Beersmith - I have tried to register to use the forum

[beerthirty]

I have struggled through 15 days of my free trial, but I am learning it, slowly. I haven't been able to get much help from the beersmith website. I have tried to register to use the forum and it was never activated, and have tried to get it reactivated. do you have to have the paid version in order to post a question? I would rather ask a question on the forum then spend my brewing time trying to figure out 1 question just to have the answer pose 2 more questions. thanks

 

[eriktlupus]

ask your qwuestion here someone will be able to answer it for you

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

So, ask your question already!

 

[Bokonon]

I have struggled through 15 days of my free trial, but I am learning it, slowly. I haven't been able to get much help from the beersmith website. I have tried to register to use the forum and it was never activated, and have tried to get it reactivated. do you have to have the paid version in order to post a question? I would rather ask a question on the forum then spend my brewing time trying to figure out 1 question just to have the answer pose 2 more questions. thanks

I suspect the activation on that forum is like most forums where they send you an activation email, maybe it got caught by a spam filter or maybe your using a web based email service that isn't allowed to be used.

If you ask your question here someone might be able to help you.

 

[Revvy]

You don't have to struggle....The creator of Beersmith is a forum member.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/member.php?u=4658

He answers most questions on the thread, and has a blog here as well/

 

[ohiobrewtus]

You don't have to struggle....The creator of Beersmith is a forum member.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/member.php?u=4658

He answers most questions on the thread, and has a blog here as well/

Yup, Brad will probably be happy to help you out when he has a chance.

 

[beerthirty]

1st question- Do you have to be a paid member to register on their forum?
2nd question- how do you get double sparge to show on the brewsheet? It seems to only calculate for single sparge and I haventfound how to show double sparge. On the last batch I just split what it showed for single sparge but I would like it to display the double.
3rd question- I'm sure I'm just entering my info incorrectly, the water amounts,water to grain ratio or temps dont stay constant, they revert back to the default, when I close the mash details. Here in AZ our air and water temps are fairly constant and way above the defaults so I would like to set up an AZ summer profile as a option, but cant seem to make it stick. (several times during entering data I found that the grist ratio was under the standard 1.25quarts/lb, which of course threw off temps and sparge amounts)
I fell asleep last night after playing with it for a couple hours and think I got the brewsheet complete for todays brew except for the double sparge issue. but had to manually enter the info several times to get it correct.(one entry would change a previous correct entry) Is there an order to enter data so future entries don't change previous ones? Maybe I was too tired last night, but it seemed that I was hopping from one spot to another and back to finally get most info correct. Before I started using the program I did enter an equipment profile that remains ok. I put off today's brew so I can recheck all equipment entries and volumes, as well as relabel my mlt and hlt volumes due to current brew spot not being level and throwing off current volume labels on my tuns.

 

[BeerSmith]

Question 1 - Nope- the registration on the forum is free. If you did not receive your registration email most likely it was caught in a spam filter somewhere. Send me an email and I can manually enable the account.

Question 2 - I'm assuming you are talking about batch sparge here? You can select any of the batch sparge profiles and you should get two batch sparge steps for most equipment configurations unless you have a very large or very small mash tun.

Question 3 - The best place to create a custom mash profile is in the mash profile database. Click on "Mash Profiles" under the View menu, then duplicate one of the profiles there and edit it to match your desired step temperatures and other details. You can then use this profile within any recipe by choosing it.

The same is true of equipment profiles - you can create a custom one and use it in your recipes.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[jds]

To follow on to Brad's post (if it's permitted, being I'm posting after the author), you need to click the Details button next to the mash profile, and ensure the "Sparge using equal size batches" option is selected.

 

[Yooper]

yes, click that box that says "sparge using equal size batches" and I changed my other option on the top to "sparge using 50% of the mash tun volume", I think.

 

[beerthirty]

Beersmith- #1 I will try the forum registration again and if it doesn't work I will email you.
#2 As for double sparge I have clicked single infusion full body batch sparge for this stout recipe and clicked sparge with equal volumes, but it doesn't give seperate sparges on the brewsheet. I'm working with 10 gallon batch with 15 gallon MLT, HLT, and boil kettle.
#3 I have tried this and it only seems to save a portion of it. example, the grain amount always resets to 10 lbs, the water temps always reset to 68* and the grist ratio seems to reset to what ever it wants. Is it possible that while learning to use the program and changing settings I screwed up the inner workings of the program? or are theses figures meant to revert to defaults for each brew session? I wouldn't say I'm the brightest crayon in the box, but never considered myself to be pc- illiterate. I'm sure either I'm missing something or screwed it all up while learning this much.
#4 when I buy I would like to start from a fresh slate. can a simple remove program from the control panel remove all traces so it can be reinstalled without the changes I made during my learning curve?

 

[BeerSmith]

Hi!
#1 - I activated your account manually - you should be able to log in now
#2 - Your equipment (15 gal tun, 5 gal batch) likely fits into a single batch sparge. You can force it into a two step sparge by using less of the mash tun (Batch sparge using < 100% of the tun under the mash profile).
#3 - The mash profile is based on a sample of 10lb. When you apply it to the actual recipe (by choosing it) it gets scaled appropriately to the recipe you are brewing. You can adjust the water to grain ratio by editing each step as appropriate. For now, I would recommend using one of the standard mash profiles until you get a feel for the program.
#4 - You can remove the program - just uninstall it and then delete the BeerSmith directory under "Program Files" on your C drive. This will remove all of the options.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[beerthirty]

thanks Brad I have access to the forum now. I will try the 100% option. I dont remember it scaling but take your word on it and will check it out. the only reason I want to uninstall before purchase is to remove screw ups I might have made to existing profiles. thanks again and so far I like the program
miss read the >100%, got it showing multiple sparge now.

 

[jds]

yes, click that box that says "sparge using equal size batches" and I changed my other option on the top to "sparge using 50% of the mash tun volume", I think.

That makes sense. For most beers, I use a 5 gallon cooler for mashing, hence the "use 90% of the mash tun volume" option. I would assume similar results would occur if you were mashing in a 10 gallon cooler at 50% volume for batch sparges, or a converted Sanke at 33% of the tun volume.

Note: I haven't tried this yet, since my "convert my other Sanke to a mash tun" project seems to have fallen on the back burner. Sometimes I wish I were an insomniac, just to get another 5 or 6 hours in my day...