BeerSmith profile help needed

[rjolin01]

I recently did my first all grain and it's sitting in the fermenter bubbling away. I used BeerSmith to put all ingredients in and such. The only problem I am having is what profiles to use for equipment and mash. I am not up to par with all the all-grain terms yet and plan on learning as I go from just doing/trying different methods.

Here is my current all grain set up:

10gal Home Depot cooler with false bottom
~54q rectangular cooler for MLT
10gal boil kettle
Fly sparge setup (haven't tried batch yet)
Propane burner

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Gnomebrewer]

You should set up your own equipment profile. The equipment 'wizard' in BeerSmith is quite easy to use. You'll need to know a few things though - boiloff rate (a gallon per hour is a good place to start if you're not sure); efficiency (75% is a good place to start if you're not sure, but is highly affected by how much trub you plan to dump); loss going in to fermenter (i.e. how much trub you'll dump) - can be none if it all goes in to your fermenter, up to a gallon or so if you want to keep it out.

The mash profile will depend on your setup. It looks like you are using infusion only? in which case you'll probably start with single temperature infusion. The temperature you choose will depend on what you're brewing. A good start is 'Single infusion, Medium Body, No Mash out'. But full body or light body might be more appropriate depending on what you're brewing. Try a mash out and/or other temperature rests later on when you have the hang of the basics.

With a rectangular cooler, you might find a batch sparge is more efficient and easier to do than a fly-sparge. Unless you have a well-designed false bottom/manifold, they tend to channel liquid.

 

[rjolin01]

With a rectangular cooler, you might find a batch sparge is more efficient and easier to do than a fly-sparge. Unless you have a well-designed false bottom/manifold, they tend to channel liquid.

The rectangular cooler is just to hold the hot water for the sparge. My mash cooler is a round 10 gallon from Home Depot.

Thanks for the info!

 

[kevin58]

Brad from Beersmith has some setup videos but I found these to be easier to follow and understand.

Set up both your equipment and mash profiles and be sure to do so accurately.

Equipment Profile:
https://youtu.be/QmW7pwQP5mQ

Batch Sparge Mash Profile:
https://youtu.be/CZ0TFtMnzxs

BIAB Mash Profile:
https://youtu.be/VKiEjhxo2oo