Whose OG do I strive for? Internet recipe or Beersmith?

I'm new to Beersmith and on both recipes I've entered I get a higher original gravity than what the recipe I found on the Internet?
Example...I brewed an ESB this last week...the Internet recipe said my OG should be 1.060. When I entered the grain bill into BeerSmith, it calculated my post boil gravity to be 1.074. I hit it pretty close at 1.076. I also hit my BeerSmith pre-boil estimated gravity of 1.057, I had 1.055.

Does this just mean that my efficiency was higher than the recipe creator? Just in case....I added more water and got my OG down to 1.060.

As I write this note, I see that I can tell BeerSmith what I want my OG to be and then it will scale back the grains. I'm guessing I keep playing the "top-off" game as I tune BeerSmith to my technique. Then once I'm dialed in...I can use it to scale back the OG/ingredients so I hit the OG.

Thanks for any input.

does sound like a difference in efficiency

can you point to the internet recipe? or post it here?

(this is NOT JUST a devious way to steal a recipe )

My SG is always a little off, recipe called for 1.060, I got 1.056, just brewed a batch yesterday.

I guess I'll do a few more following BeerSmith's instructions and see if the pattern continues...then I'll adjust.

haha.... BONUS! Fuller's ESB recipe!

looks like not just an efficiency problem, but also a batch size problem; he doesn't list one

he collects 6 gallons to boil, then boils 80 minutes.

at my boil-off rate, that would mean a 4 gallon recipe and like a 44-45% efficiency.

yikes

if you are confident in your technique and equipment, your own suggestion sounds like the best course of action. at least that's what I would do

I'm not confident in my technique/equipment. This is only my second all-grain.
I guess I'll keep going and revisit the question after a few more batches.
Thanks

bcrawfo2 said:

I'm not confident in my technique/equipment. This is only my second all-grain.
I guess I'll keep going and revisit the question after a few more batches.
Thanks

Click to expand...

you're doing it right.

keep brewing, keep dialing in your equipment profile

I agree with GrogNerd. If I were to brew that recipe, my OG would end up at about 1.077 for (5 gals). Perhaps he was brewing a 6 gallon batch.

-a.