BeerSmith Recipe Software - Potential Extract Values

[The Mighty Badger]

Can anyone who uses BeerSmith help with this...

I want to add my own grain detials but as far as I can see the only field for potential grain extract needs a value for Specific Gravity. All the data from maltsters I have looked at quotes potential extract in litre degrees per kilogramme.

I have read elsewhere that 'all malt has a maximum gravity of 1.046' and applying an extract percentage is required to get the potential SG.

I am a bit confused.

How do I enter the litre degree value or covert my malt data for use in BeerSmith.

Aplogies if this is glaringly obvious.

[The Mighty Badger]

Thanks Daab,

So Beersmith effectively uses the gravity of 1kg of grain in 1 litre of water (or pounds and US gallons, or whatever they use over there, hence the conversion)

Where does the maxium possible potential SG of 1046 come from?

[The Mighty Badger]

iirc the US use PPG, points per pound per (us) gallon.

Where does the maxium possible potential SG of 1046 come from?

Not sure where you've got that from?

This is from the BeerSmith manual...

Potential - The potential yield of the ingredient, expressed in
current specific gravity units. Note - This field is equivalent to
the Dry Yield field -- editing one field will also change the value
of the other. Values for either the potential or dry yield can be
found in grain data sheets. A potential of 1.046 is the
maximum (equivalent to 100% yield)

I just find this hard to fathom as it implies that all malts have maximum potential of 1.046, from which the expected yield is derived e.g. Briess (see link) give extract values in % for their american malts...

http://www.briess.com/pdf/Malthouse%20I ... t%20WK.pdf

Using the conversion (i.e. multpilying by 8.34) gives 383.64 pts/kg/l?)

Its just that I like to know how things work and get a bit cross with myself when I think I've missed something obvious...

[The Mighty Badger]

I think I have the answer - I posted a query about the 1046 number on the BeerSmith Forum and got this reply...

1.046 is the potential of dry sugar, sucrose, 1 pound in 1 gallon. When adding 1 pound in 1 gallon this is considered the max potential per pound per gallon (ppppg)

So the yanks use a comparative measures for potential extract, quoting the maximum percentage of the SG for sucrose (1lb in 1 gallon) that each grain can yield.

Knowing this and the conversion from yank to limey units I now understand how to create malt data in BeerSmith.

What a palaver

[The Mighty Badger]

In my own sad way, yes I probably did.

I think I'm a bit of a stubborn perfectionist...

Still, a good friend bought Brupaks kit last week and is coming over tomorrow for me to help him make it (and sink a few of the last one). Should help me get over it.