Should I trust Beer Tools Pro

[hfd73]

So I'm ready for my first AG 5gal batch. I have all my equip, gone through the calculations for water and temp using beer tools pro. I've been doing extract and partial grain for about 2 years and I'm ready to "create" my own beer. I am going to buy some grain in bulk(50lbs) i am thinking about getting 50lbs of Domestic 2-row, 50lbs of Maris Otter 2-row to use as base malts and then just buy small quantities of specialty grains as I need them.

Since this is my first AG, I'm still not 100% sure of how to start creating. My first impulse is to just do it and see how it turns out. BeerTools helps out a lot, but i'm still a little skeptical about the accuracy of the program. I want to do a pale ale and here is my plan...
4.5lbs 2-row
5 lbs Maris Otter pale
1 lb Canadian Honey Malt (just for kicks)
1 oz Perle 45min boil
0.5 oz Cascade 15 min boil
0.5 oz Cascade aromatic
California ale yeast

Any suggestions on the grains. Beer tools shows this to be a full bodied, not too bitter(for pale ales) ale.
Thanks
Jarrod

 

[broadbill]

why are you skeptical of the accuracy of the program exactly?

You could always calculate the numbers by hand and compare them, if you are so inclined....its fairly simple math....

 

[Vaughn]

Beer Tools Pro has worked great for me. I have hit my numbers every time. It is a accurate program as long as you have your equip calibrated correctly.

 

[McKBrew]

BTP is very simple and almost always dead on every time I use it.

 

[hfd73]

Looks good on paper and on the program. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to try it out. I was just looking for a reassuring voice from experience. I hope to be an experienced voice on here someday, but we all gotta start somewhere.

I think my biggest question are the choices of grain, that's not a program problem , that's a brewer problem. But hey, I'm all about trying stuff out.

 

[broadbill]

Looks good on paper and on the program. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to try it out. I was just looking for a reassuring voice from experience. I hope to be an experienced voice on here someday, but we all gotta start somewhere.

I think my biggest question are the choices of grain, that's not a program problem , that's a brewer problem. But hey, I'm all about trying stuff out.

Frankly, the procedure you plan to follow is going to be more important than the numbers you get our of BTP. I suggest writing your your procedure step-by-step so you don't missing anything. Since this is your first AG, you are basically "winging" some values you plugged into BTP because you don't know how your set-up is going to work (e.g. efficiency). The output of BTP is only as good/accurate as the numbers you plug in.

The real advantage of these brew programs is once you have some numbers from how your system works, you can adjust other recipes for your particular system or troubleshoot problems that arise.

As for your recipe: It if were me, I'd go with a "tried n' true" recipe instead. That way, any problems that crop up, you can rule out that is was due to something weird with an untested recipe. But that is just me.

One more thing....I think this group might be able to help you better if you tell us what exactly you are apprehensive about in doing your first AG.

 

[hfd73]

I was apprehensive about my choice of grains. BTP can tell you the OG, FG, ABV, etc..., etc.. but not the taste. Other than that BTP seems very easy to use and helps out with the math. Great idea about using a tried and true recipe to dial in all my equipment. I will do that first and then go from there.

I wish I had found this website when I first got into extract and partial grain 2 years ago. I would have been doing AG's a long time ago. I dont know any other homebrewers, and everytime I go to my LHBS, I always forget some question I thought of weeks ago. The replies here are so fast, and everyone seems pretty willing to help. This will be nice to bounce ideas off of other experienced folks, and to be challenged by other homebrewers.
Thanks
Jarrod