Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' (MME) version 11.30, with a major bug fix!

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Larry Sayre, Developer of 'Mash Made Easy'
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Mash Made Easy version 11.30 is now available for download on my website in both USA and fully Metric editions.

Change since version 11.20 (and earlier, potentially extending backwards all the way to version 10.00):
Major fix correcting the internally computed BC (Buffering Capacity) for specifically (and exclusively) 'Caramel/Crystal' malts, which greatly increases their 'Malt Acidity'.

With all due apology for missing this serious problem earlier, this is a major bug fix release, and everyone is most strongly encouraged to transition from earlier versions to this version. Prior to this fix 'Caramel/Crystal' malts were not inheriting the intended acidity level series assigned to them.
 
Of course, when looked at from the perspective of most recipes containing 10% or less of their overall aggregate grist weight as 'Caramel/Crystal' class malt(s) the actual degree of the error (corrected in version 11.30) is much less than for the test bed numbers I was looking at showing what the difference is for a grist comprised of 100% 'Caramel/Crystal' malt. So in the "real world" of recipes it's not as devastating or huge of an output error as I had initially fathomed by any means, but either way it was still a major bug that needed to be fixed (and of course should never have happened to begin with).
 
More specifics on the (now corrected) MME error involving exclusively 'Caramel/Crystal' malts:

Before the fix instituted within version 11.30, Caramel/Crystal malts were picking up BC's computed for standard (Not Categorized) malts by malt color, and thus they were being assigned somewhat lower acidity values than would be appropriate for the Caramel/Crystal class of malts.

When the Caramel/Crystal class of malts is held at a maximum of 10% of the grist (by weight) the magnitude of the induced pH error is (or was) most typically confined to the "hundredth place" of the reported pre-adjustment grist pH. And of course, at less than 10% of the grist the error was proportionally less, and at 0% it was non-existent.

Th problem/error appears to have first arrived on the scene when I changed the grist classification "drop down" that read "Crystal/Carapils" to one which (as for current editions) reads "Caramel/Crystal".
 
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is roasted malts as brown and black malt to be added as "not categorized"?

Yes! The internal algorithm combines "Not Categorized" with these malts "Colors" and then knows how to handle them accordingly with regard to assigning characteristics such as pHDI, Buffering, and Malt Acidity.
 
Yes! The internal algorithm combines "Not Categorized" with these malts "Colors" and then knows how to handle them accordingly with regard to assigning characteristics such as pHDI, Buffering, and Malt Acidity.

I was pondering an analogy here, and if you are familiar with Stellar Evolution (Astronomy), an analogy can be drawn between MME's "Not Categorized" and the Stellar "Main Sequence". It is only those malts/adjuncts/etc... that do not line up along the main sequence that must receive "other than main sequence" definitions whereby MME can assign proper pHDI's, Buffering, and Malt Acidities.
 
If you are experiencing artifacts of "grid lines" within the "Water" sheet/tab for MME 11.30, download it again, as I have applied a fix. This is a minor cosmetic issue only, and I did not assign a new version number to this trivial fix.

Alternately, enter the 'Water' sheet, then turn off grid line viewing while you are within that sheet, and then return to the main sheet and hit "save". The saved version will now no longer exhibit the mildly annoying grid line artifacts.
 
I have been trying to recreate a beer I made in April 2020. Have made it twice since then but both times something was off. I figured it had something to do with switching to lactic acid from phosphoric and using a different malsters munich as I wasn't able to get Weyermann.

Each time I have just downloaded the latest MME and plugged in the recipe not really thinking about the values given.

This time I decided to use phosphoric again and was able to get Weyermann munich. Also able to check the original MME sheet I used (8.3) and compare it to the current (11.3).

Was very surprised to find out the acid additions were vastly different. I use RO water, no sparge water and the MME balanced dark profile for this recipe. The 8.3 version has me adding 13.24ml of phosphoric acid and the 11.3 version says to add 69.54ml.

I know there have been some changes to how you calculate ph but does this seem correct?

Recipe is:
ph - 5.2
2row - 10lb -1.8l
chocolate - 1.4375lb - 350l
munich II - 1lb - 10l
carapils - .75lb - 1.5l
crystal 120 - .375lb - 120l
black patent - .25lb - 500l
 
I know there have been some changes to how you calculate ph but does this seem correct?

Recipe is:
ph - 5.2
2row - 10lb -1.8l
chocolate - 1.4375lb - 350l
munich II - 1lb - 10l
carapils - .75lb - 1.5l
crystal 120 - .375lb - 120l
black patent - .25lb - 500l
In MME version 11.30 as set to it's download defaults I get 48.7 mL of 10% Phosphoric as needed to bring this grist to a target of 5.2 pH within the mash for the case of mashing in DI water. Not 69.54 mL.

And if mashing the same to a target of 5.40 pH, no acid is required.

Thus roughly 50 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid represents a difference in mash pH of only about 0.2 pH points. 10% Phosphoric Acid is very weak.
 
