Brew Software

[Bats]

Hey Brewers,

I was just wondering what Brew software people are using. I am currently using the free 'Brewmate' software but I'm guessing there is some much better software available.

I am reasonably new to All Grain and not a whiz on computers so I need a program that is relatively user friendly.

Any suggestions or ideas on cost would be appreciated.

 

[felten]

Beersmith for me

 

[Crusty]

Hey Brewers,

I was just wondering what Brew software people are using. I am currently using the free 'Brewmate' software but I'm guessing there is some much better software available.

I am reasonably new to All Grain and not a whiz on computers so I need a program that is relatively user friendly.

Any suggestions or ideas on cost would be appreciated.

Hi Bats.
I have BeerSmith 2 & Beer Tools Pro.
To be honest, BeerSmith is a little more user friendly & easier to use than Beer Tools Pro, but BTP is so much better in my opinion.
I prefer the BTP layout & after you get your head around the scheduling, it's extremely accurate with all the calculations.
I have been using BTP for around 4yrs now & am 100% happy with the programme.

 

[drtomc]

The two most used ones, I think you'll find are Promash and Beersmith. I've used the latter, but not the former. Both have idiosyncrasies, but do a fine job. Some members of the Jobsian cult use Beer Alchemy. I use it on my iPhone, which is more convenient that carting the computer out during brewing. Like the others, it has some good stuff and other stuff that annoys the hell out of me (like not being able to change the %aa on hops in a "batch" of a recipe).

T.

 

[Bribie G]

I bought Beersmith but graduated to BrewMate - does everything I need.

Beersmith is a good program, if you are into total nerdism and want to spend hours poring over the most minute details of your brewing life, but the comparison I often make is:

Beersmith



Brewmate

 

[MarkBastard]

Are there any good Android ones? I have this Android tablet I bought for $99 that I use for heaps of stuff now. Would be handy to have my brew stuff on there.

 

[kieran]

Beer Tools Pro rocks for all the calibrations you can do with all your gear. Once calibrated, when you select the vessels you are using, all the strike temps, etc. are pre-calculated for the thermal efficiencies and losses of your vessels, and the thermal input of your heat sources can also be calculated and used to calculate time needed for heating volumes to a certain temp.

I wish it had tab layouts to make it easier to visualise on a small screen..

I had a play with Beersmith 2, but there is a few things that Beer Tools Pro does that Beersmith doesnt. Beersmith makes a meal of a brew session with what I experienced. The printed brewday sheets look great. It has shopping lists, which Beer Tools Pro doesn't. If Beersmith had proper vessel calibration components, it'd almost win.
Promash is good, but soooo 2003.

I haven't tried Brewmate properly, but it looks good too.

 

[hbnath]

+1 for Brewmate...I found it really easy to use being relatively new to brewing and used it for my first AG.
I found that it did everything I needed and was not too technical to use like a couple of the others I tried.
The brew day timer was great for planning and making sure additions went in at the right time etc

 

[kdaust]

I'm using brewzor pro on android. But its a bit of a pain to do everything on my phone. It would be easier to have recipes in beerxml from something else, then import to brewzor for mobile use when shopping or brewing.

 

[bignath]

Beer Tools Pro rocks for all the calibrations you can do with all your gear. Once calibrated, when you select the vessels you are using, all the strike temps, etc. are pre-calculated for the thermal efficiencies and losses of your vessels, and the thermal input of your heat sources can also be calculated and used to calculate time needed for heating volumes to a certain temp.

YEP I AGREE...

*snippety snip snip....
printed brewday sheets look great. It has shopping lists, which Beer Tools Pro doesn't.

YEAH IT DOES...

I have most of the brewing software packages. I regularly use Beersmith, Beer Tools Pro, and Brewmate. Have also tried BrewTarget, Beer Alchemy on iPhone plus many others....

OP, Brewmate is excellent, and for most brewers, is all that is required. Just because some other programs do more stuff, doesn't mean they are any better. I find quite the opposite actually. It's way too easy to get sucked in to all the extra bullshit that doesn't need to be worried about a lot of the time, and i find the other more extensive programs can get in the way of actually making beer.

FWIW, i was a BTP user like Crusty, then went to BS2 when it was released (hate it..) and then when Rob added the no chill button to Brewmate, i switched over to that. So much quicker to formulate, and i'll tell you the best part, that NONE of the other major packages have is ALARMS!.

