Brewmate, Extracts And Gravity

[DustyRusty]

Hi Everyone,

Wondering if anyone else uses the BrewMate program? I think it's an excellent tool. But i've had a few problems with it. Namely that it never seems to calculate the extracts i use properly. For example, one recipe i used the following:

3.2kg LME Dark
1.7 LME Light
1kg DME Dark
300g Crystal


It says i should have had a OG of 1.077 and FG of 1.019. I actually had OG 1.096 and FG of 1.034 (atten of yeast 64%).

Similarly, my latest brew used:

3.0kg DME Light
1.5kg LME light
350g Crystal
150g Choc
150g Cara Dark


It said i should have had an OG of 1.066 and FG of 1.018. It turned out as OG 1.076 & FG 1.021 (atten of yeast 72%).

I wouldn't normally be worried but this affects the way the program predicts the sweetness/bitterness of the beer as well as the alcohol content, and it's out by enough to make a real difference.

Anyone got any thoughts on why this would be happening?

 

[MHB]

Making a couple of assumptions (that the wort was made up to 22.5 L and that you only get 50% extraction from the grain) I get 1.092 as the OG for the first recipe.
Critical to this type of calculation is how much MASS is dissolved in how many LITRES.
I strongly suspect there is a setting where a default batch size is set to something like 27 litres, or there is a kettle loss set at 4-5 L

Next time you have a question like this it would help if you gave more complete information, otherwise we're just guessing.

MHB

 

[DustyRusty]

sorry mate, still quite new to brewing so don't quite have the expert knowledge of all the variables that some of you guys have.

both recipes were 26L batches. and brew mate allows you to put in the litres too and i did those recipes according to 26L batches. not quite sure what kettle loss means and how it affects OG but the BrewMate settings say Evap per hour is 10% and Losses are 0.

thanks for the reply,

DR

 

[randyrob]

Hey Guys,

Sorry i missed this post before.

I've just ran your first recipe with Batch Size set to 26L & Efficiency set to 50% and get an OG of 1.073

[b]DustyRusty - AHB - Extract Recipe[/b]





[b]Recipe Specs[/b]

----------------

Batch Size (L):		   26.0

Total Grain (kg):		 6.200

Total Hops (g):		   0.00

Original Gravity (OG):	1.073  (P): 17.7

Colour (SRM):			 15.3   (EBC): 30.1

Bitterness (IBU):		 0.0   (Average)

Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 50

Boil Time (Minutes):	  0



[b]Grain Bill[/b]

----------------

3.200 kg Liquid Malt Extract - Dark (51.61%)

1.700 kg Liquid Malt Extract - Light (27.42%)

1.000 kg Dry Malt Extract - Dark (16.13%)

0.300 kg Crystal 60 (4.84%)



[b]Hop Bill[/b]

----------------



[b]Misc Bill[/b]

----------------



Recipe Generated with [b][url=http://www.brewmate.net]BrewMate[/url][/b]

I run the same recipe thru Beersmith and get an OG of 1.072

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com

Recipe: DustyRusty - AHB - Extract Recipe

Brewer: Dusty Rusty

Asst Brewer: 

Style: 

TYPE: 

Taste: 



Recipe Specifications

--------------------------

Batch Size: 26.00 L	  

Boil Size: 34.22 L

Estimated OG: 1.072 SG

Estimated Color: 16.7 SRM

Estimated IBU: 0.0 IBU

Brewhouse Efficiency: 50.0 %

Boil Time: 60 Minutes



Ingredients:

------------

Amount	   Item										Type		 % or IBU	 

1.00 kg	  Dark Dry Extract (17.5 SRM)				 Dry Extract  16.1 %	   

3.20 kg	  Dark Liquid Extract (17.5 SRM)			  Extract	  51.6 %	   

1.70 kg	  Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)			   Extract	  27.4 %	   

0.30 kg	  Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)	   Grain		4.8 %

How did you take your OG reading? if it was with a hydrometer was the sample read while still quite warm? or at the same temperature your hydrometer is calibrated at (usually 15 or 20*c)
Was the quantity of liquid measured accurately? as MHB is suggesting your batch size would have to be much smaller to get such a high OG as you have.

Cheers Rob.