BeerSmith2 'Equipment Profile' set-up for new all-grainers.

[brewfun]

the attached recipe shows a brew house efficiency higher than the mash efficiency.

In my download, just the opposite shows. Brewhouse Efficiency is 81% and Mash is 87%

To translate: You got 87% of the grain's sugars into the kettle. After concentrating sugars in the boil, then deducting the 1.25 gallon loss to trub (which is 7% of the remaining kettle volume), the remaining percentage of sugar in the fermenter is 81% of what's possible from the grain.

 

[ScottVoak]

Thanks guys.  I actually uploaded the report that was correct, not the incorrect one.  I went back and looked at brew day paper notes and we made a data error which messed up our results.  On our next brew day, our hydrometer was broken and I think we must have broken it mid-brew on the one in question and so got some bad numbers that made it look like we had more total sugar into the fermenter than out of the mash. 
Thanks for the excellent explanations and detail.

 

[Bboykin87]

When setting up a new equipment profile, I have a 10 gallon mash tun  but I usually brew 5 gallon batches.  When I enter my mash tun volume as 10 BS calculates that I want to use all that volume to mash.  Should I be using all 10 gallons to mash in and how will that affect my final product if I'm planning on only making a 5 gallon batch and the recipe I am using is for a 5 gallon batch?

 

[grathan]

That doesn't sound right.

 

[brewfun]

When setting up a new equipment profile, I have a 10 gallon mash tun  but I usually brew 5 gallon batches.  When I enter my mash tun volume as 10 BS calculates that I want to use all that volume to mash.  Should I be using all 10 gallons to mash in and how will that affect my final product if I'm planning on only making a 5 gallon batch and the recipe I am using is for a 5 gallon batch?

You can alter the equipment profile OR the mash profile to fit the reduced batch size. Either way, it's easiest to just create a half batch equipment profile so that you can use the scale recipe function.

BeerSmith is calculating based on the options you've chosenin the Mash Profile. What you're describing sounds like a batch sparge with none of the other boxes checked and still at the default 95% fill level.

Set the "Using batches that fill" option to 50%.
Select the "drain mashtun first" option in the mash profile.

If this results in wildly uneven batches, you can smooth that out by checking "Use equal batch sizes."

 

[jessicajames]

Firstly I am new here, not new to brewing been doing that for 40 years but new to Beer Smith.
I was always puzzled about the Equipment Profile, what it meant, what it was for, what it did. Sorry but I still am.
I mash (nowadays) in an insulated bin thingy sparge and boil in a boiler and ferment in a fermenting vessel. Then I ferment for a while and Cask.
Efficiency is Output divided by Input pure and simple. Each individual step has it's own efficiency but the overall is what we get for what we put in.
For instance Boil efficiency is variable dependant upon the diameter of the boil vessel. Having put 30 odd litres of liquor in there it does not matter how many hops you put in because they are extra and will fill the space at the bottom of the boiler as a filter. They have no effect on efficiency except perhaps to improve it.
It's the same with the mash. It dose not matter how much water is absorbed or space taken up by the spent grains because sparge will continue until the runoff is at a low value or enough is collected. I get bored before either.

This exasperated reply is because I cannot see what the fuss is about or the discussion or the parameter in the application.

With apologies.
James

 

[brewfun]

Firstly I am new here, not new to brewing been doing that for 40 years but new to Beer Smith.

Welcome!

I, too, have decades of experience, plus some other credentials.

I was always puzzled about the Equipment Profile, what it meant, what it was for, what it did. Sorry but I still am.
I mash (nowadays) in an insulated bin thingy sparge and boil in a boiler and ferment in a fermenting vessel. Then I ferment for a while and Cask.

This implies that you do not share or collect recipes, and that you've never concerned yourself with consistency. If either were true, then some data about your thingys would be relevant to you.

Efficiency is Output divided by Input pure and simple. Each individual step has it's own efficiency but the overall is what we get for what we put in.

Yes, and no. Overall is EXACTLY what BeerSmith measures since it is targeting the fermenter. However, long standing tradition is to measure in the kettle for mash efficiency. The latter is a process point measurement, not the overall. Since the former is a different measurement point, the how & why bear discussion, which is further proven by the length of the replies.

For instance Boil efficiency is variable dependent upon the diameter of the boil vessel.

This is incomplete. Other factors such as heat power density, btu transfer and ambient humidity are also factors.

Having put 30 odd litres of liquor in there it does not matter how many hops you put in because they are extra and will fill the space at the bottom of the boiler as a filter. They have no effect on efficiency except perhaps to improve it.

I can't agree with you on this. If there is any liquid whatsoever trapped, then it represents a loss of efficiency. Since hops are decidedly more wet after a boil than before, there must be some loss. Again, Brewhouse efficiency accounts for this, mash efficiency does not. Add to that the trub that is best left behind, and the loss is easily measurable.

It's the same with the mash. It dose not matter how much water is absorbed or space taken up by the spent grains because sparge will continue until the runoff is at a low value or enough is collected. I get bored before either.

Perhaps some new brewing books will alleviate the boredom while waiting for a full kettle?    I'm always adding to my brewing library. Ingredients, techniques and overall understanding about the brewing process continue to be studied, discussed and used to make better and better beer.

This exasperated reply is because I cannot see what the fuss is about or the discussion or the parameter in the application.

At it's most basic, it is a way to predict the total amount of grain needed to achieve closely similar results on various systems. Most brewers share recipes and ideas with an eye towards flavor targets, rather than chance. Brewhouse efficiency adapts the results of one brewing system to the capabilities of another.

