I have been using BeerSmith to design recipes for my brewing equipment but I recently switched to a Grainfather. I downloaded BeerSmith's Grainfather Equipment Add-on and found several online variations of the Grainfather Equipment but none matched the current Grainfather App. After some adjustments in both pieces of software, I have an equipment profile that matches.
The goal is to share my profile and explain how the settings are linked between the two applications so you can adjust them to your liking.
In BeerSmith we will primarily be concerned with three sections.
- Advanced Options
- Equipment Profile
- Mash Profile
In the Grainfather App we will be in three sections.
- Equipment
- Recipes
- Mash And Sparge Water Calculator
At this time I'm using the following versions.
- BeerSmith 3.0.6 for Mac
- Grainfather Community 4.0.19 for iPhone
Note: The Grainfather website can also be used, but some fields are in a different sections and some default values vary between the website and the app.
This document is intended to get the same results between the two applications. If a BeerSmith setting isn't called out, it's not believed to have an influence on the consistency.
Go to Advanced Options in the BeerSmith Preferences Menu.
We are only interesting in the Grain Absorption value. I used the default value in BeerSmith 0.9600 fl oz/oz of grain.
Watch the units and convert if when needed. The Grainfather uses gal/lb so these numbers shouldn't match between the two applications. This constant can vary depending on a number of factors. Most sources suggest a ratio of 0.1 - 0.2 gal/lb. The BeerSmith default is near the middle of this range at 0.12 gal/lb. The Grainfather default is just below at 0.0959 gal/lb, but the Grainfather Mash And Sparge Water Calculator default is 0.1 gal/lb.
Create a new Equipment profile for the Grainfather.
I want a 5.00 gal bottling volume and I normally lose 0.5 gal in the fermenter so my Batch Volume is 5.50 gal. On the hot side, the Grainfather app doesn't account for Fermenter Loss and Bottling Volume.
This is the maximum size of your mash tun. I used the Mash Tun Volume in the Grainfather App 7.93 gal.
This is the volume of water not included in the mash below the false bottom. I used the Recoverable Deadspace defined in the Grainfather App 0.92 gal.
I use a kettle to heat my sparge water and it doesn't drain completely. I calculated my losses to be 0.33 gal and entered it in the Mash Deadspace Losses then I unchecked Adjust Mash Vol for Losses so the loss would be added to the sparge water.
Sometimes I change my Batch Volume or Boil Time depending on my recipe. Enable Calculate Boil Vol Automatically so you don't have to change the Boil Volume manually.
The standard Boil Time is 60 mins. If you use something else your Boil Off volume may not match your Total Boil Off.
A lot of variables can influence your boil off rate. I've measured mine anywhere between 0.5 - 1 gal/hr. For now I used the Boil Off value in the Grainfather Equipment profile 0.53 gal.
Same as the Boil Volume if you change your Boil Time you will want your Boil off as an hourly rate checked so it calculates automatically.
Cooling Shrinkage is an interesting field. I have gone back and forth between 0.00% and 4.00%. The BeerSmith default is 4%. The Grainfather app calls it Wort Shrinkage and the default value is also 4%. BeerSmith accounts for this by adding more water so you will hit your Batch Volume. However, the Grainfather app, best I can tell, doesn't use this. Maybe it's a bug? What I have done is set the value to 0% to make sure the calculators match, then set it to 4% just to account for this small loss.
The amount of wort left behind in the Grainfather and the chiller. The default Loss to Trub and Chiller in the Grainfather app is 0.53 gal.
You can make multiple mash profiles and there are a lot of variables here but only two have an effect on consistency.
I used 10.00 lb to as the Grain Weight Basis for my mash profile. This makes some of the other calculations easier. If your specific recipe has a grain weight higher or lower Beersmith will automatically adjust.
Within the Mash Step settings the Water/Grain Ratio should be 1.280 qt/lb. This value was taken directly from the Grainfather app, but watch out for the units. The Grainfather app uses 0.32 gal/lb so if you glance at the numbers you may think they don't match.
By this point you should have completely setup BeerSmith. Before setting up the Grainfather equipment, we will create a quick BeerSmith recipe and use the Grainfather Mash And Sparge Water Calculator to compare our numbers.
Create a simple recipe using the new equipment and mash profile with a 10 lb grain bill.
Then use the Mash & Sparge Water calculator to verify the two applications match at this preliminary stage.
Now that we have a BeerSmith equipment profile it's equally as important to have a matching Grainfather equipment profile.
Open the Grainfather app and create a new Brewing Equipment System. I'm creating a Grainfather (110V) - Bluetooth Controller. Not many settings need to be changed, but I won't go into detail about the default settings.
I have a separate vessel to heat my sparge water so I increased my Number Of Vessels to 2.
Using the Grain Absorption value from BeerSmith of 0.9600 fl oz/oz of grain this converts to 0.12 gal/lb.
The Sparge Vessel Volume is set to 10 gal because this is the maximum volume.
When I completely drain my sparge water heater 0.33 gal is left behind so Sparge/Lauter Loss is set to match.
Set the Boil Loss to 0.53 gal/hr. This is the Grainfather Equipment default but differs from the Mash and Sparge Water calculator.
Set the Trub And Chiller Loss to 0.53 gal/hr. This is the Grainfather Equipment default.
So in keeping with checking your work. Now you can create a recipe in the Grainfather app to verify the Water calculations match. Create a new recipe, set the Batch Size to 5.5 gal. Then add 10 lbs of grain. I added Pale 2-Row - US.
