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Getting Started
Getting StartedThe easiest way to get started is to enter a sample recipe:1). Open up Beer Engine. 2). In the "Original Gravity" box, top right, enter an original gravity of 1.040 (Don't forget the decimal point). Leave the "fixed" box ticked for now. 3). Click the "Add New" button and an ingredients menu will pop up. 4). Scroll down, using either your mouse-wheel or the scroll-bar, and double-click on Pale Malt. Then scroll up to Crystal Malt and double-click on that. Both items will now have been added to the ingredients list. Alternatives to double clicking are to use the "Add It" button, or to hit the space bar. Hitting the return key will add the ingredient and close the pop-up. 5). Close the Fermentable Ingredient Additions pop-up. 6). Click on pale malt in the ingredients list such that it is highlighted in blue. Move to the "Adjust Percent" buttons adjacent to the ingredients list and adjust such that the "%" column for pale malt reads 95%. Observe that the ingredients column changes accordingly. 7). Click on crystal malt in the ingredients list such that it is highlighted in blue. Move to the "Adjust Percent" buttons and adjust such that the "%" column for crystal malt reads 5%. 8). Move to the "Bitterness EBU" box and set it to 30. 9). Click on the "Add Hop" button and a hop menu will pop up. 10). Double click on Fuggle. 11). Close the Hop Additions pop-up. 12). Click on Fuggle in the hop list such that it is highlighted in blue. Move to the "Adjust Percent" buttons adjacent to the hops list and adjust such that the "%" column reads 100%. That is it. You have just developed 23 litres of a bog-standard, 1040 bitter with about 3.9% alcohol.
A Few Finer PointsUnticking the "fixed" tick-boxes will change the adjustment buttons from percent to weight. You can then adjust the weight of each ingredient. The original gravity (and the percentage column) will change to reflect the new weight. The "% Weight" and "% Extract" switches are self-explanatory and alter the way that percentage is expressed.The "Zero" button zeros the selected ingredient. The "Round" button is only available in percentage mode and serves to adjust the percentage of the selected ingredient such that the total of all the ingredients equals 100%. To enter a recipe when you have the ratios of the ingredients in percent, leave the fixed box ticked, enter an O.G, and set the percentages accordingly. The ingredient quantities will change to reflect the quantities required to achieve the specified gravity at the given percentages. To enter a recipe when you have the actual weights, untick the "fixed" box and set the weights accordingly. The O.G. box and the percentage column will change to reflect the appropriate figures for the weights that you have entered. Changing the O.G. (with the fixed box ticked) or the volume at any time will cause the parameters to be recalculated accordingly. However, you will need to click out of (or tab out of) the entry box for the updates to take effect. The hop section behaves in a similar fashion to the ingredients section. Clicking on the legends above the ingredients columns: "Fermentable Ingredient, EBC, Grams, %, will cause the columns to be sorted in either ascending or descending order. Clicking on the legend again will cause the columns to be sorted in the opposite order. There is a small issue that sometimes when clicking into an entry box past the end of the data, the backspace key does not work (to delete the character behind the cursor). The arrow keys work and the backspace key will work if you manoeuvre the cursor with the arrow key first. It will also work if you click well into the data in the box, rather than at the end of it. It is irritating, but it is not my bug, unfortunately.
Parameter DescriptionsRecipe NameCurrently this is only used on the html recipe print-out, but will be used as a file name when the facility to save and retrieve recipes has been implemented.VolumeSelf-explanatory. Your target brew length in litres.Original GravityYour target original gravity in scientific notation - meaning that it requires the decimal point as in 1.045.Fixed tick-boxWith this box ticked the ingredient adjustment buttons are set to per cent. You enter a target original gravity in the gravity box and you then set the ingredient ratios with the per cent buttons. The grams column then shows the quantities required to achieve the specified gravity. Obviously, the total of all the ingredients should be 100% for the results to be meaningful. A total percent box is provided to save any mental arithmetic. The 'round' button will round the totals up to 100 per cent.With the 'fixed' box unticked, the ingredient adjustment buttons change to grams, you set the quantities with the buttons and the 'Original Gravity' box displays the target gravity achieved with those quantities. 'Add New' buttonThe 'Add New' button brings up a popup menu that contains the grist ingredients list. Scroll down, using either your mouse-wheel or the scroll-bar to select the ingredient, and double-click, or hit the space bar or the 'Add It' button to add it to the grist listbox.
Grist ListFermentable IngredientObvious really, just the name of the ingredient.EBCThe colour of the ingredient in EBC.
°GravThe extract contribution of the ingredient in brewer's degrees: For example, 38 degrees is equivalent to 1.038.
lb: ozThe weight of the ingredient in pounds and ounces. Pounds in front of the colon and ounces to one significant decimal place after the colon. It is a direct conversion from the grams column.
GramsThe weight of the ingredient in grams.
%The percentage of the total that this ingredient contributes. The radio buttons on the right determine whether this represents percentage by total weight of grist or percentage by extract contribution. Weight is probably the most common method for home brewers.
Hops ListHop VarietyAgain obvious. Just the name given to the hop.
TypeThis is the form of the hop; either whole or pellet. This data will be used in a later edition to automatically account for the difference in utilisation between pellet and whole hops.
AlphaThis displays the alpha-acid content of the hop. The typical value is loaded from the database, but if it differs from the the actual figure for the hops in your posession, it can be adjusted by the alpha+ and alpha- buttons.
TimeThis time that the hops are actually boiled for. It can be adjusted by the time+ and time- buttons.
% UtilThis displays the calculated utilisation, in per cent, for the boiling period specified in the previous column.
EBUThis calculated bitterness contribution to the wort at the utilisation specified in the previous column.The weight columns are obvious, and are the same as the grist list. The radio buttons on the right determine whether the percentage column represents percentage by total weight of the hops or percentage by EBU contribution. Weight is normal for home brewers. |