Need help with BrewSmith and my first original recipe...

[lukadog]

Hello fellow brewers! I'm just now getting around to playing with BeerSmith and I have so many questions that I will save for another time. But for now, I'm trying to create my own "original" recipe. I'm trying to get somewhere in the lines of an IIPA. Doesn't have to be exact but close to the standards, because I'm trying to make something a little different. My recipe is attached, but I have some questions. I'm still trying to tweek my equipment configurations on BS. My estimated ABV and Final ABV are very different. What would cause this? I know this is a noob question that you might hear alot but have done alot of searching with no joy. So tell me what you think about the recipe and I'm open to any thoughts! Thanks everyone! NOTE: I don't know how to upload the recipe from BS so I'll type it out;

Grain:
16lb 2row
1.5 Cara-pils
8oz Crystal 80L
4oz Special B
Hops:
2oz Magnum 60min
1oz Centennial 30min
1oz Cascade 15
1oz Cascade FO
1oz Centennial Dryhop 7days
1oz Cascade Dryhop 7 days
Yeast:
WLP007
EST OG 1.090
EST ABV 8.8%
EST Pre-Boil 1.079
EST FG 1.024
Then it says EST ABV will be 4.7%?
Is it a bad recipe or my equipment setup leading to much lower numbers than is what is estimated? I would like to do a bigger beer, but don't see how the numbers drop to half? I'm still figuring all this out, so any help would be much appreciated!

 

[skeezerpleezer]

What #s do you have in the Actual OG and Actual FG fields? Those are #s you should put in after brewing and it will give you your Final ABV.

For the recipe, personally I would double the last 2 boil additions (15&0), and move the 30 min addition to 5 minutes. You should get plenty of bitterness from the magnum.

I would also consider mashing low around 150, and adding a pound or so of sugar in place of a pound if 2row to help dry it out a bit. Personally, I like some dark crystal malts Luke you have, I am sure others will disagree.

If new to your equipment or all grain, don't plan for the same efficiency with that much grain. I usually get 80% or so efficiency with normal beers, but lose about 10% when I get over 17 lbs+ grain in the tun.

Lastly, make a big yeast starter.

 

[lukadog]

Thank you for your input! First, double my last two additions of hops to 2oz a piece? Then 30 min Centennial to 5 min, got it. Should I remove a lb or two of 2row then just add some sugar to the boil? I'm comfortable with my equipment, and AG, but I'm still learning about the significance in mash temps and efficiency. All the beers I make turn out fantastic, so I''m not focused too much on perfection at this time, but this recipe I tried to conjure up is the style I like! Hopefully it is plausible. I have read with this much grain I will need to add sugar. Plain sugar? Again thanks for the help, I'm still learning the in-depth parts of things!

 

[skeezerpleezer]

The extra hops will boost your flavor and aroma, which is a big part of imperial ipas. It will also keep that flavor and aroma from fading as quickly. Hops are cheap (especially if buying from somewhere like farmhousebrewingsupply.com-cascade and centennial are under $1 an oz). It is well worth the couple extra bucks, especially in a big beer.

I wont get all scientific with the mash, because I can't. But in simple terms, higher mash temps make less fermentable wort. Less fermentable wort = higher FG, sweeter, more body, etc. A normal mash temp for my regular ipas is 152-154, 150-152 for imperial. For something with that much grain, you would end with a higher FG anyway, so to try to reduce that and avoid a cloyingly sweet beer, you can mash lower. Some beers that are intended to end really dry, say a 1.008 saison, may be mashed around 147 to get there.

The sugar replacement (table sugar is fine) is 100% fermentable, so will not increase the FG like grain would, but will give you a bump in ABV. I have read that you shouldn't go over 10% on an american style beer. I usually add the sugar in the last 15 minutes when I toss in my wort chiller.

 

[Sithdad]

Your EST abv and actual ABV are subject to how you mashed & brewed as well as your yeast. Yeast have an average range of attenuation. For example, WLP007 typically attenuates (eats) 70-80% of the sugar. The lower your mash temp the more the yeast will attenuate. The higher the mash temp the less it attenuates. If you don't oxygenate your wort the yeast won't attenuate properly. Details like these will contribute to your final gravity (which helps determine abv).

Also, Beersmith, I've noticed, likes to add conservative numbers when it estimates OG and FG so you could be way off from the estimated but still be within the guidelines for the style. As long as it's what you were looking for don't worry about the estimates.

Oh, and to copy a recipe from Beersmith just select the recipe and in the preview window below your list of recipes select the text option. Then just highlight and copy (Ctrl-C or right-click and select copy). Then just paste (Ctrl-V or right-click, select paste) wherever you want to put the recipe.

 

[luke2080]

I haven't seen BeerSmith's estimates of OG and FG way off. If you enter your expected system efficiency, hit that number, and have grains with a similar diastic power to what BeerSmith has for that grain, it should be dead on for OG. FG can be a bit off due to yeast attenuation and mash temps. I noticed it doesn't adjust the FG based on your Mash Temp, but it will adjust if you select between light, medium, or full body in the mash templates, then adjust your temps. Then it is usually close, within a point or two for me anyway.

But for the OPs question, (which lists above expected ABV 8.8, then expected ABV 4.7. I believe that was meant to read Final ABV 4.7, of which BeerSmith typed in before the actual brew day and actual Final ABV) - a big piece in beersmith is having the right water/wort/beer volumes in all of the right places. On the main screen on the top, you should have the input for the expected wort volume, post boil. If you have 5.5, but only bottle 5 G into your carboy due to leaving some behind...you still had 5.5G post boil/chilling.

There is the mash menu, and the fermentation menu. Be sure all of those volumes are what you expect. If one of them had 10G in a field, it will screw it up. I've had to chase this a few times, when it predicts my efficiency will be 38% or something.

 

[lukadog]

Thanks for all the help everyone. This will be my first starter that I'm going to make for this recipe. Will a 2L starter be sufficient?

Mrmalty.com is telling me I need 3 WLP vials in a 2.02 starter. This sound right?

 

[luke2080]

with "intermittent" shaking, you would only need 2 packets in 1.36L - based on Mr.Malty calculator. Assuming the yeast was produced in the past month. Thats what I would do, just give it plenty of swirls as you walk by it.