Converting LHBS recipe into BeerSmith, numbers not adding up

[Dr_Horrible]

I have been using my LHBS's recipes to make beer with extract and speciality grains, and almost everytime my OG/FG have been right on the money with the recipes.

I decided to download the trial of BeerSmith and play with it so I could learn more about how various ingredients impact the beer (I like to tweak the numbers and see what changes). However, I loaded up my recent Vanilla Porter recipe into BeerSmith and the numbers appear to be off, namely the ABV.

The OG is calculated to be 1.048 in BS, vs 1.052 in the recipe (and I was right at the recipe OG). The recipe's FG should be at 1.012, leaving me with 5.2% ABV. The BS calculation puts me at 4.4% ABV with a FG of 1.014.
The OG seems to be off by a small, but not trivial amount, and the FG is also off.

What am I doing wrong? How does the FG get calculated? Is this exercise a futile one? I was hoping that if I load up some past recipes into BS and start tweaking values, I could learn more about how ingredients impact the beer.

One issue I feel like I may be running into is that the grains I add are all for steeping, with LME being used for the fermentable sugars. Perhaps this is throwing off the BS calculations? I have it setup for Extract so I figure it knows that the grains I am supplying are mostly for flavor/color and not sugars.

 

[Rivenin]

BS is pretty accurate, but the other thing is... how is your LHBS calculating everything? if they have a bit different calculations (flying by the seat of their pants, old school, etc) it'll be just a touch off.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

BS is pretty accurate, but the other thing is... how is your LHBS calculating everything? if they have a bit different calculations (flying by the seat of their pants, old school, etc) it'll be just a touch off.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how they're calculating things, other than the fact that the OG/FG numbers have always been pretty spot on from my brews. I selected a 3G boil profile just like the recipe indicates, so I thought it would be safe to assume that the numbers would be pretty close. But I feel like 5.2 vs 4.4% ABV are pretty far off.

Maybe this idea just isn't gonna pan out?

 

[MichaelBrock]

Make sure that you are setting Beersmith to use the same efficiency and batch volume as your LHBS is using when you enter the recipe. That should result in the OG, bitterness, etc. being pretty close. If you don't know the efficiency they used, then I would enter the ingredients and volume, then change the efficiency in Beersmith until you get the same OG as your LHBS. Then you can scale it from there to fit your own system.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Make sure that you are setting Beersmith to use the same efficiency and batch volume as your LHBS is using when you enter the recipe. That should result in the OG, bitterness, etc. being pretty close. If you don't know the efficiency they used, then I would enter the ingredients and volume, then change the efficiency in Beersmith until you get the same OG as your LHBS. Then you can scale it from there to fit your own system.

Anything else that might be important to get from them, or is efficiency the main piece for extract recipes? I will give them a call this weekend. Thanks for your help! I'd like to work my way to building my own recipes, and I thought my playing with existing recipes I've done I can better understand how it all fits together.

 

[MichaelBrock]

Batch size and efficiency are two big variables. Most other things like extract potential are fairly standard (but not really relevant regardless for an extract recipe). Playing with Beersmith is definitely a good way to get a feel for recipe construction. Especially once you get to all grain It definitely has its quirks and the interface isn't the best but once you get used to it it ends up being invaluable.

 

[singybrue]

Another thing to keep in mind is the FG is an estimate from a range, and will change according to the attenuation YOU get from YOUR yeast.
You can play around with these values by plugging in different FG values in the measured FG field.
I usually get a lower FG than what Beersmith calculates

 

[brewfun]

Extract recipes don't really rely on the Brewhouse Efficiency number, too much. The Extract is given 100% yield for creating the OG. You'll often see a huge difference if you change it to partial mash or all grain.

The variability is in the efficiency of the steeped grains for extract recipes. The default is 15%. This can be changed in Options > Advanced. Close all recipes before changing options, because some of these are global calculations made when the recipe is opened, not while you're in it.

The final gravity is directly related to the maximum attenuation range of the yeast. Double click on the yeast in the design tab and just change it to see the effect. It shouldn't be randomly changed just to match the recipe specs, though. It should match your actual experience with that yeast.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Great information thanks!