Preparing for first AG batch...what should I know?

[wilserbrewer]

In Beersmith it says to batch sparge in 2 steps, first with .4 gal of water, then with 1.94 gal. !

In the end, the purpose is to rinse the grains of the sugar that has been created in the mash. As long as your total volume is correct (i.e. don't sparge with more water than you need) then you can't really do it wrong.
!

To this effect, I would suggest simply measuring how much more wort you need after completing the first sparge, and this amount will be your second sparge, basicly you are sparging to reach pre boil volume, simply put

 

[Rhuarc]

So I ended up sparging with too much water. Lol... I was supposed to have a preboil volume of 3.6g instead I ended up with 4.3g. My preboil gravity was supposed to be 1.057 instead it is 1.040. I don't want to add any DME, can I do a longer boil to increase my OG or should I just be ok with the fact that this is going to be a weaker beer than I had planned? Any help in the next 30 minutes would be great as that is when the boil should be finished.

I will post up details of my process and questions I have later.

Thanks all!

 

[Rhuarc]

Also, you are doing far more than most do for their first all grain batch. Its going to turn out great. Do worry to much.

Thank you. I tend to take this to the nth degree, sometimes making it more difficult for myself than it needs to be.

 

[poislb]

What was your grain bill? when i do 3 gallon batches i always do 4.25-4.5 gallons preboil. If your doing a 3 gallon batch and ya only wanted 3.6 preboil you would probably end up with 2.5 after boil and 2 gallon into the fermentor. I think your right on the money with the preboil volume, if your og is low its probably cause of efficancy or low grain bill. Maybe add more grain next batch. Its all a tweeking process, Cheers!!

 

[Rhuarc]

What was your grain bill? when i do 3 gallon batches i always do 4.25-4.5 gallons preboil. If your doing a 3 gallon batch and ya only wanted 3.6 preboil you would probably end up with 2.5 after boil and 2 gallon into the fermentor. I think your right on the money with the preboil volume, if your og is low its probably cause of efficancy or low grain bill. Maybe add more grain next batch. Its all a tweeking process, Cheers!!

I will post up all the details for critique later tonight after I am done. I was going off of suggested preboil volumes using Beersmith.

 

[poislb]

If you already added hops its only going to increase your bitterness and really throw off the balance of the beer. When I do a 90 min boil I let it boil for the first 30 min, then at my 60 min mark I add my first hop addition. If you already added your bittering hops, boiling it longer will only make it more bitter. Just do as planned and see how she ends up, took me 3 batches to dial in. No worries, have a brew

 

[Rhuarc]

So my first AG batch is in the books. I want to post a few of the lessons I have learned, as well as ask a few questions regarding how BeerSmith works. I really want to utilize it to its fullest, so I'm hoping someone can help explain all of the numbers.

1) My cooler leaks.
2) My cooler has A LOT of dead space (1.2g)
3) AG is a lot of fun!
4) AG smells good!
5) Don't airlock a starter, use foil instead
6) Have a measuring stick to easily measure water volumes for psarging
7) Holding a steady temp is not that easy.

Now to my questions. I have included screenshots of all the BeerSmith screens as well as the bsmx file. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14880066/AG_Beersmith.zip

Recipe
It has a place for me to put in Tot Efficiency. Isn't that calculated instead?

Mash Details
I put in my Tun Deadspace of 1.2g as I measured it, but my Meas Pre Boil Vol came out .36g more than Est. Any ideas why this would be? I used all the correctly measured water valumes that it specified for Mash and Sparge.

Is the Measured Mash Eff. what I actually got? So if I only got 61.3, but the recipe is based on 81.6 does that mean I need to change another number somewhere so it will change my grain bill and hops schedule accordingly?

As you can see my Pre Boil gravity was way below estimated.

Fermentation
Things here were similar to the other screens, again my OG is 1.052, 17 points below what it was supposed to be.

Water Volumes
This is the screen I am most confused about. I think I understand everything under Mash
Under Boil and Fermentation I put in my Meas Pre Boil Vol, but it doesn't change anything. My Est Pre-Boil Vol still shows low. If I deselect the Calc Boil Vol it lets me enter that number, but is that how it is supposed to work?

Then what numbers do I put down under Fermentation/Bottling?


I know I have a lot of questions about this, but please stick with me! This is one of many things I love about this hobby is how detailed I can get. I know this is my first AG batch, but I really want to learn and understand everything about this, especially using the program to calculate all of this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Reelale]

Now to my questions. I have included screenshots of all the BeerSmith screens as well as the bsmx file. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14880066/AG_Beersmith.zip

Recipe
It has a place for me to put in Tot Efficiency. Isn't that calculated instead?

It's a fillable field. You can see your gravities change when you change that value.

