In BeerSmith, extract recipes seem to work best when Loss to Trub & Chiller are set to zero and the batch size is the same as the post boil size minus the shrinkage volume. Post boil volume is measured hot, while batch size is cooled which accounts for the difference.
Another of the main differences between BCS recipes and BeerSmith is how each is treating the specialty grains. BeerSmith uses some generally accepted numbers, but leaves it to you, the user, to fine tune them for your system. BCS tells you directly what specs they used for determining their numbers, so that you can convert them to your system.
BCS is looking for 70% efficiency from all grains (p. 40). Meaning 70% of the maximum available starches and dextrines are extracted and converted into usable gravity for the recipe. BeerSmith's default for steeped grains in an extract recipe is just 15% efficiency. Other software didn't make any adjustment for the inefficiency of simple steeping and a lot of extract recipes are written that way.
Just changing the recipe from extract type to partial mash brings the estimated gravity significantly closer enough to the target of 1.052.
With all recipes closed, you can change the steeping efficiency in Options > Advanced > Steeping Efficiency. Anytime you change the global Options numbers, it is best to have all profiles and recipes closed to avoid errors. In most cases, these numbers are only applied to a recipe when it's opened.
When substituting extracts, you used a pretty common conversion number. Dried extracts do tend to be pretty consistent with their yield. Liquid extracts can be strikingly different because of the water content. Simply using your conversion factor is a good start, but don't hesitate to increase or decrease your amounts based on the gravity you want. Beer is a dynamic product that can change batch to batch and certainly system to system.
grathan said:
Now here is something weird with Beersmith. It incorrectly measures loss to cooling and trub and makes OG readings off.
But if you set your batch size to 5 gallons.
and set your trub and fermentation losses to 0.
You would still have 5 gallons to bottle and the numbers come out to 1.054ish
My buddy Grathan is headed in the right direction for simplifying recipes in BeerSmith. The outcome is ok and matches my advice, too. However, BeerSmith doesn't really "incorrectly measure loss" but it can create a lot of confusion if used incorrectly.
The reason that BeerSmith's "Brewhouse Efficiency" with losses to trub added won't match most recipe efficiency numbers is due to where and how they're measured. Simply, most recipes measure a batch volume as post-boil & chill, in the kettle. BeerSmith is post-boil & chill, in the fermenter.
The difference is that BeerSmith bases "Brewhouse Efficiency" on not only the percentage of goodness you get from your ingredients, but how much of that makes it to where it counts: the fermenter. Any trub left behind in the kettle or other equipment will never become beer, will it? So it's a loss and therefore an inefficiency. The real term for this is
Brewhouse Yield, but we have to use BeerSmith's terms if we're going to talk about it.
If you simply leave the efficiency at 70%, you're telling BeerSmith that you're going to get more out of the ingredients in order to get more volume. Since that's unlikely, you'll have to lower your efficiency to account for lost wort.
If your system profile volumes are completely correct, you can add your actual numbers to the fermentation page. You can also just put in all of the pre and post boil numbers as "actual" while writing a recipe and see what BeerSmith says would be your "Measured Efficiency" and then use that number in your equipment profile. This will now ensure that your system matches up to the targets in BCS.