Compensatig on Beersmith for expected lower efficiency with "bigger" beers

[olotti]

So lately using Beersmith when I find a recipe I type the recipe in under 75% total efficiency then when the recipe is all enetered I plug in %72 total efficiency as that is what my efficiency has been close to lately, anywhere from 68-72%, then hopefully the recipe adjusts for my lowered total efficiency. I'm assuming this is the way to do it?

Last week brewed a bigger beer at OG 1.073 and my efficiency took a hit I was 4 points low in my preboil gravity, and took in .5 Gal less wort than expected to keep the gravity from being to watered down. Then after a 75 min boil I had to boil down more than I wanted justto get my FG to 1.064 instead of the expected 1.073.

My question is next time I brew a "bigger" beer what do I plug into Beersmith to account for the expected efficiency loss, and the expected increase in grain, so the next time I hit my numbers or I maybe a couple points low but not 9 points low on OG.

 

[Oginme]

Instead of changing the efficiency each time you type in a recipe, you should change your equipment profile to reflect your actual results. I have separate profiles with corresponding efficiency for my higher gravity recipes (above 1.080) versus my standard recipe efficiency. Then go into <options> and make your new equipment profile your standard so that it automatically populates in any new recipes you type in.

 

[olotti]

Instead of changing the efficiency each time you type in a recipe, you should change your equipment profile to reflect your actual results. I have separate profiles with corresponding efficiency for my higher gravity recipes (above 1.080) versus my standard recipe efficiency. Then go into <options> and make your new equipment profile your standard so that it automatically populates in any new recipes you type in.

So are you saying after I brew a batch I should go back into my equipment profile and change it to reflect the results of that particular batch?

I viewed all 7 of my recipes so far and the measured efficiency for all but the last two avgs out to 68%. So should I change my general setup for my equipment to 68% total efficiency, it is now set at 72%

 

[MichaelBrock]

So lately using Beersmith when I find a recipe I type the recipe in under 75% total efficiency then when the recipe is all enetered I plug in %72 total efficiency as that is what my efficiency has been close to lately, anywhere from 68-72%, then hopefully the recipe adjusts for my lowered total efficiency. I'm assuming this is the way to do it?

Make sure that when you enter the recipe, that you have entered the efficiency that the recipe calls for. If you enter every recipe at 75% you are going to be missing the expected numbers badly on many recipes. I have a profile specifically for BYO recipes, for example, which sets the recipe to the BYO standard efficiency and volume.

If you are just changing the efficiency, then the recipe will not adjust. The values for estimated OG, color, bitterness, etc. will change but the recipe will not. What you want to do is scale the recipe. This will cause Beersmith to adjust the recipe to match our expected efficiency (i.e. it will increase the recipe quantities). Oddly, I find that selecting the "Match original gravity, color and bitterness" option seems to screw up the recipe proportions so I don't use it.

 

[olotti]

Make sure that when you enter the recipe, that you have entered the efficiency that the recipe calls for. If you enter every recipe at 75% you are going to be missing the expected numbers badly on many recipes. I have a profile specifically for BYO recipes, for example, which sets the recipe to the BYO standard efficiency and volume.

If you are just changing the efficiency, then the recipe will not adjust. The values for estimated OG, color, bitterness, etc. will change but the recipe will not. What you want to do is scale the recipe. This will cause Beersmith to adjust the recipe to match our expected efficiency (i.e. it will increase the recipe quantities). Oddly, I find that selecting the "Match original gravity, color and bitterness" option seems to screw up the recipe proportions so I don't use it.

I've noticed that when I change the efficiency sometimes the grains amount changes and sometimes it doesn't. I will always enter the recipe with the efficiency given provided it's given then I enter my equipment and it changes to my efficiency and hopefully changes the amounts to meet my efficiency.
I see I'm going to have to set up multiple equipment profiles for higher gravity beers.

 

[brewfun]

Olotti;

You need to set the Brewhouse Efficiency to match your results. If 68% is your average, use it. Having multiple equipment profiles to match circumstances is one of the benefits of using BeerSmith. I have profiles for "regular" beers and for larger kettle hop loss and for more dry hop loss.

I've noticed that when I change the efficiency sometimes the grains amount changes and sometimes it doesn't.

I hope it doesn't. When you just add to the efficiency, it may show more gravity or color coming out of the total recipe, but not the amounts of individual ingredients.

I will always enter the recipe with the efficiency given provided it's given then I enter my equipment and it changes to my efficiency and hopefully changes the amounts to meet my efficiency.

Again, nope. The tool for this is "Scale Recipe." Look for a small and large carboy icon. The way it works is you enter the recipe and equipment as the original brewer had for specs.

Then, click the scale recipe icon. You'll get a popup window with equipment profiles and some other choices available. In the top field, select your equipment profile.

Before you click "OK" you have a few more choices available. It defaults to calculating boil volume and matching the specs from the original recipe. Since not all brewers need or want to do these things, you can just click or unclick the boxes to your preference.

The Match Gravity, Color & Bitterness option will often adjust certain ingredients to match the spec. Like a little more or less dark malts to match color, or maybe a little more or less bittering hop to match IBU. If you uncheck this box, the recipe will simply scale and you may notice the target specs change a little.

One extra tip: You can just double click on the slider bars below the ingredient list and you'll have the option to fine tune the spec. BeerSmith will adjust the ingredients involved up to their limit. Meaning, if you want to go from amber to brown, BeerSmith may tell you that the ingredients you have won't go that far.