Mash Details
I put in my Tun Deadspace of 1.2g as I measured it, but my Meas Pre Boil Vol came out .36g more than Est. Any ideas why this would be? I used all the correctly measured water valumes that it specified for Mash and Sparge.

Check the "Adjust Mash Volume for deadspace" option. It's unchecked in the screenshot. The only other factor would be the grain absorption.

Is the Measured Mash Eff. what I actually got? So if I only got 61.3, but the recipe is based on 81.6 does that mean I need to change another number somewhere so it will change my grain bill and hops schedule accordingly?

Yes. I think checking that deadspace box will bring this in line too. Your gravities were off because you had too much volume. And possibly due to your initial efficiency value. It takes a little time to dial-in your system and efficiencies. The default value is just a starting point. Try that same recipe and change the value to, say, 65%. Your estimated gravities should change.

As you can see my Pre Boil gravity was way below estimated.

Fermentation
Things here were similar to the other screens, again my OG is 1.052, 17 points below what it was supposed to be.

Water Volumes
This is the screen I am most confused about. I think I understand everything under Mash
Under Boil and Fermentation I put in my Meas Pre Boil Vol, but it doesn't change anything. My Est Pre-Boil Vol still shows low. If I deselect the Calc Boil Vol it lets me enter that number, but is that how it is supposed to work?

Then what numbers do I put down under Fermentation/Bottling?

Put your actual numbers here, it's what defines your actual efficiency.

I'm still using Beersmith 1.4, so it's a little different. All of the differences between estimated/measured derive from the efficiency value and subsequently feed your overall brewhouse efficiency for that batch. The estimated values for gravities and volumes are derived from your efficiency value, constants (such as grain absorption), and user-defined variables such as boil off rate, dead-space, duration of boil, etc.

I know I have a lot of questions about this, but please stick with me! This is one of many things I love about this hobby is how detailed I can get. I know this is my first AG batch, but I really want to learn and understand everything about this, especially using the program to calculate all of this.

Thanks in advance!

It'll take a couple of brews to dial in your values, but it will. Good luck.

 

[Rhuarc]

Thanks for the tips!

The efficiency thing seems wierd to me. It's like I have to calculate my efficiency from theis batch, then use that efficiency number on my next batch. Then if I get better efficiency I would have a stronger brew, which I would need to account for on my next batch...is this correct?

What is the difference between Tot Efficiency and Mash Eff? When people say they are getting X efficiency which are they referring to?

EDIT: Woot! Post 100!!

 

[forstmeister]

Your total eff. at the top of the recipe is a value you set when designing the recipe so you know how much fermentables to add. After you enter the OG and FG for the beer, it calculates the actual eff. at the bottom right (on Beersmith 2.0- I am not sure about the layout of the older versions). It will take a few brews for you to dial in your efficiency, but once you do things get much easier.

One thing that may make it easier to design recipes since Beersmith likes to default to 5 gal increments, is design for 5 gallons and then use the scale function to scale it down to your desired volume. That way if you upgrade to a larger kettle you will still have the same recipe as before and can use it again without having to do the grain bill over.

 

[Reelale]

Thanks for the tips!

The efficiency thing seems wierd to me. It's like I have to calculate my efficiency from theis batch, then use that efficiency number on my next batch. Then if I get better efficiency I would have a stronger brew, which I would need to account for on my next batch...is this correct?

What is the difference between Tot Efficiency and Mash Eff? When people say they are getting X efficiency which are they referring to?

EDIT: Woot! Post 100!!

That's just it. Unless you change equipment, your crush, or process, your efficiency will be pretty much the same across the board. You can then use that efficiency in Beersmith to formulate recipes or to duplicate recipes' target gravity simply by changing the amount of the grains in the mash. Play around with that screen. Change the efficiency number and you'll see the corresponding change in estimated gravity. The same for keeping the efficiency constant, and changing the grist amounts.

The difference between Total Efficiency (Brewhouse Efficiency in ver. 1.4) and Mash Efficiency (Efficiency into the Boiler in ver 1.4) as I see it, is that mash efficiency is simply how much sugar you leave behind in the grain and/or dead space. Total efficiency includes all losses (BK deadspace (if any), cooling loss, pump/lines/chilller, trub loss, etc.) and includes the volume and OG of what actually makes it into the fermenter. As for what people are reporting, I'm not sure. I get ~62% Brewhouse Efficiency. My mash efficiency is usually tad higher. Again, this is for the earlier version of Beersmith, there should be a better definition in the Help Section of the Efficiency sub-screen.

 

[Rhuarc]

OK, I think I get it...if I plug in my actual efficiency from this batch I can then adjust my grain bill as necessary to hit the gravity I want for my next batch based off of the efficiency that BeerSmith calculated from my numbers this batch.