I just want to make sure I'm understanding brewsmith recipe creation correctly...

[tweakerlime]

I want to break away from using ingredient kits, and have heard good things about this software. I've been monkeying around with the trial version of the software trying to see if I can whip up my own simple extract recipe. After adding all the ingredients to the recipe (in the software), I checked to see if the OG, FG, bitterness, and ABV levels fall within the range given by the software for a typical beer of my selected style. If these metrics do indeed fall within the appropriate ranges given, can I expect the brew to turn out fairly decent? Are there some unwritten guidelines I should consider (pertaining to ingredients) that the software does not account for?

 

[BigB]

Good question. But unfortunately, there is no guarantee by falling within the guidelines for a particular beer, that you will have a good beer. The program uses numerical values based on the potential SG of the grains, the average attenuation of the yeast, and the AA%/boil time for the hops. You could theoretically make a stout fall within the guidelines by using 100% Black Patent malt, with Belgian yeast, and say Citra hops... But I sincerely doubt it would be any good at all.

There are a couple of great resources for designing recipes. Start with How to Brew. It is available for free online www.howtobrew.com Also, Designing Great Beers (Randy Mosher - I think). Finally, nothing beats experience.... so IMHO.. EXPERIMENT and Have fun even if the first few beers aren't the greatest.

EDIT: One other thing... check out the recipe database (top of page) and you will get a good feel for the typical ingredients in each style and you will see how people experiment with changes.

 

[Homercidal]

Beersmith can help you target a style by giving the projected gravity, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room enough to mess it up.

BigB gives good advice. Read Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Z. or Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels, or maybe radical brewing by Randy Mosher. And that's in addition to the classics How to Brew and Joy of Homebrewing.

I like Beersmith because I can formulate a recipe and get an approximate gravity and IBU measurement, but I usually fire it up to adjust for my particular efficiency AFTER I find what I think is a decent starting recipe.