 

[wce_82]

Hello fellow brewers,

Need help with setting up a profile. Im a biab brewer and have my profile for that setup and seems to be working well. I have seen a brewing method using a 2 vessel system using a slow cooker, for small batches. I am trying to set it up and obviously must be missing something.

The slow cooker volume is 6L and was planning on using approx 15L pot for my boil hoping to get anywhere from 6-9L as finished beer. The drama I am having is that beersmith always tells me I need to fill my mash tun (slow cooker) up with 7L of water which will overflow even before the grain is added.

Any help would be awesome.

Thanks

 

[BYRONPEL]

There is no way of opening a .bsmx file either in windows 10 or imac.internet explorer won't open,word pad will give coded readout,and co on.
Thanks

 

[txpitmaster]

if its an xml file you should be able to open in note pad or note pad + after associating the file type to it.  A few years ago I was using notepad + to edit xml files for an online game...

 

[jopakent]

So I'm still a little frustrated. I've gone through and set up my equipment profile so now all of my numbers seem right. But when I use this profile in a recipe, the mash tab doesn't seem to be accurate. In round numbers, I'm thinking I'll need about 7 gallons of water to get my 5 gallon batch. However, teh Mash in description says 18.63 qts. I thought that setting up my profile would trigger a change in the Mash instructions.

For now, I guess I'll adjust the numbers myself. Or is this what I'm supposed to do. I'm confused.

 

[Oginme]

Right off hand, I would ask what the volume BeerSmith is projecting for sparge water.  You give us a volume for mash-in, but if you have a sparge step, the balance of the water demand may be in that step.

If you export a recipe using your equipment and mash profile as a .bsmx file and post it here, we can try to figure out if there is anything else which is giving you such a low number for water volume.

 

[ignacevachon]

For 10 gallon batches (this is my first brew with some new equipment), what should I set my fermenter loss to? Is it double the loss of a 5 gallon batch? I will of course adjust it after my for batch.

 

[Oginme]

That would be a good starting point.  The fermenter loss does not affect the rest of the brewing calculations since BeerSmith calculates volumes based upon the volume into the fermenter.  The fermenter loss is more for estimating your net yield for the purpose of carbonating.

 

[DashaFew]

Hello Chuck, I have a very portable cooler rig that you are more than welcome to use for a brew. I can also help with the tutorial to get you going.  I can also provide a suggestion for a first batch that will help get you going.  its very easy, once you have sanitation, the boil process and fermentation down then moving to all grain is nothing more than making oatmeal ok a little more but still easy. my email is in your pm, send me an email

 

[Kevin58]

This series of videos helped me a lot. This one is equipment profile setup but he also has videos for mash setup, BIAB and batch sparge setup.

https://youtu.be/QmW7pwQP5mQ

 

[dioggio]

I have nearly finished building a system with a 20G kettle with 5500w Element and a SS colander (from a Brewha home brewery BIAC) its a heavy solid kettle with a lot of holes in the bottom that will hold the grain rather than a bag. I have a chugger pump so will be recirculating during mash and then will then lift the colander above the kettle and sparge. I will then boil in the same kettle and transfer via a plate chiller to my fermenter.

Is this basically a BIAB equipment profile? What should I use as a typical starting effieciency? Anything else in particular that I would need to treat different than a standard BIAB set up?

I will be doing mostly 10G batches but I made my HLT (for sparge water) out of a converted corny keg so it is 5G max. Is it possible to just adjust the strike volume up so the maximum sparge needed is 5G? Can I do this in BS or is that something I would have to do manually?

Is there a benefit in doing some sparge (albeit maybe not the correct amount) rather than no sparge at all?

 

[andrew08]

Hi - I'm trying to enter a recipe from BYO - going with the default grain:water ratio Beersmith calculated the amount of water and the temp I need. I plan to do a 60m mash, then drain, then do a 15m 168 degree sparge. The Beersmith mash profile I chose is 'Single Infusion, Full Body' that specifies a single fly sparge. My issue is that Beersmith is calculating a sparge volume that calculates out to 5.7g pre-boil. The recipe in BYO suggests collecting sparge until I get to 7g. I've looked all over (I think) to find that setting in beersmith and override to get to 7g. I could specify it in the notes but I would prefer to have the recipe (and therefore instructions) be accurate. Can someone suggest what setting(s) I need to change to get the pre-boil vol to 7g?

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[Oginme]

You are draining the mash tun first, indicating that you are doing a batch sparge.  If this is correct, then edit the mash profile and turn on the batch sparge indicator.

If you are fly sparging, i would not recommend draining the mash tun first and making up plenty of sparge water so that you can continue sparging until you reach your desired volume.

Now, if you construct your equipment profile based upon your process losses, then the recommendation that the program gives you has the boil off and process losses associated for your system.  BYO constructs their recipes and volumes so that they work over a broad range of brewers systems without being too far off for any one output. 

The purpose of BeerSmith software is to target those numbers to be more accurate for YOUR system.

 

[dtapke]

As Oginme stated about batch vs fly sparge. There is a Mash Profile for Batch Sparging listed as "Single infusion, ____ body, Batch Sparge"

Also, ensure your batch size is what you want. if the BYO recipe has a pre-boil volume of 7 gallons, they may be making the recipe based on collecting a different quantity than what you are collecting. These numbers are attained through your equipment profile. If you have your equipment set up for 4g in fermenter, 1g to boil off, and .7g of loss, than it will give you the 5.7 gallons. If your profile is as such that you're collecting 5g in fermenter, 1g boil off, 1g loss, than it will give you a pre-boil of 7g (note, this is a bit off as your pre-boil will allow for thermal expansion. I over simplified)