Batch size vs final bottling volume

This might be an extremely newbie questions but I think some of us might find this confusing.

Whenever I see batch size....I think of the amount of gallons of beer I siphon into my fermenter (6.28 gallon...normally). When I see final bottling volume.....I think of the beer that has come off the yeast cake and maybe has a little bit of a loss...due to beer being used for some gravity tests, diacetyl test, left in the siphon...etc. Meaning I am left with 5.75 gallons of beer.

There is a little difference between the 2. 0.53 gallon...but still..it is a difference.

BeerSmith software let's me input the batch size...that eventually becomes my final bottling volume on the spreadsheet it prints. Is it me...or some other people also think this is wrong?

The batch size that Beersmith lets you enter is the volume into the fermenter. It tells you that if you hover your mouse pointer over the field. It does not let you change the estimated bottling volume (on the Vols tab). When I print the "Brew steps" Beersmith shows the bottling volume as calculated, just as on the "Vols" tab. Where are you seeing that it uses the batch size for the bottling volume?

There are different entry sections for volume into the fermenter(batch size) and volume into the keg/bottling bucket.
I believe the entry box for bottling volume is under "fermentation."

I don't think the "bottling volume" field can actually be edited though. It is a subtle visual difference (should be more pronounced) between those fields that can be changed and those that cannot. The "Measured Bottling Vol" field can be changed (but of course this is simply for record keeping) but not the "Est Bottling Vol"

I never pay any attention to the bottle volume. I make sure I am getting the proper volume into the fermenter and what I get to the keg is what I get. It is also only an estimate. It will vary greatly depending on your brewing procedures. For instance, a lot of brewers just add the hops directly to the BK and this increases the amount of trub in the fermenter, thus a loss in bottled volume compared to someone who bags their hops.

I bag hops in the boil or dry hop,& strain into th fermenter. A lot less trub losses that way,& I get 48-53 bottles every time.

MichaelBrock said:

I don't think the "bottling volume" field can actually be edited though. It is a subtle visual difference (should be more pronounced) between those fields that can be changed and those that cannot. The "Measured Bottling Vol" field can be changed (but of course this is simply for record keeping) but not the "Est Bottling Vol"

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Correct. Beersmith is just giving an estimate, which is sometimes spot on and sometimes a bit off. Without adding every single detail about dead space in mash tun to trub loss and on and on the estimates it gives you can be a little off the mark. You just have to learn and know your system.