# Brewers Friend Recipe Software



## dicko (28/12/15)

Is there many on here using the above software......not the new version of the old Brewmate but the version that appears on the link on the top of the page on this forum.

If there is, would you care to comment as to what you think of it.

I currently use Beersmith but I want to avoid printing brewsheets.
I have got an old laptop from my son and I thought the cloud on Brewers Friend would be good for me to brew from the old laptop in the shed.
I could enter all readings eg. gravity etc as I go rather than writing it on the brewsheet and adding it later to the software.
I would also like the ability to view my recipes while I am working away from the desktop and even make new recipes when I am not home.

Any comments appreciated


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (28/12/15)

Sorry to jump on your thread dicko, but can someone get me up to date with what happened to brew mate. I used to use it and found a legacy file on the web but if there is something new...


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## bradsbrew (28/12/15)

Rob sold out brewmate and it was further developed to compete with beersmith. I personally like brewmate for its simplicity, however the ability to login on any device where ever you are to retrieve recipes is pretty handy. I just don't use the functions that brewers friend and beersmith offer.

Give it a crack LRG, there is a free version.

Cheers


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## dicko (28/12/15)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> Sorry to jump on your thread dicko, but can someone get me up to date with what happened to brew mate. I used to use it and found a legacy file on the web but if there is something new...


have a read here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/86161-is-brewmate-gone/

I downloaded the new free version and as others reported it was crap with all the calculations completely astray.


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## DU99 (28/12/15)

i still use brew mate.


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## dicko (28/12/15)

I am interested in any input re the actual Brewers Friend software and not the new or old Brewmate.
i liked the old Brewmate but I am interested in the new software.

Is there any one that is using it??


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## professional_drunk (28/12/15)

I used v1.26 of the brewers friends software and found it worse than brewmate because the whole malt specs are screwed. If you can get over that and correct the malt listings, it's fine to use and will continue to use it. Apart from the malt listings it's very much the same as brewmate so you should be able to jump into it easily. The reason why I stick with this software is that I'm not really satisfied with beersmith so I'd rather just use a more simpler software such as brewers friend.


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## Killer Brew (28/12/15)

I use it. Have always found it accurate and easy to use. You can set your own equipment profile and I like the links from within the recipe to calculators such as yeast starter size. Started using it when i was doing partials, moved into AG and now with the Grainfather. I access it from the work laptop, home pc and my ipad which is handy. To be fair i don't have a lot to compare it to as haven't really used any other software but it has everything that i need.


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## Killer Brew (28/12/15)

professional_drunk said:


> I used v1.26 of the brewers friends software and found it worse than brewmate because the whole malt specs are screwed. If you can get over that and correct the malt listings, it's fine to use and will continue to use it. Apart from the malt listings it's very much the same as brewmate so you should be able to jump into it easily. The reason why I stick with this software is that I'm not really satisfied with beersmith so I'd rather just use a more simpler software such as brewers friend.


I do often find that my colour doesn't match the projection given but my target gravity is rarely out by much. Is that what you mean by malt specs?


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## Dae Tripper (28/12/15)

I found it won't do past flame out hop additions, so it is a pain in the butt. I am trying to work out my water in the 3v with it though as Ian's is really only good for biab.


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## antiphile (28/12/15)

Hi dicko

I can't help you with brewers friend, but I'm trying to work out why you're not sticking with Beersmith. I run BS on several PCs and laptops (including one in the brewing batcave) and they all access the same shared directory for recipes etc and use the BS cloud feature.

The only problem I've found is sharing the "inventory" feature, but it's easy to get around that using remote desktop. But I have to agree with you that it is so much easier to record things just once, and have it available everywhere.


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## dicko (28/12/15)

Guys

*I dont need to know about the new version of the old brew mate*.........................................

This is the software I am referring to...... It opens up when you click on the link of "Brewing Software" or in a drop down menu under "More" on some browsers at the top of this forum.

Please open this link to see exactly what I am referring to http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/


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## dicko (28/12/15)

antiphile said:


> Hi dicko
> 
> I can't help you with brewers friend, but I'm trying to work out why you're not sticking with Beersmith. I run BS on several PCs and laptops (including one in the brewing batcave) and they all access the same shared directory for recipes etc and use the BS cloud feature.
> 
> The only problem I've found is sharing the "inventory" feature, but it's easy to get around that using remote desktop. But I have to agree with you that it is so much easier to record things just once, and have it available everywhere.


