Promash Vs Beersmith Vs Strangebrew (etc.)

[t2000kw]

I own ProMash and wondered how it compared to Beersmith and Strangebrew.

Has anyone here tried all three, or maybe ProMash and one of the others, who might be able to give a rundown of which is better for certain aspects of brewing and which might be better for others?

If there's a big advantage to using another package, I might give it a chance.

I personally don't like to load up my computer with software (including trial-ware) unless I am going to use it. I've had too many issues with Vista's Windows Update being messed up after adding lots of software.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I own ProMash and wondered how it compared to Beersmith and Strangebrew.

Has anyone here tried all three, or maybe ProMash and one of the others, who might be able to give a rundown of which is better for certain aspects of brewing and which might be better for others?

If there's a big advantage to using another package, I might give it a chance.

I personally don't like to load up my computer with software (including trial-ware) unless I am going to use it. I've had too many issues with Vista's Windows Update being messed up after adding lots of software.

Use beersmith here and also run Vista. No problems on this end, well that i am aware of. In regards to which is better, its hard to say. I had (dare I say it) a trial version of Promash and of Beersmith. Not saying promash isn't any good its just that Beersmith to me seemed to be far easier to work with. Strangebrew, never heard of it till now.


BYB

 

[technocat]

I tried both over a year ago and settled on beersmith probably because it was a bit better to navigate using XP. Frankly I think it comes down to personal choice.

<_<

 

[scott_penno]

As others have done, when I was looking at purchasing some software I evaluated Promash and Beersmith side by side. For me, Beersmith won hands down. But I suspect it is a personal choice as this topic has popped up from time to time and there are plenty of advocates for Promash.

Slightly off topic, but if installing software on your PC is an issue, have you considered running VMWare, creating a virtual machine, evaluating each of the pieces of software and then you can just remove the virtual machine? It's useful for all kinds of tinkering and has no long lasting effects (other than having to install VMWare).

YMMV.

sap.

 

[bconnery]

Like others I tried a couple and settled on beersmith.
At the time I was doing extract and grains and it is hands down better in its extract recipe support.
Now as an AG brewer it is still a great program.

If you have and are happy with promash I personally don't think the differences are sufficient to justify the purchase, install and data migration required...

I remember reading a while ago that some new users were having trouble getting support from promash, but they may have changed since then...

 

[smudge]

I've tried both but settled on Beersmith. Features-wise I don't think there's much difference.

It just seems that there are more frequent updates and the Beersmith creator is a little more interested in refining his
program based on user feedback.

Cheers,
smudge

 

[katzke]

I used BeerSmith and could not get around the odd problems and the technical support that basically said you just do not understand and live with it.

I use Stangebrew but would not recommend it if you like Promash. It is a community development software under Java and has virtually no support. I was able to get some questions answered but anything that requires a program tweak has not been addressed in months.

Why do I use it? Because it is free and it does work better for my needs. I got what I paid for.

I have Suds but have not played with it to see if I can make adjustments to suit my needs. So I add one more to the list.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I used BeerSmith and could not get around the odd problems and the technical support that basically said you just do not understand and live with it.

I use Stangebrew but would not recommend it if you like Promash. It is a community development software under Java and has virtually no support. I was able to get some questions answered but anything that requires a program tweak has not been addressed in months.

Why do I use it? Because it is free and it does work better for my needs. I got what I paid for.

I have Suds but have not played with it to see if I can make adjustments to suit my needs. So I add one more to the list.

I got what I paid for.

And basically that is something users should think about. I am very reluctant to part with my cash for any PC programmes but with Beersmith I made an exception to my rule.

BYB

 

[daddywillwill]

i have all three and i have only really liked beersmith. promash is good but with beer smith you can change a AG recipe to extract, but haven't been game to try it cause it takes out so much from the original recipe.
Like instead of 4kg of grains it will tell you to use 3.8 kg of extract?

strangebrew is very basic. haven't used it much since i got beersmith.

and also there is Qbrew too, which is more basic then strangebrew.

my 2 cents worth of lollies.

Willis

 

[t2000kw]

I use Stangebrew but would not recommend it if you like Promash. It is a community development software under Java and has virtually no support. I was able to get some questions answered but anything that requires a program tweak has not been addressed in months.

Why do I use it? Because it is free and it does work better for my needs. I got what I paid for.

On their web site they now say it's shareware that is a full evaluation version for 30 days, then it disables some features.

But apparently, if you pay for it you get to keep those features and get technical support and future versions.

"Cost: StrangeBrew is available as shareware/freeware with a limited trial period (30 days). After the 30 day trial, some features are disabled. If you like StrangeBrew and want to use all the features beyond the trial, there's a $15 registration fee. Registration gets you technical support, future versions, and a warm fuzzy feeling inside. See the licence.txt file or help file that is installed with StrangeBrew for details on sending me some cash."

Promash also disables some features after the 30 day trial period is over. But I must say that some of those features are still worth using and keeping the program for, even if you don't register the program.

Don

 

[katzke]

On their web site they now say it's shareware that is a full evaluation version for 30 days, then it disables some features.

But apparently, if you pay for it you get to keep those features and get technical support and future versions.

"Cost: StrangeBrew is available as shareware/freeware with a limited trial period (30 days). After the 30 day trial, some features are disabled. If you like StrangeBrew and want to use all the features beyond the trial, there's a $15 registration fee. Registration gets you technical support, future versions, and a warm fuzzy feeling inside. See the licence.txt file or help file that is installed with StrangeBrew for details on sending me some cash."

Promash also disables some features after the 30 day trial period is over. But I must say that some of those features are still worth using and keeping the program for, even if you don't register the program.

Don

StrangeBrew is strange. You can get version 1.8 and pay for it or you can get the version I have based on JAVA and it is free. I have not used 1.8 as I read someplace that it is not being supported and the JAVA version is the new one. All the updates and info on the StrangeBrew site are old. Here is a link to the info about the JAVA project. http://www.strangebrew.ca/java/

 

[t2000kw]

I purchased Beersmith today. It looks like I'll be involved in testing it on Windows 7 when it's officially released and beta testing new versions.

At first glance it looks more complicated then ProMash, but it's just different, I guess.

One feature the Beersmith people pointed out as unique was that it can convert all grain to extract and back.

If I'm not mistaken, I think you can start with a "standard" style recipe and make changes from that to your customized version. Is this true, and does it have starting point recipes in it to do that with?

 

[warra48]

i have all three and i have only really liked beersmith. promash is good but with beer smith you can change a AG recipe to extract, but haven't been game to try it cause it takes out so much from the original recipe.
Like instead of 4kg of grains it will tell you to use 3.8 kg of extract?

strangebrew is very basic. haven't used it much since i got beersmith.

and also there is Qbrew too, which is more basic then strangebrew.

my 2 cents worth of lollies.

Willis

No need to be frightened of manipulating your recipes in BeerSmith.
When you're in My Recipes, highlight the recipe you want to work on, right click it, and select duplicate.
You can now go to town on your duplicate, leaving the original intact.

 

[t2000kw]

No need to be frightened of manipulating your recipes in BeerSmith.
When you're in My Recipes, highlight the recipe you want to work on, right click it, and select duplicate.
You can now go to town on your duplicate, leaving the original intact.

That's a really easy way to do it. Thanks for the tip. Lots to learn with a new program here.