Hi all I'm just getting into AG brewing and I'm looking into what software would suit best. I have Mac's at home including an I pad but I would consider a cheap laptop (windows) just as a brewing based computer to leaving in the garage. I've heard a lot of people talk about beersmith and it looks like the new version supports Mac which is great.Has anyone tried
http://www.ibrewmaster.com/ I looks ok and is reasonable price wise and would suit me as I use the iPad a lot. But I don't want to get it if it's a half arsed program and there is something a lot better out there.Being new something with recipies already in it would be nice and something to save my own recipes or track what beers I've made would also be handy.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
iBrewmaster on iPad is ok. I find it quite clumsy to navigate and i'm sure there are problems with it's accuracy and retaining information. I often have problems with it keeping the info i've just punched in.
It crashes on me fairly regularly too.
I wanted to use my iPad to brew with so badly, but ended up buying a small netbook from officeworks for $200 and i have currently installed:
Brewmate
Beersmith
Beertools Pro
All three are good. Beertools Pro is very good but you really have to setup your equipment profiles accurately to get the most out of it. The more info you give this program in particular, the more accurate it will spit stuff back at you.
Beersmith is often referenced and considered by many to be the industry standard i would guess. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best though. I've recently rekindled my relationship with this program and find it very good for biab and 3v alike. Just tell it what rig you're gonna use and youre away. (i'm both 3v and biab). Once again, setup it up correctly and you'll get accurate predictions.
Brewmate is free (the other two are not) but you can donate to the cause as it's created by a member of AHB. I slung Rob a few dollars years ago and i still love using his program. It's not as fully featured as the other two, but that is exactly why it's such a good piece of software. Everything you need, none of the ********.
Bribie will probably be along soon with his photos....
If it was me, i'd go with Brewmate, try that out (im sure it's mac compatible??) and also download the trial version of Beersmith. If you decide Brewmate is fine, then all good, just forget about Beersmith, but if you want all the bells and whistles and are prepared to work for it, then pay the registration fee for Beersmith (about $30) and you're good to go.
