# Opinions On Beersmith And Beer Alchemy For Mac



## Charst (16/5/11)

Question for the Mac users out there and for the Beer smith users,

My Beer Alchemy Demo has just run out and I'm considering buying it but just found out that Beersmith is i BETA for Mac. http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php?P...p;topic=1814.45

What are other Mac user using? Suggestions,
Beer Alchemy apparently comes with 3 licenses for the price of one, has anyone brought it?

For the PC Beersmith users? Is it worth me waiting for?

Currently im just knocking out recipes from Brewing Classic Styles so between that and the measurements ive taken from previous AG brews i could still make beer without it for the mean time. Cant run any kind of Virtual Pc on my Mac as im running a 733mhz turd (love the old girl though) and getting on AHB while it's running anything else can be a struggle.

cheers


----------



## bignath (17/5/11)

Beersmith is very good.

Don't know if the upgrade is going to be decent or not, however there's a lot of people getting excited about it though.
I use lots of different software at the moment. I am on a windows machine, but i have used:

Beersmith: Excellent software. Does pretty much everything you could ever need. If you can't brew decent beer with this, you should find a new hobby.
BrewTarget: Don't know. Not sure if it's available for Mac OS. Didn't muck around with it for very long. Moved on to:
Brewmate: Brilliant piece of work by a fellow AHB member. It's free, does most of the stuff you need without the extra weight. Not sure about Mac OS though.
BeerTools Pro: Have rekindled my relationship with this bit of gear recently and have to say i love it. It's available for both windows and mac. 

They all work differently, some are easier to get your head around, but some do more than others. Ultimately you'll have to make the decision.
I like the modern look of Beertools Pro and seeing as how it's available for Mac, it is a very good option for you. Trust me though, print out and READ the help file. I couldn't make much sense of the program without it, but now i know how it works, it works very, very well..

Brewmate is fantastic, doesn't bog you down with heaps of crap, just shows you the recipe for making great beer and works out all processes automatically for you. It's free too!

Currently i'm working with both Brewmate and Beertools Pro, and i love each for different reasons.

The other one that a lot of people use is ProMash, but i've never used it so can't comment. Have used Beeralchemy on my iPhone, but as i don't own a Mac, don't know how it relates to a computer version.


----------



## felten (17/5/11)

Having only ever used beersmith, I can definitely say it's the best brewing software there is, and even if the new version isn't better (I'm sure it will be better) it's still going to be great.

None of the formulas used in the various programs are perfect, but they're good enough. So whichever software you pick make sure you stick with it and, that way it doesn't matter how variable it is to the others, you'll know what to expect from it.


----------



## gap (17/5/11)

felten said:


> Having only ever used beersmith, I can definitely say it's the best brewing software there is, and even if the new version isn't better (I'm sure it will be better) it's still going to be great.
> 
> None of the formulas used in the various programs are perfect, but they're good enough. So whichever software you pick make sure you stick with it and, that way it doesn't matter how variable it is to the others, you'll know what to expect from it.



If you have never used any other brewing software how can you say beersmith is better than them???


----------



## tallie (17/5/11)

I've used Beer Alchemy for a year and a half now, and aside from simple spreadsheets, it's the only brewing software I've used. It does some things well, but it also has its bad points. It's missing some features that I would have thought would be pretty standard (such as being able to calculate pre-boil SG corrections), the interface is lacking a bit in terms of intuition, and there's some down-right usability issues (things like hitting 'Esc' and not prompting to save data comes to mind, which means having to re-enter stuff). The fact that you can only see one view at a time (as far as I can tell) is also limiting.

I've heard quite a bit about Beersmith, and I'm looking forward to giving it a go when it comes out. Although I'm sure there will be a bit of a relearning curve, I won't be surprised if I end up taking to Beersmith over Beer Alchemy in the end. I just hope I'll be able to import my Beer Achemy data somehow.

Cheers,
tallie


----------



## tallie (17/5/11)

felten said:


> Having only ever used beersmith, I can definitely say it's the best brewing software there is, and even if the new version isn't better (I'm sure it will be better) it's still going to be great.



:blink:



gap said:


> If you have never used any other brewing software how can you say beersmith is better than them???



Exactly! "Having only drunk VB, I can definitely say it's the best beer there is, and even if Crown Lager isn't better (I'm sure it will be better) it's still going to be. great" h34r:


----------



## Kranky (17/5/11)

I use Beer Alchemy on my Mac. I Initially tried a few other programs on my PC but didn't like them as much (I didn't really know what I was doing and plan at some point to have another look at them).

Beer Alchemy isn't perfect, for example I've found that it's a bit short on the ingredients list but you can add additional ingredients fairly simply. The other thing I like about it is that it has an iphone app. I brew in a backyard shed and I have my phone on me anyway so I don't have to take my computer to the shed - I just use my iphone.


----------



## felon (17/5/11)

I use Beer Alchemy. I love being able to sync it with your Iphone. Very handy to keep track of what ingredients you have at home and all your recipes at your finger tips. When you are at your LHBS and not sure what you need to buy, you can just check your phone to see what you have in stock. Never had a problem with the program and you can email the developer to ask questions.
I did download a trial version of Beersmith and loaded it using Crossover 8. It looked like a typical windows based program :icon_vomit: . I haven't had much time to play around with it yet.
I'm sure whatever program you end up buying will be fine once you get used to it.