I went into my archives and brought out version 8.30. After entering your grist just as I did above for 11.30, version 8.30 (also in its download default state) instructed me to add 53.9 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid whereby to bring this grist (when mashed in DI water) to a mash pH of 5.20. Almost exactly the same adjustment advice as for version 11.30.
 
I went into my archives and brought out version 8.30. After entering your grist just as I did above for 11.30, version 8.30 (also in its download default state) instructed me to add 53.9 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid whereby to bring this grist (when mashed in DI water) to a mash pH of 5.20. Almost exactly the same adjustment advice as for version 11.30.
I just downloaded 11.40. Am using google sheets. Entered grist above.

Only changes done were to copy the balanced dark profile numbers and paste values into mash ph tab, change mash volume to 7.3gal and change desired mash ph to 5.2. It's telling me to use 69.54ml phosphoric acid. Same as 11.30 for me.

Not sure why we are getting slightly different values on latest but they're close enough. Maybe Google sheets converted xlsx file improperly?

Must have done something wrong on the 8.30 entry to get that 13.24ml.

Thinking I'll use the mistake values so I can rule that out on this attempt at recreating the elusive beer.
 
I always advise that MME works properly only in LibreOffice Calc and certain versions of Excel.

That said, you have never revealed your mash water analyticals, or your mineral additions.
 
Was very surprised to find out the acid additions were vastly different. I use RO water, no sparge water and the MME balanced dark profile for this recipe. The 8.3 version has me adding 13.24ml of phosphoric acid and the 11.3 version says to add 69.54ml.
 
@pers, here is what you should be seeing, given that I now have your water volume and water analyticals:

MME 8.30.pngMME 11.40.png
 
The 11.40 matches exactly. But something is off with 8.30. I'm thinking sheets must have messed something up on conversion.

Capture.PNG

I'm really just trying to recreate what was done here. All attempts after have been unsuccessful so I'm gonna try this and see what happens.
 
Is your 8.30 set to it's download defaults? I.E.:

1) Is the grist buffer multiplier set at 0.70?
2) Is the percent log base 10 mash pH set at 40%?
 
Ah, I see where you have the percent log base 10 mash pH set to 100%. Change it to 40% please.

Confusion over internal use of blended log and linear eventually led me to abandon that math model approach, but as you can see, when the balance is right it isn't far off from 11.30 or 11.40.

Advice: Use 11.40
 
Definitely didn't change those so must have been sheets issue.

Will use 11.40 from now on but gonna try the "wrong" values on this attempt to rule it out for why that beer turned out so good and subsequent attempts haven't.

Thanks
 
It seems that with the upgrading of spreadsheets to newer (later) versions than I used in developing 8.30 this log/linear functionality which in the past made a huge difference and was critical to proper functioning has been rendered corrupted and non-functional. I'm also seeing concerning issues that I never encountered before, post a major LibreOffice upgrade (wherein LibreOffice is merely attempting to keep up with the Microsoft competitions upgrades).

Again, the simple and logical answer is to switch to 11.30 or 11.40. Two years or more of upgrade development, and an entirely different math modeling logic lying at the core (or engine, as I have called it in the past) separate them.

With MME being free and complete, there is no need to stick with a well antiquated version which is no longer supported or apparently even fully functional.
 
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OK, I see now where my 8.30 is actually properly working and giving exactly the results which you see with the "percent log base 10 mash pH" cell set to 100% as seen within your snapshot image, meaning advice to add 13.24 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid for the grist buffer multiplier set to 0.72 (as opposed to the download default of 0.70). At this juncture we are now on precisely the same page. Before this I had forgotten to set the base malt DI_pH selector drop down cell to read "N.A. 2-Row Brewer, 5.55 pH", and I had mistakenly left it reading "Pilsner, 5.80 pH", as can be seen in the 8.30 image within my post #15 above.

But when I switch to the "Percent log base 10 mash pH" cell to read 40% (the download default) instead of 100% MME 8.30 now advises the addition of 35.96 mL of 10% Phosphoric. For version 8.30 this (35.96 mL) is the correct answer, and it is functioning fully properly as intended. There is no version update anomaly as I had mistakenly reported above in my post #20.

If you switch the "% Log Base 10 Mash pH (Balance Linear)" cell from 100% to 40% and do not see advice to add 35.96 mL of 10% Phosphoric as your answer, then it is indeed a spreadsheet issue caused by using an unapproved spreadsheet. 40% is the download default, and 100% is way off for this cell. Adjustments were assumed to be in small increments away from 40% at most, and not 60% off from 40% as you have set yours.

Actually version 8.30 is now 4 years old, and is a thing of the past, albeit that (in correcting myself) it still works, even after I updated to the latest stable LibreOffice, just not nearly as well as for the much newer MME versions 11.30 or 11.40. So again, 8.30 is old news, and switching to 11.40 is advised.
 
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