Beersmith just released the new version

[kh54s10]

Took a little look at the updates. Most you don't have to use if you don't want to. Others make changes easier. For instance if you open a hop and what you have has a different AA level you can change it right there. You don't have to go to the Add Hops tab to change it there then come back to the recipe.

I suggest to download it. Though YMMV.

Maybe I'm confused but couldn't you already do that by double clicking on the ingredient? You can change the name and pretty much all its values after adding it into the recipe. Same thing for malts.
Regardless some of the other features seem like a nice step up. Switching the weight setting from lb to oz and back all the time is a PITA so I love the idea of being able to directly input mixed units without the hassle.

Unless I have missed something for years.... I think that if you double clicked the ingredient and made changes in 2.2 that would change the specs for that ingredient in that recipe only. If you made a new recipe using that ingredient it would be without the correction.

Now you can change the specs to match your ingredients. So when you get your Amarillo 2017 and the AA are 1 percent higher than your 2016 ones you can make the change without opening a the ingredients menu, making the changes there then going back to the recipe.

 

[kh54s10]

And maybe this existed before, but shortcuts <ctrl-H> for adding Hops, <ctrl-G> for Grain, <ctrl-Y> for yeast etc. is very nice way to speed up new recipe entry!

Whoa! that is so 90's.

Are keyboard shortcuts easier than clicking on the hops icon to add hops or the grain icon to add grain?????

I never did learn to use keyboard shortcuts. First you had to remember them, and then I am a lousy typist. So mouse clicking is so much easier. And for me faster.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Unless I have missed something for years.... I think that if you double clicked the ingredient and made changes in 2.2 that would change the specs for that ingredient in that recipe only. If you made a new recipe using that ingredient it would be without the correction.

Now you can change the specs to match your ingredients. So when you get your Amarillo 2017 and the AA are 1 percent higher than your 2016 ones you can make the change without opening a the ingredients menu, making the changes there then going back to the recipe.

I see what you mean now. Does this mean you have to keep the program updated with your stock though so it doesn't go back to the default?

 

[kh54s10]

I see what you mean now. Does this mean you have to keep the program updated with your stock though so it doesn't go back to the default?

I would say yes, but you should have been doing this anyway. Whenever I get specs on ingredients that are different from the downloaded specs I change them in my ingredients list. If I get a new batch and it is different I either have to add it with a unique name or update what is already there.

When I don't know, for instance the AA of my hop, I use the default.

If I do know and edit it, that is now the default.

In the updates, these types of changes should be easier to do.

I still have to look at all the new updates. I imagine some I will not use, others will just be different and others will be better. I don't see anything, yet, that I think I would have liked unchanged.

 

[55x11]

Whoa! that is so 90's.

Are keyboard shortcuts easier than clicking on the hops icon to add hops or the grain icon to add grain?????

I never did learn to use keyboard shortcuts. First you had to remember them, and then I am a lousy typist. So mouse clicking is so much easier. And for me faster.

Whoa! that is so 90's.

Are keyboard shortcuts easier than clicking on the hops icon to add hops or the grain icon to add grain?????

I never did learn to use keyboard shortcuts. First you had to remember them, and then I am a lousy typist. So mouse clicking is so much easier. And for me faster.

Ha! Must be my 90ies mentality (I was a teenager back then) - keyboard is so much faster than the mouse/menu.
It works regardless of where your cursor is. And remembering? H for Hops. Y for Yeast. G for Grain.
Linux over windows. Or better yet - both!

 

[kh54s10]

Ha! Must be my 90ies mentality (I was a teenager back then) - keyboard is so much faster than the mouse/menu.
It works regardless of where your cursor is. And remembering? H for Hops. Y for Yeast. G for Grain.
Linux over windows. Or better yet - both!

Maybe... But for me it would be fn H. backspace, backspace, ctrl j, backspace, :smack: h. continue.

Move the cursor to the icon is far quicker for me.

 

[TorMag]

Updated for me straight from the App. It did all the work.. All my recipes are still there.

 

[jcav]

Nice, I will upgrade later tonight....

 

[brewbama]

Just downloaded and used it for today's brew day with no loss of data. I like the upgrade.

 

[raysmithtx]

I downloaded the new version and installed with no problems and no loss of data. I like the changes.

 

[Bobby_M]

The most important thing for me was the ability to copy/paste in the recipe window. It was one of the most blatant oversights on the previous version. Also on the add window, you can add without closing so adding 5 additions of the same hop is very easy (and if you had to modify the Alphas on the fly, you don't have to keep changing it).

When I have to bang out recipies for customers while they wait, it's a huge speed improvement.

