Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 10.90

[Silver_Is_Money]

Try running MME within a different brand of (or year of) spreadsheet. What are your spreadsheet details/vitals?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Hi there. I am trying out Mash Made Easy v.11 for an Imperial Stout. I cannot see the Estimated Batch Colour EBC of the beer, due to the fact that the EBC box is completely black.

Is there anything I can do about it? Thanks.

I'd like to reach out to others here for assistance whereby to ask if the final batch color cell is doing both of these two things listed below, and to also ask what type/version of operating system you are running, and which type/version of spreadsheet you are using:
1) Is the Estimated Batch Color cell reflecting a ballpark representation of finished beer color?
2) Within the same cell is the numerical value of this colors SRM or EBC visible?

 

[thehaze]

Windows 10 Home 21H1 / OS build 19043.1348
Microsoft Excel 2102 for Microsoft 365 MSO ( 16.0.13801.21002 ) 64-bit

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Well that's not supposed to happen! Would you consider running it within LibreOffice 7? I'm currently developing and building MME with LibreOffice 7.2.2.

 

[tracer bullet]

Greetings @Silver_Is_Money . I've been using another spreadsheet for what feels like forever, but it's time to explore new options. It looks like MME 11.00 is the current version but this was the last related post I could find and so it felt like an appropriate place to ask setup questions. I'm guessing if I have them, someone else might as well.

On the initial entry of my water's profile, I'd like to ask about the alkalinity input. I've got a Ward's lab report. I've entered all of my other numbers (Calcium, Magnesium, etc.) and am unsure on the alkalinity entry. My report lists Bicarbonate HCO3 as 45ppm, and Total Alkalinity CaCO3 as 37. I noticed under the Sparge H20 adjustment that the CaCO3 measurement is to be used, and so I'm thinking that would be correct on the Water tab as well. But I get a flag for a bad check. If I enter the HCO3 value of 45 into the water page, it becomes a good check. Could you clarify which one to use there?

And just to be 100% sure, for using the Ward's test results I'd multiply the Sulfate SO4-S result by 3 to obtain PPM of sulfate, and the Nitrate NO3-N result by 4 to obtain PPM of nitrate?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Greetings @Silver_Is_Money . I've been using another spreadsheet for what feels like forever, but it's time to explore new options. It looks like MME 11.00 is the current version but this was the last related post I could find and so it felt like an appropriate place to ask setup questions. I'm guessing if I have them, someone else might as well.

On the initial entry of my water's profile, I'd like to ask about the alkalinity input. I've got a Ward's lab report. I've entered all of my other numbers (Calcium, Magnesium, etc.) and am unsure on the alkalinity entry. My report lists Bicarbonate HCO3 as 45ppm, and Total Alkalinity CaCO3 as 37. I noticed under the Sparge H20 adjustment that the CaCO3 measurement is to be used, and so I'm thinking that would be correct on the Water tab as well. But I get a flag for a bad check. If I enter the HCO3 value of 45 into the water page, it becomes a good check. Could you clarify which one to use there?

And just to be 100% sure, for using the Ward's test results I'd multiply the Sulfate SO4-S result by 3 to obtain PPM of sulfate, and the Nitrate NO3-N result by 4 to obtain PPM of nitrate?

Thank you in advance.

1) MME's Water Sheet/Tab uses Alkalinity as CaCO3 in ppm (mg/L). On the "Water" sheet you will see a Bicarbonate to Alkalinity calculator, which is for use if your water analyticals contain Bicarbonate but do not contain Alkalinity. 37 is the correct entry in your case.

2) For SO4-S multiply by 3 to obtain the ppm SO4 value for entry onto the 'Water' sheet. This is a Ward Labs problem issue, and not a problem issue with MME.

3) For NO3-N multiply by 4.43 to obtain the correct NO3 value for entry onto the 'Water' sheet. This is a Ward Labs problem issue, and not a problem issue with MME.

4) For water to be "real" it must be charge neutral. mEq/L Cations must equal mEq/L Anions.

5) Water Analyticals are unfortunately never perfect. If you are getting a 'Bad Check' it is assuredly not the waters fault, and it is most likely a flaw in the Analytical report values somewhere. If your entries are correct and you are still getting a bad check you can either ask for a redo of the analyticals, or just ignore the Bad Check and move forward. On your Ward Labs report near the top you will see 'Cations, Anions, meL'. If the analyticals you received were 'perfect' these two values would be identical. Consider this Cations/Anions balance discrepancy to be an indicator of how well Ward Labs did their job. MME is telling you how well Ward Labs did their job, but within their very own report they are telling you the exact same thing with regard to how well they did while analyzing your water. I do not know if Ward Labs actually considers that they have gotten a bad check or not via looking at their own reports. If they do, and they consider the water to "Pass" (or have a good check, whereas MME states "Bad Check") then this means their acceptability criteria are more lax than those I built into MME.

6) Bonus info: If you like to fantasize as to various dreamland "Water Profiles", you can tell if they are real enough such as to be actually capable of being made or not by whether or not they get a "Good Check".

7) MME version 11.00 is the current version.

 

[tracer bullet]

Thank you very much! I'll learn the program some before my next brew and will plan to use it.

Thanks again!

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

@tracer bullet, if it isn't too much trouble for you, what are the mEq/L Cation and Anion values as seen on your Ward Labs report?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I'll show you mine, it almost matches but still had a bad check , your sheet has 3.71/3.36

pH 8.2
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 206
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.34
Cations / Anions, me/L 3.7 / 3.4
ppm
Sodium, Na 5
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 35.9
Magnesium, Mg 20
Total Hardness, CaCO3 173
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 5
Chloride, Cl 3
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 181
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 151
Total Phosphorus, P < 0.01
Total Iron, Fe 0.02

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

A Cation/Anion mEq/L balance discrepancy of roughly 9% is simply not a "Good Check" in my book. YMMV

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

A Cation/Anion mEq/L balance discrepancy of roughly 9% is simply not a "Good Check" in my book. YMMV

I'm guessing they just round but what does a good or bad check mean to me

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'm guessing they just round but what does a good or bad check mean to me

That is explained above. Real water has net zero charge imbalance. The percentage of imbalance is primarily a reflection of analytical accuracy (or inaccuracy). Secondarily it may be a reflection of a failure to take certain ions into consideration. In a nutshell it means your analyticals "may" be in error to the 'overall' tune of 9%. So don't take them as gospel truth.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Some charge balance info can be found here: Charge-Balance Error (CBE)

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

also your bicarbonate calculator doesn't match the report

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Lightning is an example of charge imbalance.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

also your bicarbonate calculator doesn't match the report

About 1.7% difference. Another analytical discrepancy, though much more tolerable than 9%. With Ward Labs being within 1.7% here, is there a point you are trying to make?

 

[tracer bullet]

@tracer bullet, if it isn't too much trouble for you, what are the mEq/L Cation and Anion values as seen on your Ward Labs report?

I was referring to the earlier answers this morning and only just now saw your question.

Ward shows 2.6 / 2.5

I'm sure there's some rounding off involved.