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BREWSMITH SHOWING INACCURATE FINAL GRAVITY

theqman

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I have been using BREWSMITH for a year now and normally what BREWSMITH shows as expected final post fermentation gravity targets have been spot on and no issues. However have done a specific dopplelbock recipe twice now, and BREWSMITH  shows expected final gravity around 1.050, when actual results and recipe guideline provided external to BREWSMITH say it should be coming in around 1.034..... trying to figure out why ? Any insights?
 
Not a clue without knowing more about the recipe and your mash profile.  Anything I would suggest would be just a wild guess.  If you export the recipe you are concerned with as a .bsmx file (highlight recipe, click on 'file' > 'export as' and give it a file name) and post the file here we can take a look at it with some idea of how your profiles interact with the recipe.
 
thanks for interest. attached is export of brewsmith file for 12/20/2020 brew.. OG was 1.109, brewsmith says should finish at 1.049, when should be around 1.034. any insights on how I may have configured incorrectly appreciated.
 

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  • DOPPELBOCK DEC20 BREW.bsmx
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OK, I have to admit that I love the easy ones.  Once I took a look at the starting gravity and the %ABV, the answer was easy to track down.  BeerSmith limits the alcohol content based upon the maximum tolerance of the yeast.  WY2124 is listed in your recipe at a max alcohol content of 8%.  Recent spec sheet from Wyeast has it pegged at 9%.  Even then, it will not get to the published numbers you have cited from the recipe.  Lager yeasts are not particularly known for their ability to survive in high alcohol content beers.  I am guessing that is why the WL833 is also listed.  The program used the first yeast strain listed and pegged the max at 8%

You can adjust the max alcohol tolerance of the yeast in your recipe to get the numbers to match.  What you actually end up with will be based upon the fermentability of the wort and how quickly the fermentation progresses. Once you set the max tolerance to 10%, you will get into the 1.035 FG range.

Irony is that I just brewed my doppelbock recipe this morning and pitched a double starter of WY2206 just about 2 hours ago!
 
now that makes sense. thanks

wish there were some tutorials that could better educate me on use of software. seems like I know just enough to be dangerous.

Thanks again
 
There are several tutorials on YouTube if you search.  The BS2 videos are still very relevant to how the software operates, just not quite the same layout.  There are also some of Brad's blogs which explain different sections of the software.  Lastly, searching through the forum can give you some help as well as there are others using similar equipment who have outlined or requested help with setting up their profiles.
 
theqman said:
wish there were some tutorials that could better educate me on use of software.

Beersmith.com. Look for "Tutorials" in the top menu.
 

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  • beersmith homepage.jpg
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