 

[kh54s10]

So far I don't see anything that is not an improvement or something that can be ignored/turned off. Go ahead and download the upgrade.

 

[jcav]

Just reading this thread and realized what a bunch of old farts, set in our ways we are..... Live on the edge and download the damn update....

Ok so you and the others inspired me to go where a lot of us borderline baby boomers/generation X's (old farts) fear to tread. So I took the plunge and I pressed the button. I couldn't believe it. It didn't hurt, it was easy, it had a green update bar that updated as it progressed and actually showed it extracting my recipes and files, pasting them where they belong. It was like a magic button. I was like Whoa, No way....It was fast too. For a brief moment I felt a little less like an old fart and wasn't grumpy at all. For a second or two I could relate to what a computer tech savy millennial must feel like in their day to day life. Thanks to all of you for your posts it gave me confidence to go for it, and thanks BeerSmith for a smooth ride and update! I think I might throw out my tube of Bengay! Cheers to you all

John

 

[mblanks2]

I upgraded the other day and took a look at the mash PH functionality yesterday. It does not seem very accurate which is kind of disappointing. It looks like it only takes into consideration your water (which is good) and then the total weight of the grains. It is on the mash page, and a stand alone tool under Tools >> Mash pH.

If you go to one of your recipes and compare the estimated mash pH with the stand lone tool by just entering the total weight of the grist, the estimated mash pH is the same. So unless I am missing something, it doesn't seem to take into account the color of your beer or the grains.

You have to build a desired water profile and add the appropriate mash volume into the recipe.(Similar to the profiles that are preloaded into Bru'n Water.) Below is a detailed use of the tool.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2016/08/10/using-the-new-brewing-water-and-mash-ph-tools-in-beersmith-2-3/

It works pretty well. I compared this to Bru'n water and found that it was a little different plus it utilizes chalk as an additive which can easily be overcome by deleting the recommended amount of chalk and increasing the calcium chloride to bring the Ca total back up.
The estimated PH on the mash screen is the water profile and grain ONLY. The target PH is what calculates the amount of acid addition to reach the desired PH. The only issue I have with this tool is that I like to add salts to my sparge water and there is apparently no way to accomplish this.
It does however recommend the amount of the acid addition to maintain the sparge water PH below 6.
I will try it on my next brew to see how accurate it is.

 

[tracyk]

Well if only I could download it. It can not make a connection to the server. Will try again at 3:00 in the morning, in between astrophotography shoots.

 

[laredo7mm]

You have to build a desired water profile and add the appropriate mash volume into the recipe.(Similar to the profiles that are preloaded into Bru'n Water.)...

Yeah, I did that and used the water tool to estimate salt additions to match profiles. I even went through and entered in all the profiles from Bru'n Water. Well the yellow, amber, and black for dry, balanced, and full. I saved those as profiles, so now when I add water to the recipe it gives me the required salt additions in the ingredients list that I need to add to my water to hit the numbers. My city water is pretty good, just a bit high on bicarbonate at 149 ppm and low on all the others. My Ca is 31 and all the rest are 13 or less.

I looked at it again today with a couple of my recipes and compared it to Bru'n water and Brewer's Friend. It looks like the estimated mash pH without any acid additions are all pretty close. It is when you start adding acid to drop the pH that I can see some discrepancies.

I am interested in hearing your results on your next brew day. It would be great if BrewSmith is "close enough." Having one program to do it all would be nice. I'll probably go with BrewSmith's numbers on my next brew since I don't have a pH meter anyway, so I have been flying blind already.

 

[Yooper]

Where do we add our mash acid(s)? I see that in some recipes, but I don't see it in "misc" or in another ingredients area.

 

[trav77]

It is when you start adding acid to drop the pH that I can see some discrepancies.

I downloaded the update today as well and definitely noticed some major discrepancies vs. BrunWater for acid addition.

My water is:
Ca = 60
Mg = 19
Na = 16
SO4 = 19
Cl = 25
HCO3 = 165
pH = 7.7

I tried looking at BeerSmith's estimated mash pH and recommended acid additions and they're quite a bit off from BrunWater from what I can tell. For example one of my recent brews... a saison where BrunWater recommends 4.7 mL 88% lactic in the mash (target mash pH = 5.3) and 3.1 mL lactic in the sparge. BeerSmith is recommending 8.8 mL in the mash (to hit the same 5.3) and 4.2 in the sparge.

I typically test pH 15 mins into the mash and BrunWater seems to do a good job of getting me +/- 0.1 pH.

Any ideas where the discrepancy is coming from?

