Beersmith

[Graham.C]

I'm new to beersmith and I can't quite figure out how to set up my gear. I am using a keggle as HLT and as my boil kettle and a 70qt modified extreme coleman cooler as MT. In the software I set my kettle as a 10g mashtun and cooler, the IBU's on my recipe sky-rocket, so then I set it to a SS keg the efficiency drops dramatically (OG 1.03 for 16lbs of grain in a 5g batch). I am using something from both settings so I'm not sure what numbers to believe. I could just brew it and find out, but I would hate to ruin my first all grain (LiverDance's comfortably numb). Can anyone tell me why I am so dumb

[LiverDance]

Sounds like it's changing your batch volume when you switch between the gear.

[Graham.C]

I thought I checked for that, but maybe not. That does make sense. Beersmith 2.0 is taking me a while to get used to. I'll check again when I get home and maybe compare to my old system.

[akr71]

Sounds like it's changing your batch volume when you switch between the gear.

It does this to me all the time - as soon as I select 12g kettle, it assumes 10g batch & I have to switch it.

[Graham.C]

The pre-sets are nice and a curse all in one. I wish it would just walk me through all its assumptions about my gear the first time I booted it up. Then I could make corrections as I upgraded equipment.

Andy, what is your evaporation rate off the keggle? I'm sure it varies slightly throughout the year but do you have a rough figure?

[akr71]

Andy, what is your evaporation rate off the keggle? I'm sure it varies slightly throughout the year but do you have a rough figure?

Let me check when I get home...

[benwedge]

Not to sound like some old vet, because I'm not, but worst case scenario your beer won't taste like LiverDance's. Then you can use data you collected in that first brew to figure out your overall efficiency, and as you do a few more you can fine tune again and again. My first batch involved 0 software and I never bothered inputting my data to any software. The beer turned out quite well, IMO. At least, people weren't spitting it up in front of me at Hoptoberfest, and my roommate enjoyed it.

Second batch is going ahead this weekend, maybe I'll collect some data, but the important point here is to just try it and make observations!

[akr71]

Andy, what is your evaporation rate off the keggle? I'm sure it varies slightly throughout the year but do you have a rough figure?

Let me check when I get home...

Now that I'm home & had a chance to check Beersmith... no idea! Somewhere between 15% - 25%. I record how much goes into the kettle and how much goes into the fermenter, but that doesn't account for how much gets left behind in the kettle. Its mostly trub, but that was part of the volume that went into the kettle. I've never really been too concerned to be honest as long as I'm somewhere near my target OG.

[Graham.C]

That makes sense. Its just my first all grain and I want to be sure I am not going to be completely off.

You guys where right, it was switching my batch volume. I had set my measured batch volume, but that does not effect the actual batch volume used in all the calculations. I think I have it figured out now.

[LiverDance]

If your using a turkey fryer and keggle I would start with 15℅ and go from there

[wortly]

Just a quick note. I am sure that everyone has done this, but make sure that you have all of the beersmith updates for 2.0. It as doing some funky shit on me before I applied the patches.