Beer Smith and fermentation

[kansasbrew]

I just bought BS and was playing around with it. I assumed that if I chose a particular yeast it would automatically adjust the fermentation temp and time accordingly. Do you have to do that yourself manually? If so, wouldn't that be a good feature for them to add? Maybe I am doing something wrong

 

[beerthirty]

No you are doing nothing wrong. Yes you need to set these items manually. Remeber that temp changes the profile of the beer(warmer, more estery- cooler, cleaner. Another thing that BS does not do And I havent figured out a way to change it is attenuation. You can change yeasts on the same recipe yet FG remains the same with any yeast. So if you are a stickler for hitting your numbers you need to calculate your FG manually and jot down what it should be in the recipe notes. As far as I know none of the brewing software figures in different yeasts attenuation.

 

[mrfocus]

No it will also not change your FG estimate based on the yeast's attenuation.

 

[kansasbrew]

Thanks. I guess I better be careful to make sure I have the right temp based on what I know about the yeast. Maybe the developers could look into that one.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Maybe the developers could look into that one.

No. It's all in the notes about the yeast before you select it.

Yeast have a range of temps and not any one temp is right for every beer or every brewer.

The only thing the fermentation section is good for is notes and the calendar.

 

[ajf]

No it will also not change your FG estimate based on the yeast's attenuation.

My copy does. If I change WLP002 to 1028, the estimated FG drops from 1.020 to 1.015. However, I don't pay any attention to it. If I mash at 158 instead of 150, the estimated FG doesn't change. If I replace my pale malt with all crystal to achieve the same OG yuck! the estimated FG doesn't change.

-a.

 

[Junkaboy]

No it will also not change your FG estimate based on the yeast's attenuation.

Mine does change estimated FG based on yeast choice.


What BS doesnt do is change estimated FG based on mash profile. It will give you the same estimated FG no matter whats your mash temp / how long it lasts.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Mine does change estimated FG based on yeast choice.


What BS doesnt do is change estimated FG based on mash profile. It will give you the same estimated FG no matter whats your mash temp / how long it lasts.

Because there is no way to calculate fermentability of a wort period. Irregardless of mash temp. It can't even be guesstimated.

It's just not possible to calculate the percentages of the various sugars possible. Lots of tests have been done to try to find a correlation for estimates but they vary way too much based on grains, malting procedures, kilning, age, etc....