Thanks antiphile,

I have it on desktop and Ipad but the Ipad version is as good as breasts on a male bovine.
As you said nothing really updates from different computers and Beersmith is so protected I cant seem to be able to put a copy of my BS on the old laptop I want to use in the shed.
On principle, I am not paying for another desktop version of BS.

..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
With full respect to all who have contributed so far...

*Can we ensure that any more comments in this topic are on the software linked above and not on the new BrewMate which is also called "brewers friend"*

Cheers


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## zeggie (28/12/15)

I tried it out, and returned to Beersmith to be honest. Lot more advanced and I can alter every single aspect.
I just keep the files on Dropbox and can use my laptop in the brew cave.

I've had no issues using on multiple PCs


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## droid (28/12/15)

hi mate I have used it for a while now and think it's good. it'd be better if the malts were updated but I use a ready reckoner to convert gladfield malts to the stuff in the database - it seems fine though I never used BS
<iframe width="100%" height="500px" src="http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/210784" frameborder="0"></iframe>


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## dicko (28/12/15)

Thanks zeggie,

and 

droid

I have been playing with the trial version (free) and it seems that it covers everything but it doesnt let me edit or delete the enormous ingredients lists that come standard.
It also doesn't have drop down menus or lists for things like water additions and clearing agents etc.
I was wondering if these options come in the paid version....I am quite happy to pay for the program.


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## droid (28/12/15)

pm sent dicko


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## Barge (28/12/15)

I'm still running beersmith v1 so I'm not sure how helpful I can be. 

I run it from a portable hard drive. That way I can use it from any computer. I can edit recipes on my home pc or at work and on brew day, I update and tweak volumes etc from a laptop. 

Not sure if you can do that with v2 though.


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## nala (28/12/15)

I purchased the full version just to see if it was better than what I have...Brewmate and Beersmith.
I cannot see the use of the data base based on grain from all over the world.It would appear to me that they are trying to outdo Beersmith with this quite useless information.
Brewmate is my choice,have used since it became available, love simplicity and ease of generating a recipe,I also find the no chill calculations to be very accurate. 
I will not be renewing my subscription when this expires.


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## Bribie G (26/7/16)

Necro

Like Nala above I didn't renew as I found the ingredients lists to be very frustrating compared to BrewMate.
I'm still using the original BM that's working fine. 

Reason I'm resurrecting thread is to ask if anyone knows whether BF now has the ability to delete malts and insert our own (eg BB) as well as customise the hops list in view of the many new hops coming on the market?

I would really love to have the straightforward aspects of BM whilst also able to design on PC then take my tablet over to the brauhaus.

Not interested in BeerSmith, have bought two official copies in my career and it's just too labyrinthine.


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## GibboQLD (26/7/16)

Bribie G said:


> Reason I'm resurrecting thread is to ask if anyone knows whether BF now has the ability to delete malts and insert our own (eg BB) as well as customise the hops list in view of the many new hops coming on the market?


Pretty sure you can't do that through the interface, but since the data is all stored in XML it's pretty easy to customise anyway.

Here's a quick demo -- I added a bunch of random hops I'd collected in IanH's calc to the default BMData.xml and it seemed to load fine.

Could do the same with grains & yeasts and theoretically the style guides depending on which guidelines you want to use:







View attachment BMData.xml


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## mosto (26/7/16)

Bribie G said:


> Necro
> 
> Like Nala above I didn't renew as I found the ingredients lists to be very frustrating compared to BrewMate.
> I'm still using the original BM that's working fine.
> ...


I use Brewers Friend and quite like it. Only ever used BrewMate previously. You can add ingredients through the 'My Inventory' section. Once you're in there, click 'Add Inventory Item'. In the box that comes up you can select 'Custom Fermentable' to add a new fermentable ingredient and it's relevant properties. Same with hops, but just select 'Hops' and you can either select from the list or add your own and put in year and AA details. Same again with 'Yeast' and 'Other', all done through 'My Inventory'.

