beersmith water calculations

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BucksPA

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I'm not liking beersmith water calculations. I've brewed a witbier and a cream ale using beersmith and both times my mash ended up like thick oatmeal lacking enough water. I use keggles and put in the 1 gallon of deadspace under the false bottom. What do you guys think i am doing wrong? I was thinking about just filling up the grain bed 1" above the grains and then using the sparge to come up with what is needed for boil volume.

thoughts?

if you need more information, let me know.
 
As long as we are talking Beersmith and water..... what does Batch Size mean? Is it a) amount left after the boil or b) amount that goes in the fermenter or c) or the amount that goes in the bottle or keg (minus trub).
 
I belive the batch size is the amount that you want to end up with after all is said and done. The losses and boil off are figured into the numbers to end at what batch size you want. I think at least.
 
Batch size is finished packaged volume. You must enter your losses in the options section and the equipment setup.

Your water issues can be resolved by adjusting your qt/lb ratio int he mash step details screen.
 
1 gallon is deadspace under the false bottom. i don't lose 1 gallon. I dont know how to figure out my qts/lb ratio, so i use 1.25 as default. is this my issue? if so, what constitutes a higher qt/lb ratio or lower ratio? yes, i have a dip tube
 
Hey BucksPa, not to change the subject but how did your Hoegaarden clone come out? Where did you get the recipe? I think there is one posted here I was looking at.
 
I use anywhere from 1.5 - 2qts/lb. Usually try to balance the strike volume with the sparge volume.

And I may be mistaken, but just because you have a gallon under your FB doesn't make that deadspace. Calculate deadspace by what's leftover after you've completely drained your MLT. For example, I have about 1 gallon under my FB too, but my deadspace is only about 8oz. That's what I can't get up with my pick up tube.
 
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