Trying to clear some things up

[mpizzurro]

I have some questions that would clear things up for me a little

1. I can not find all the info needed for Beersmith for the grain Rahr. I find some info here and there but it's somewhat conflicting and I don't know what to trust. Tried to put a recipe together on Beersmith which I got from my local brew shop. It included Rahr but with the numbers I'm using the gravity's don't match what the brew shops recipe says. I copied another recipe onto Beersmith from the same shop and the gravity's were spot on. All the grains from that recipe could be found on Beersmith. This leads me to believe my numbers for Rahr are incorrect. Where can I find all the right numbers needed for this grain ?

2.  I notice Beersmith says use 4 or 5 packs of yeast for a 10 gal all grain batch if not using a starter. I always assumed it was 1 pack for every 5 gal. Then I noticed these brew shop recipes don't say how many packets to use but just the type. I know Beersmith is a good trusted program but is that right or am I reading it wrong or inputting something in wrong ?

3.  Instructions say to age 30 days on the two recipes I built. Is that after the beer carbonates or is that including the carb process ?

4.  Under fermentation there is a field for bottling volume. If I change that number the prime sugar amount stays the same. Shouldn't that change ?

I appreciate any help. Thank you 🍺

[brewfun]

Rahr makes several malts. Two-row and Pilsner being the most popular. Here are the specs (turned into relevant BS numbers) for 2-row, according to a batch analysis from July of this year.

Moisture % 3.7
Yield: 81.3%
Potential: 1.0374
Coarse/Fine Difference: 1%
Color: 2
Diastatic Power: 129
Total Protein: 10.6%

[kcbeersnob]

2.  I advise trusting the Beersmith recommendation, which is based on key factors such as age of the yeast pack/vial (used to calculate yeast viability), original gravity and size of the batch.  Homebrew shop recipes are simplified for a beginner.  If you want a second opinion, check this out:  http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html.  Sure, one yeast pack per 5 gallon batch of standard gravity wort will produce beer.  But it will not be the best beer it can be. 

3.  In the default Beersmith fermentation/aging profile, "aging" refers to the bottle conditioning period.  In my experience, 3 weeks is the minimum to achieve carbonation--more time required if the bottles are stored in cooler conditions.  The flavor of the beer will improve with additional storage time (weeks/months).

4.  The priming sugar recommendation in the recipe is based on the planned batch size, so it will not change based on measured bottling volume--but it should IMO.  I suspect that the Beersmith recommendation in the recipe assumes that your final volume is close enough to your planned batch size, so the difference should not be meaningful.  You always have the option of using the Carbonation Tool (available from the tools menu) to calculate a more precise amount of priming sugar.  That is what I used to do when I bottle conditioned beer. 

[Scott Ickes]

2.  I advise trusting the Beersmith recommendation, which is based on key factors such as age of the yeast pack/vial (used to calculate yeast viability), original gravity and size of the batch.  Homebrew shop recipes are simplified for a beginner.  If you want a second opinion, check this out:  http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html.  Sure, one yeast pack per 5 gallon batch of standard gravity wort will produce beer.  But it will not be the best beer it can be. 

3.  In the default Beersmith fermentation/aging profile, "aging" refers to the bottle conditioning period.  In my experience, 3 weeks is the minimum to achieve carbonation--more time required if the bottles are stored in cooler conditions.  The flavor of the beer will improve with additional storage time (weeks/months).

4.  The priming sugar recommendation in the recipe is based on the planned batch size, so it will not change based on measured bottling volume--but it should IMO.  I suspect that the Beersmith recommendation in the recipe assumes that your final volume is close enough to your planned batch size, so the difference should not be meaningful.  You always have the option of using the Carbonation Tool (available from the tools menu) to calculate a more precise amount of priming sugar.  That is what I used to do when I bottle conditioned beer.

Great advice!

On his statement that "The flavor of the beer will improve with additional storage time (weeks/months)." this is one that needs to be experienced to appreciate.  I've had beers that scored mid to low 20's in brewing competitions when they were young, that after several months of aging scored 35+ in later competitions.  I made a Cranberry/Pomagranate Amber that scored 25 after three weeks in the bottle.  4 months later it scored 37.  In the earlier competition, the tartness of the fruit came through, but not the fruit flavor.  Once it had matured though, the fruit flavor was spectacular and blended well with the tartness.  The tartness even faded a little with aging.  It's difficult to let a drinkable beer sit as it ages, but the cure is to make sure you brew often enough that you always have beer to drink that it at it's peak!

[mpizzurro]

Thank you very much for all of the help guys. It's greatly appreciated.