----------



## felten (17/5/11)

tallie said:


> Exactly! "Having only drunk VB, I can definitely say it's the best beer there is, and even if Crown Lager isn't better (I'm sure it will be better) it's still going to be. great" h34r:


 :lol:


----------



## barls (17/5/11)

i tried most of them when i was looking, i have been using beeralchemy for a while now and could be bothered changing as this one has everything i need.


----------



## Hubert (17/5/11)

I haven't tried any of the others, I use BrewBlogger. For my limited use it works pretty well, an internet based program that I had my B-I-L set up on his website. You can adjust/add to the ingredients list as required and I have found it fairly easy to use.


----------



## dougal00 (17/5/11)

I've used BeerAlchemy for the last year and it's been more than adequate. It's got some features that could be improved, but it is undergoing a major upgrade if you read the programmer's blog with the new version due soon. As it stands, it has good usability, but needs some additional calcs, a few more settings, and less generic ingredients. I'm waiting for the upgrade (free to current users) before I pass too harsh a judgement. 

Was looking at Brewtarget, and whilst I need to upgrade drivers before I can run it, it seems to do everything BA does, and it's open source which is really appealing. All the previous open source offerings I've seen have been very limited in comparison. Can't speak for how intuitive the UI is .


----------



## Charst (17/5/11)

thanks for the Posts Gents, to those who brought Beer Alchemy, my understand is any license can be registered on 3 machines, anyone willing to share their license for a 3rd of the costs? I know the total licence is only $30 but thats still $20 I save and $10 you'll get back

cheers


----------



## Dave70 (18/5/11)

Brewmate, mate.

Free and easy.

Any more info than it provides is probably superfluous any way. But some people like that kind of stuff.


----------



## Charst (18/5/11)

Dave70 said:


> Brewmate, mate.
> 
> Free and easy.
> 
> Any more info than it provides is probably superfluous any way. But some people like that kind of stuff.



Looks good except they dont offer a version for Mac. Im umming and arghing still like the idea of being about to connect to my iphone and then brew have it onhand when brewing.


----------



## stux (18/5/11)

I use BeerAlchemy for Mac and iPhone

I use the iPhone version all the time, especially when brewing.

BeerAlchemy has a lot of promise, and if the author can fix some of the issues then it will be a fantastic program

BeerSmith for Mac doesn't really look like a mac program... and it won't have the iPhone integration which is definately my favourite BeerAlchemy feature


----------



## Ironsides (18/5/11)

By the sound of things you are just about due for a replacement computer anyway. If you can get yourself a really cheap intel based macbook or Imac second hand, then you can run parallels/bootcamp/cross over. I'm using brew mate on windows, on my mac, and its great.

Frankly i'm amazed that your computer is still running at that age... your Iphone nearly has the same processor speed.


----------



## maggotbrain65 (22/5/11)

PM sent


----------



## rehab (24/10/11)

So after a tired skim of this there isn't anything FREE (yeap cheap bugger) for MAC users atm? Laptop that is PC is for sale soon so no point putting it on there! I read that there is something called QBrew out there that might work for me has anyone used that?

Cheers
Chris :icon_cheers:


----------



## Clutch (25/10/11)

Being the nice guy that I am, I'll give you my other licence for Beersmith2 on Mac when I dig it up.


----------



## rehab (25/10/11)

Clutch said:


> Being the nice guy that I am, I'll give you my other licence for Beersmith2 on Mac when I dig it up.



Thanks heaps. That's awesome of you man!


----------



## sim (25/10/11)

stillinrehab said:


> So after a tired skim of this there isn't anything FREE (yeap cheap bugger) for MAC users atm?



my "30 days, or 7 launches - which ever happens first" free trial of Beer Alchemy is going strong, to say the least h34r: 

lovin it!


sim


----------



## popmedium (26/10/11)

tallie said:


> I've used Beer Alchemy for a year and a half now, and aside from simple spreadsheets, it's the only brewing software I've used. It does some things well, but it also has its bad points. It's missing some features that I would have thought would be pretty standard (such as being able to calculate pre-boil SG corrections), the interface is lacking a bit in terms of intuition, and there's some down-right usability issues (things like hitting 'Esc' and not prompting to save data comes to mind, which means having to re-enter stuff). The fact that you can only see one view at a time (as far as I can tell) is also limiting.



Allo!

With regards to preboil SG corrections, do you mean taking in to account temperature? Because it does that, at least from the mobile version anyway.

I use Beer Alchemy. You are right, there are some holes but all in all I find it more intuitive (although it could be more so) and the mobile app is really handy. More than anything I'm excited about version 2.0. The developers blog says it is underway and will include a load of new improvements, including being able to do BIAB calculations. Not sure how far off it is and although he is responsive, development seems to be slow and the communication isn't all that good either (as in, there aren't too many progress updates on his blog).

Joel


----------



## tallie (26/10/11)

joel connolly said:


> With regards to preboil SG corrections, do you mean taking in to account temperature? Because it does that, at least from the mobile version anyway.


No, I mean correcting for under efficiency. For example, say you were aiming for 1.070 pre-boil SG, but only got 1.060 - it'd be good to have a calculator that tells you how much malt extract you need to add to adjust the wort up to 1.070 (obviously including volume in the calculation). I don't know if other programs have that sort of calculator, but I would certainly find it useful at times.

For those that are using the mobile app, are you talking about the $5 BeerAlchemy Touch app? Or is there another app that you get if you've already paid for a BeerAlchemy license?

I still haven't tried Beersmith 2 yet - I'm waitin for my holidays so I can make better use of the evaluation period.

Cheers,
tallie.


----------

