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CONVERTING BEERSMITH RECIPE TO BIABACUS

Post #1 made 10 years ago
by OldGoat
I am preparing my next BIAB brew (only my 4th BIAB). This is a recipe I have previously brewed in my 3-tier HERMS (Heat Exchanged Recirculating Mash System) several times with success. I have also brewed it one time using BIAB with success as well. Now that I am starting to become more used to using the BIABacus, I am also coming up with more questions.

I am attaching the original Beersmith recipe (the last batch I brewed with my HERMS) and the BIABacus file I intend to use for my next batch. If I need to actually rewrite the Beersmith recipe manually so it can be viewed, please let me know. I will be happy to transcribe if need be. (Note regarding the Beersmith file: Don't pay a lot of attention to the efficiencies recorded on the recipe...I didn't keep the best records back then and those numbers are not accurate...hope this doesn't make this harder than it should be)

My questions are:

1. Comparing the Beersmith file with the BAIBacus, did I make the entries correctly on BIABacus?
2. I am limited to my Mash Volume due to the small size of my kettle. For this reason, I downsized the VIF to 4.5 US Gallons in my 1st BIAB attempt at this recipe. This time, I want to get 5.5 US gallons VIF, so intend to hold back 3.785 L (1 US Gallon) in section W. Did I do this correctly?
3. In section W, is it more advantageous to add the water before the boil, during the boil, or to the fermentor? Which technique will give me the greatest benefit if any?
4. I held back 1 US Gallon only because it is a round figure. Can I decrease this volume until I begin getting the "Mash volume approaches kettle limits" warning? Or can I take it as far as just before I get the "Mash volume exceeds kettle size" warning? Are the benefits/detriments to doing this? It has always been my understanding that the more water I can get in contact with the grain (less dilution) the better.

I have been doing a lot of reading regarding the use of the BIABacus and feel that I am still not utilizing it to its fullest potential. Any input would be much appreciated.
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Last edited by OldGoat on 02 Jun 2015, 23:52, edited 1 time in total.
OldGoat
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Post #2 made 10 years ago
by joshua
OldGoat, I have not used Beersmith since BIABACUS came out, so I can not check the Recipe amounts.

The Mash volume is a trouble when moving from 3V to Full Volume brewing.

It is normal to make the TWN as the way you want your Water, and Mash-In with the SWN needed.

Also, when holding back the Difference (1 gallon/4 liters) TWN-SWN and adding it back in, will change the Grain Bill depending if added as a Sparge, versus added Before or During the Boil.
Image

If you are a SPARGE person, you can rinse the grains in the 4L held back. Then, the Sparge water will not effect the Grain Bill, if entered as 'Water used in a Sparge'
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You will see the Grain bill will increase from 9.93 pounds to 10.33 pounds, when you add the water 'Before the Boil', or 'During the Boil', this is the thing that people miss, when moving to BIABACUS.
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Your Efficiency will be as Normal.

Opinion Time:
If your Made of $$$$$$, and an extra 186 Grams/0.40 pounds wont matter, it would be easier to skip the Sparge step.
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Last edited by joshua on 03 Jun 2015, 06:37, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #3 made 10 years ago
by OldGoat
Joshua, thanks for the reply.

I do not sparge, so it would be "Before" or "During" the boil. My BIABacus must have been confusing since I indicated in my post that I had already made the 3.785L entry into section W....but apparently I didn't. Sorry. My intention had been to enter that into the "Water added before boil" cell and when I had actually done that step (obviously on another copy of this recipe) I did notice that the grain bill increased. So your reply makes perfect sense to me and I appreciate you taking the time to check it out.

If it still matters, here is the transcribed recipe from Beersmith.

Honey Cream Ale 1.3

Blonde Ale (6B)

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.72 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 5.72 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 5.18 gal
Ingredients

9 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 76.6 %
1 lbs Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.5 %
1 lbs Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.5 %
12.0 oz Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 4 6.4 %
0.50 oz Cascade [7.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 14.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [7.30 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 8.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg Cream Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP080) [50.28 ml] Yeast 7 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.5 %
Bitterness: 22.4 IBUs
Est Color: 8.3 SRM

Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %

Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 12.0 oz
OldGoat
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #4 made 10 years ago
by joshua
OG, your BSM batch that came out 1.052 using the full 11.75#/5330 grams, which had Good Efficiency.
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The 1.047 batch calls for 4724Gr/10.4# which will work Fine with a 60 minute Boil and 4L held back, until the bag is Pulled.
Image
Everything else in the BIAB recipe looks Good to Go.
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Last edited by joshua on 03 Jun 2015, 10:26, edited 1 time in total.
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
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Post #5 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Hmm, I'm thinking "5.5G batch size" means VAW.

The end of boil volume of 5.72G would be correct in this case due to the heat expansion.

I'll attach an edited BIABacus. Desired VIF was lowered by me just to show how I'm translating the recipe you posted. You can increase this, and then hold back water as needed ... but I'm pretty sure this would be proper for your base file. Scale it up from here.

VIB = 6.61G (within .11G of BS Boil Size)
VFO = 5.72G
VAW = 5.50G (same as 5.72G, but chilled)

I also adjusted hops to the recipe given, and 20.5 IBU is closer to the listed 22.4 IBU as well. One trend I have noticed about BS recipes, is I always see it using Tinseth as we do.

8.3 SRM also checks out for the original bill. Getting better efficiency means this will change, scaling will change it further ... no way around that one. But, considering the left side is matching the original recipe, it's one more piece of evidence that 5.5G VAW is likely accurate.



p.s. I cleared out what you had in sec. X for investigation purposes, so you may want to add that back in.
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Post #6 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Just a fast one on this as I haven't read the thread just the title. Do an advanced search on any posts with, "BeerSmith" in the title. You will find at least a few very detailed threads where this question is already answered in minute detail and you will also see how difficult it is to translate a recipe from a one speed vehicle to a five speed automatic that can be clicked into manual. I'll leave it to you guys to guess which program is the versatile one.

Beersmith recipes and nearly all other programs or recipes published on the net do not give enough detail for them to be copied well.
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