OG and IBUs never match recipes

[csantoni]

I've been brewing for a while and am starting to get into making my own recipes. To start with this software, I thought I'd enter some recipes I have made in the past (extract or extract plus steeped grains). None of these recipes seem to calculate the OG or IBUs to match the starting recipe. For instance, just using a simple recipe of the Long Play IPA liquid extract from Mr. Beer gives an IBU that is too high and OG that is too low. Since there's no standard 2.125 gallon equipment I have created my own equipment entry but it's still very simple.

When I actually brew these recipes, I get OG & FG readings as I would expect, not similar to the BrewSmith calculations. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to be able to use this to track my little tweaks to recipes and eventually build my own but right now it doesn't seem like the software matches with my brewhouse reality.

[BOB357]

You need to create an equipment profile that is representative of your equipment and procedures. Here's a lin to a video that explains the process:
https://brulosophy.com/2014/08/04/beersmith-tutorial-equipment-profile-setup/

[csantoni]

I have created my own equipment profile but since I'm doing liquid extract or steeped grain recipes it has no effect on the OG.

[BOB357]

The post boil volume is directly related to your OG. A larger volume means a lower OG and visa versa, so accurate measurements are important. When you're steeping grains they absorb water, taking away from the starting volume. You still have boiloff and losses to trub, unless you dump everything from your kettle into the fermenter. If you leave anything in the kettle, remember that you're also leaving extract there, so you can't expect to top up to your batch size and have the predicted OG unless you show the loss in your equipment profile. So, volumes definitely have an impact on OG.  You also need to select the correct type of brewing, ie: extract, partial mash. BeerSmith relies on your inputs in order to come up with accurate predictions for various parameters. The more accurate your entries, the more accurate the predictions.

Your beer will be what it will be. We're talking about making the software accurately predict what it will be.

[csantoni]

Yeah, I get it, and your last sentence is what I'm struggling with. I have made several batches and I know what their measurements were, I just can't get the software to give me anything that is remotely close to what was measured.

Take the Long Play IPA liquid hopped extract for example. It has a predicted OG of 1.048 and 70 IBUs and weighs 1.875 lbs. The last batch I made measured 1.040 before I pitched my yeast. There's no boil here, just heat it up, add water and yeast and ferment. No matter what I do with my equipment entry, even zeroing out everything so I just have a 2 gallon batch (or 2.125 or 2.25 or anything) I can't get a predicted OG and IBU that matches what the manufacturer says are the targets.

If I can't model known good recipes and measurements I've already made I don't see how I can rely on the calculations. I'm not saying they're wrong (obviously they're not) but I can't figure out what it wants me to input to give a reasonable prediction.

[csantoni]

OK, I guess I wrote down the wrong weight as it should be 3 lbs. When I input that, I at least get the right target OG, but the IBUs are still wrong (228 vs. 70) I think the data for this ingredient is wrong and causing me trouble in trying to fine tune my equipment numbers.

[BOB357]

If you're using hopped extract, the only basis for IBUs is the data entry for the extract.
to correct the entry, menu into ingredients/fermentables and look up the extract. Double click on it and a window will pop up where you can change the data. Enter the correct IBU value and then delete and reenter the extract in your recipe.

[Oginme]

Aside from what Bob357 has already stated, there are a few things to check.  First, your equipment profile type needs to be set as 'extract'.  If not, then the program will try to apply the brew house efficiency to your recipe which will cause an offset in prediction versus actual results.

Next, with extract recipes the measurement of volume is critical to achieving the correct end result.  I am not sure how you are taking your volume measurements from your description so far.  I have found that pre-etched or stamped kettle markings on commercially made equipment can vary from being pretty close to being wildly inaccurate.  I recommend creating a measuring stick based upon actual water volumes being added to the kettle. 

[csantoni]

Thanks for the hints. I think I'm on track now.

I currently have a couple of batches fermenting and want to be able to tweak the recipes once I taste them. My general takeaway from inputting them into BS is that I haven't been accounting for boil off correctly and need to use more water. This confirms what has been happening in the brewhouse since I kept having to add top-up water into the fermenter even though I was trying to do a full-volume boil.

I have put in my ingredients for both batches and my expected equipment numbers (boil off, etc. are estimated but I'm going to take a few more measurements next time), and will use the water volumes from the software for my next batches.