 

[55x11]

Where do we add our mash acid(s)? I see that in some recipes, but I don't see it in "misc" or in another ingredients area.

in a recipe switch from "Design" to "Mash" tab and scroll down to "Mash pH Acid additions".

 

[mblanks2]

in a recipe switch from "Design" to "Mash" tab and scroll down to "Mash pH Acid additions".

This is where you can see what the recommended acid additions are. I don't believe you can actually change the amounts unless you change the Target PH value. Its appears to be a function of the software only.

 

[mblanks2]

So in comparison to Bru'n Water I have input the same recipe in both and came up with the following information.
I created the RO profile for my Base Profile with numbers from Bru'n Water so that we started on a level playing field.

Using the Amber Balanced Profile from Bru'n Water I created this as a profile in Beersmith.
Ca - 50
Mg - 10
Na - 15
SO4 - 75
Cl - 63
HCO3 - 40

With the same mash water amount and eliminating the sparge water addition from Bru'n Water since this is not a possibility of adjustment with salts in Beersmith, I adjusted Bru'n Water to equal values of each mineral as Beersmith recommends.
The total results were for 5.74 gallons of mash water volume:
Bru'n Water Mashing Water Profile:
Ca - 63.1, Mg - 10.4, Na - 15.6, SO4 - 75.5, Cl - 89.2, HCO3 - 36.1
Estimated Mash PH - 5.44
Beersmith -
Ca - 50.9, Mg - 10.5, Na - 15.6, SO4 - 74.9, Cl - 68.4, HCO3 - 35.9
Estimated Mash PH - 5.38

Beersmith wants to add chalk to this grain bill but I removed it and increased the Calcium Chloride to get the Ca concentration to be equal.

With normal Sparge water additions in Bru'n water it asks for additional salts and acid additions. Beersmith only gives the ability of acid additions.

I'll try it on my next batch to see how accurate it is.

 

[Stillraining]

The most important thing for me was the ability to copy/paste in the recipe window. It was one of the most blatant oversights on the previous version. Also on the add window, you can add without closing so adding 5 additions of the same hop is very easy (and if you had to modify the Alphas on the fly, you don't have to keep changing it).

When I have to bang out recipies for customers while they wait, it's a huge speed improvement.

Bobby: can you explain the copy paste function your talking about? where and how are you able to do that? I'm not able to copy and past from one recipe to another.

 

[jcav]

+1, I am interested in how you copy and paste also.....

John

 

[Bobby_M]

In a recipe if you have a cascade hop addition in the list, click on it, cntl+c and cntl+p and you get another one.

 

[jcav]

Sweet, thanks Bobby!

John

 

[Stillraining]

OK..I have to use cntl+D but it does work. Cntl+P goes into print mode for me. I still think choosing grains or hops is harder then it should be. Sure you can now not have the window close on you every time but why not be able to hold down the control key and choose multiple ones all at once? Come on Brad!! Really.

 

[Sleepyemt]

I downloaded the update today as well and definitely noticed some major discrepancies vs. BrunWater for acid addition.



My water is:

Ca = 60

Mg = 19

Na = 16

SO4 = 19

Cl = 25

HCO3 = 165

pH = 7.7



I tried looking at BeerSmith's estimated mash pH and recommended acid additions and they're quite a bit off from BrunWater from what I can tell. For example one of my recent brews... a saison where BrunWater recommends 4.7 mL 88% lactic in the mash (target mash pH = 5.3) and 3.1 mL lactic in the sparge. BeerSmith is recommending 8.8 mL in the mash (to hit the same 5.3) and 4.2 in the sparge.



I typically test pH 15 mins into the mash and BrunWater seems to do a good job of getting me +/- 0.1 pH.



Any ideas where the discrepancy is coming from?

I'm not sure about the discrepancies, but acid malts in beersmith do not change the PH. Brad states best practices would be to measure PH, then adjust from there with acid malt. I've also noticed there is no sparge additions for the water. But I have noticed that the additions seem to line up minus the 2 things noted above. At least on one recipe entered into both beersmith and brunwater

 

[unionrdr]

Here's another interesting tidbit I stumbled on to. My recipes for Irish red look different color-wise between BJCP '08 & '15 guidelines? '15 is a bit lighter?

 

[Oginme]

Here's another interesting tidbit I stumbled on to. My recipes for Irish red look different color-wise between BJCP '08 & '15 guidelines? '15 is a bit lighter?

You are correct. 2008 guidelines have a color range of 9 to 18 SRM, the new 2015 changed to 9 to 14 SRM. Personally, I will continue with my recipe having a color of 16 SRM (15.8 by analysis) because that gives a nice rich reddish hue.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, my original recipe had a deeper reddish-amber color than the newer one with 2015 guidelines.