My only real problem with BF is the numbers calculated in the web version (OG, FG etc) don't always line up when you open the same recipe in the app. Not a huge issue, but a little annoying. I use the web version to calculate recipes, then use the app to record numbers during brew day and fermenting schedule.


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## Gigantorus (26/7/16)

I've been using Brewers Friend for a month or 2 now and it seems quite reasonable. I paid the US$15 and like what I see. Its easy to use and develop recipes. You also have access to the recipe database of all users, which it also great. I like the "scale" function as well. As it's a Yanky system not all malts like those from Gladfield are on there - back it's easy to add them to your own inventory. Overall so far so good.


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## Bribie G (26/7/16)

Sounds encouraging. When I first used it, I could enter new ingredients whilst designing a recipe, but they didn't seem to persist from recipe to recipe.
With the XML thingo, I take it you can also delete unwanted ingredients, for example American 2 row, and the change will "propagate" to all your future sessions including the app?


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## GibboQLD (26/7/16)

Bribie G said:


> Sounds encouraging. When I first used it, I could enter new ingredients whilst designing a recipe, but they didn't seem to persist from recipe to recipe.
> With the XML thingo, I take it you can also delete unwanted ingredients, for example American 2 row, and the change will "propagate" to all your future sessions including the app?


Not sure about new recipes through the web app, but changing BMData.xml will affect all future sessions using the Windows App as well as future recipes saved either locally or to the BF website.

Since BF saves/exports in BeerXML format, ingredients are embedded in the recipe file, meaning you could theoretically call each ingredient whatever you like as long as:

grains/fermentables have a colour & potential extract value (and a type, i.e. grain/extract/adjunct/etc)
hops have an alpha value
yeast has an apparent attenuation value
miscellaneous ingredients have a type and usage
Minor caveat regarding my post above:



GibboQLD said:


> Could do the same with ... the style guides depending on which guidelines you want to use


Changing the guidelines would definitely work for locally generated/saved recipes, but I suspect the BF website only uses the BJCP styles and will try to match your recipe against them.

I could probably knock together a basic Excel tool for building a custom BMData.xml file if you're interested, Bribie...


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## Bribie G (26/7/16)

Thanks Gibbo, I'll pass on that until I've had a play with it myself - my head hurts enough as it is 

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them out.


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## nala (26/7/16)

I did not renew my subscription as I said that I wouldn't.
I don't know where these guys are coming from....an annual subscription for what is no use at all.
This cannot hold a candle to the old version of Brewmate !!!


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## GibboQLD (26/7/16)

nala said:


> I don't know where these guys are coming from....an annual subscription for what is no use at all.


But how will you delete your recipes now?!


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## nala (26/7/16)

GibboQLD said:


> But how will you delete your recipes now?!


I don't understand your question !
I paid an annual subscription to evaluate the software...never used it for brewing,as I said I still use the free version of Brewmate, have done since it became available.


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## GibboQLD (27/7/16)

nala said:


> I don't understand your question!


Sorry, was referencing one of the perks of the pricing scheme -- you can create as many recipes/brew days as you like, but you can't delete them unless you have an active subscription...


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## Bribie G (27/7/16)

What happened to Brewmate anyway?
BF bought it, so have they developed it further and offering a subscription or did they just buy it so they could bury it?


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## mosto (27/7/16)

My take on it is an American company (who may or may not be the owners of this website), bought BrewMate and developed it into Brewers Friend and slapped a subscription fee on it. I loved BrewMate, but to be honest I'm one of those people who does virtually everything on their phone, so when they brought out the cloud server and linked an App to it, I was happy to pay the subscription.


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## GibboQLD (27/7/16)

Bribie G said:


> What happened to Brewmate anyway?
> BF bought it, so have they developed it further and offering a subscription or did they just buy it so they could bury it?


The BF windows app is essentially BM with some minor modifications/improvements.


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## eldertaco (27/7/16)

I tried it a while back but I found the interface too ugly to use, although I do use the BrewersFriend site and even bought a subscription. I find myself exporting BeerSmith recipes as beerxml and importing to BrewersFriend, which also has it's issues. Agreed that BeerSmith is ridiculously labyrinthine though, feels like I find new things tucked away in it every second time I use it.


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