Beersmith calc problems

[NastyBoyBrew]

Hi everyone this is my first post here on Homebrewtalk and would like to thank anyone that helps in advance for their time.

I have been reading up on the how tos of beersmith for a while and thought I would go ahead and try to enter the numbers for my first beersmith batch. I select the "Pot ( 5 Gal/19 L) - Mini-BIAB" for my equipment and it automatically enters in 10.23 gal for my boil volume and it will not allow me to adjust it. Does this make sense to anyone else? I'm sure I'm missing something simple I just need some help.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

What do you have in your Batch size? The estimated preboil volume cant be edited because thats their estimate, there are other boxes in the vols tab to set what your actual pre and post boil volumes were.

 

[NastyBoyBrew]

I still don't really understand why the automatic calculation for the boil volume would be close to 2X what the pot could possibly hold. My batch size is set at 4 gal, boil off at 2.14 gal and my auto calculation for boil volume is still 8.67

 

[JOE_R]

I get frustrated with it also. I just use Tasty Brew and Beercalculus and I get an estimate of all three. Look at "Total Efficiency" under "Design" and play with the % if you get something that is way off from the other two. I also don't like the hops calculation so I play with those numbers also under "Prefernces>Bitterness> Hops Adjustment" until they are more in line with the other two. I like it because I can store my recipes.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Did you adjust the equipment profile or other numbers? Maybe you typo'd somewhere

This is what my 5 Gal BIAB looks like by default

Shows 6.5 gallons not 8.5...

 

[NastyBoyBrew]

I must have switched some numbers somewhere Fuzz but even if I had your numbers I would still be confused as to how I'm supposed to boil 6.5 gal in a 5 gal pot. Also could you post a pic of the default numbers for the 5 gal pot? I don't think there's a reset anywhere. Thanks so much for the help and the quick responses.

 

[EvilDeadAsh]

Beersmith is telling you those numbers based on the information you have provided in your equipment profile. Unfortunately it isn't smart enough to determine you cant boil more than 5G in your 5G pot - call it a design flaw. The name of the profiles are a bit misleading because Beersmith doesn't actually have anywhere to indicate the size of your boil kettle. The program is telling you, based on the equipment profile, that you would need to boil 8 gallons of wort to get your final volume into the fermentor.

You need to edit the equipment profile to more accurately reflect your equipment. 2.14G of boiloff per hour, for example, is a bit high - Beersmith is just assuming you will start with 8 gallons, boil off 2 gallons of that and left with 6 after the boil.

You may not want to do a full-boil at all. There is an item on the equipment profile screen for "top up water" as well; in other words if you intend to boil 1-2 gallons, then add 2G of top up water to make a full 4G, you need to tell Beersmith.

 

[chickypad]

You may not want to do a full-boil at all. There is an item on the equipment profile screen for "top up water" as well; in other words if you intend to boil 1-2 gallons, then add 2G of top up water to make a full 4G, you need to tell Beersmith.

Also, for partial boil make sure you adjust the top up water under the fermentation section, not the kettle top up. The latter would be if you were doing a partial mash but full boil, and needed to top up the kettle after sparging.

You can view the default settings under Profiles > Equipment.

 

[NastyBoyBrew]

I think I'm getting the hang of it. The top up water is for sure what was throwing me off. Thanks a lot everyone!