Beersmith 2 volume off. Where am I going wrong?

[Machinedrum]

Hi all! I've only been brewing for 2 years now, and I'm slowly getting my equipment dialed in. I brewed this recipe on Sunday: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/dark-owl-sweet-stout.55233/

The recipe calls for an OG of 1.060 for 5 gallons. When I put the recipe in BS, my gravity was calculated at 1.054. I just went with it and ended up with an OG of 1.052 at the end of the day. One thing I decided to try to do was to change the "batch size" volume in the design panel. I dropped it to 4.5 gallons instead of 5, and now my predicted OG was 1.060, the same as the recipe! The only problem is if the recipe states it's for 5 gallons, I'd like to be able to brew 5 gallons, and not have to scale it back.

I figure I must have some number plugged in wrong somewhere in BS, but I have no idea where to start looking. I just rechecked the deadspace volumes in my boil kettle and mash tun, so I'm sure those are correct. Anyone have any ideas on where to look?

 

[jkovac]

"I figure I must have some number plugged in wrong somewhere in BS, but I have no idea where to start looking. "

That's exactly why I stopped using Beersmith. But there are a lot of people who do use it and like it a lot. Hopefully one of them will be more helpful than me.

 

[FunkedOut]

The number you’re searching for is brewhouse efficiency.
Sounds like the BHE you have in beersmith does not match that of the recipe you want to copy. You don’t want it to.
You want it to line up with your system.

Assuming it does...
When you copy that recipe into beersmith, ignore the weights of the ingredients.

Add the grains by percentage and increase them to match the desired OG.
Gravity sliders can be useful here to get you close.

Add the hops by IBU after you’ve adjusted for the AA you have on hand.

This method makes the size of the two batches and the differing BHE irrelevant.

 

[Machinedrum]

The number you’re searching for is brewhouse efficiency.
Sounds like the BHE you have in beersmith does not match that of the recipe you want to copy. You don’t want it to.
You want it to line up with your system.

Assuming it does...
When you copy that recipe into beersmith, ignore the weights of the ingredients.

Add the grains by percentage and increase them to match the desired OG.
Gravity sliders can be useful here to get you close.

Add the hops by IBU after you’ve adjusted for the AA you have on hand.

This method makes the size of the two batches and the differing BHE irrelevant.

FunkedOut, just to make sure I understand how this would work, should I just start taking guesses at the increase I'll need? Like say, add 5% more of each grain to try to get the gravity to line up? If I do it that way the flavor should still be the same? I've had a bunch of questions kicking in my head about adding more grains and how that effects the flavor.

EDIT: Never mind, I just found what your talking about. I had no idea that function was available in BS! Thank you, that's a game changer!!

 

[Machinedrum]

"I figure I must have some number plugged in wrong somewhere in BS, but I have no idea where to start looking. "

That's exactly why I stopped using Beersmith. But there are a lot of people who do use it and like it a lot. Hopefully one of them will be more helpful than me.

jkovac, what program do you use?

 

[FunkedOut]

The flavor should stay the same as long as the percentage of each grain remains the same. Get your gravity keeping the ratios below and you should be close enough to brew the 1st batch. taste, drink, repeat.

68.3 % British Two-row Pale
9.8 % British Crystal 50-60L
9.8 % Lactose
7.3 % Roasted Barley
4.9 % British Pale Chocolate

 

[Oginme]

Another way to enter a recipe with an unknown BHE into BeerSmith is to open up your recipe template and enter the recipe exactly as printed. Now, under the ingredients box in the design tab are sliders for OG, IBU, and Color. Start by clicking on the slider for OG and enter the target for the recipe. The program will scale the ingredients to reach that new OG target. Repeat with IBU and color to dial in the recipe to your equipment profile and process.

When you copy a recipe you usually have no idea what the process parameters were when the designer published it. They may have had more or less volume losses, better or worst mash/lauter efficiency, etc. The best way to get that recipe to reproduce in your system is to enter it either as FunkedOut recommended or as I outlined above.

 

[jkovac]

jkovac, what program do you use?

BeerSmith 2 is the only real program I have used. For the most part I rely on free spreadsheets like EZ Water Calc.