design tab of the recipe there are some sliders.  Click first on the 'est original gravity' slider and set that for how strong of a beer you want.  Your starting OG, the yeast strain, and the mash temperature will be your primary ways of controlling your ABV.  ABV is really a secondary measurement.  Most brewers design with an original gravity target in mind and will adjust that afterwards to get the ABV in the range they want.  Now you can do the same thing with the IBU slider to adjust the bitterness level.

As mentioned above, you can then select a mash profile to fine tune your ABV.  The mash temperature controls the enzyme activity and will tweak the fermentability of your wort. 

Save and close the recipe so you don't lose it.

The program will determine your water needs based upon your equipment profile and where that water is introduced based upon your mash profile and equipment profile.  This will show up on your brew day sheet and in your mash steps on the timer tab. 

If you want to scale the recipe for a different volume, you can open up the recipe (I would recommend making a copy first) and click on 'scale recipe' on the toolbar ribbon.  If you are using the same equipment and will get the same losses then you can just enter in the new batch size and click OK.  the program will adjust the recipe for the new batch size.  If you are changing your process to get to a larger batch size (such as topping off in the fermenter, where you would not need to normally), I would recommend creating a new equipment profile for this batch size which reflects this change and then when scaling the recipe, click on the equipment profile when the scale recipe box pops up and change it to the new profile.  The program will pretty much take care of the rest.

Let us know if you have any questions on the above or need more explanation.

 
Hello, my first time here too!

After reading this very helpful post, I still have a doubt about the mashing options.

In the lowest part, Profiles for Mash, Carbonation, and Aging, I don't know what type of mash option I need to choose if I'm using the classic double-home-depot-gravity technique?

I'm obviously a noob  :D
 
In order to best direct you, it would be helpful to get a description of how you run your mash and sparge.  Are you batch sparging or fly sparging?  If you are doing a single infusion with a batch sparge, look for a mash profile which matches this description.  If you are doing a single infusion with a fly sparge, look for something with that description.

Just like the equipment profile, the mash profiles are meant as a template to show you what you can do with the profiles.  You can customize these profiles to match how you want to operate your process.

 
Here's a link to all of the BeerSmith blog entries. You should be able to find answers to all of your questions here, as well as a bunch of information to help you in the future.

http://beersmith.com/blog/beersmith-home-brewing-guide/
 
all right, very interesting!

For example, I'd like to do a batch sparge, what should I choose in the menu? I'm attaching pictures to better explain myself.

 

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start with single infusion, batch sparge, light body or medium body depending upon how much body you want in the finished beer.


 
Thanks for the very useful information! I must admit I didn't realize you had responded... I thought I would receive an email when there is an answer to my post but apparently not!

This answers pretty much all of my questions. I didn't realize you could change those sliders to adjust for ABV which was where I was getting stuck. It all makes sense now!

I also have one question about the mash profile, though. My mash calls for 1 hour at 147 F. I have a 10-gallon SS BrewTech mash tun with a recirculation mash manifold, sparge arm, and vorlauf arm assembly. This will be my first all-grain batch so I'm not sure exactly which of these devices to use, and which mash profile to select that corresponds to what I'm trying to do.

Could someone please help me here?

Thanks,
Andrew
 
A mash tun is a mash tun is a mash tun.  It does not matter if it is a shiny stainless steel with bells and whistles or a cheap plastic cooler; a false bottom or a braid from a water supply line.  The type of equipment, capacity, and associated losses is already covered in your equipment profile.  The mash profile only defines water additions, temperatures, and rests.

Since you have a sparge arm, I am assuming that you are going to fly sparge (?).  You are going to aim for a single rest at 147F, so basically a single infusion profile with a fly sparge.  The rest temperature, since you are aiming for 147F, should be light body.  If this does not give you a target of 147F, then edit it to make your target rest temperature 147F.

The secret of getting the most out of the software is to make the software mimic your desired process.  For the most part, the program is well suited to be adapted to any type of mash rests, step types, infusions, etc.  You just need to create or adapt a profile to get it to reflect what you want.
 
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