It really is awesome, to sit back and relax with Brewmate open, it will tell you when to add whatever, with both a visual prompt, and an audible alarm. I cannot emphasize just how handy it is.

Yeah it's tempting to got to a nice slick, modern looking thing, but at the end of the day, Brewmate is by far the easiest to setup, quickest to formulate recipes on, and has alarms on brewday. For me, that's much more important at the stage i'm at in my brewing than going in way deeper than i need to, to make decent beer.

Brewmate for the win!

 

[Bats]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I have been using Brewmate and am quite used to it now so I might stick with what I know.

If I change now it's only going to confuse me and could affect a decent brew.

Cheers.

 

[fraser_john]

Promash, it may be old and a bit clunky compared to more recent releases of other apps, but it does everything very well.

Runs in Ubuntu under Wine without any issue as well.

 

[hoppinmad]

If you have an iphone or ipad i would go with a program called ibrew master. It compares to promash in functionality... but is more user friendly and has a real "sleek" look about it. I used beersmith for two years on my laptop and it is just so refreshing to be able to use your recipes to create batches instead of having to modify your original recipe, not to mention all the australian grains and hops being preloaded. Its a shame they haven't made a version for pc's really!

 

[Silo Ted]

Stick with what you are already familiar with. Theres nothing wrong with brewmate. Applications wont make you a better brewer.

 

[ledgenko]

Brewmate is TOPS !!

 

[MarkBastard]

I had a look at Brewmate but found a quirk.

If I intend a batch to be 20 litres, but end up getting 21L into the fermenter, I like to change the batch size to 21L. But Brewmate then goes and scales the ingredients. Can that be turned off?

 

[Spork]

Yes it can M^B. "Lock ingredients".

+1 for BrewMate.
It's free (make that +100...)
It's simple enough for a newer brewer to learn.
It lets you set different parameters (evaporation rates, efficiency)
It has "style Nazi" to help you to make recipes within a chosen style.
It has timers with visible and audible alarms.

I bought a 2nd hand laptop ($35 inc. post) which has an OS, a basic browser and Brewmate installed, and pretty much nothing else.
It gets set up on brew day and I find it indispensable. Especially the timers, and being able to browse AHB while I boil.

 

[Screwtop]

Brewmate is TOPS !!

Great software but lacks step mashing.

Screwy

 

[Bribie G]

I had a look at Brewmate but found a quirk.

If I intend a batch to be 20 litres, but end up getting 21L into the fermenter, I like to change the batch size to 21L. But Brewmate then goes and scales the ingredients. Can that be turned off?

Yes that "lock ingredients" thing had me puzzled for a while, but now I use it all the time.
As for the step mashing, I expect this will come in time - it keeps getting added to all the time, for example the recent "no chill" option. It's also great for BIAB.

 

[edschache]

Are there any good Android ones? I have this Android tablet I bought for $99 that I use for heaps of stuff now. Would be handy to have my brew stuff on there.

Hey all, new to the forum and relatively new to the hobby. Have only done a few extract and fresh wort brews but looking to get into BIAB. I also happen to be a relatively experience Android developer.

How much interest is there in an Android app? Would there be a group of people willing to help define and test an application for brewing (I don't have the brewing experience to match the dev skills)?

I have installed the following and had a look:
- Brewzor calculator
- HomeBrew calculator
- Brew Timer
- Brewing Assistant Free
- Brew Buddy IBU

While these applications provide useful calculators or timers they certainly aren't 100% (understandable).

I have been considering developing my own app instead of using an existing one mainly to work on my own understanding of the various calculations and aspects of brewing.

What I would add to an app:
- Use of fragments on honeycomb tablets (mainly for dev experience but also usability)
- Different levels of interface (e.g. Kit/Extract version with SG/FG/ABV calc vs AG version with boil timer etc)
- Information screens explaining the various terms and the calculations behind them (again for my education)
- Synching either between Android devices or with existing desktop tools like BeerSmith/BrewMate if possible (share feature?)
- Brew history so that when you let another homebrewer taste your brew and they ask what the mash out temp was you can tell them exactly

All that said currently my spare time allows for very little brewing and even less development side projects so it'd likely have to sit on the back burner for a bit longer.

Cheers,

Ed