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Which brewing software do you use?

  • Promash

  • BeerSmith

  • Beer Tools Pro

  • None of the above (explain)


Results are only viewable after voting.
I voted ProMash, but I just started using it semi-regularly...I was using the calculators at TastyBrew.com for a lot of stuff, but they weren't really flexible enough. Looked at the trial versions of ProMash and BeerSmith, and ProMash just seemed more intuitive to me. Still seem like it's overly detailed in many places, and missing some basic stuff (batch sparge calculations?). I also have a homegrown spreadsheet that figures basically everything but IBUs, and I use that on occasion as well. Oh, and I still document all my brew sessions on paper.

So I'm a little schizophrenic about the whole thing...
 
I've been using brewsmith, I downloaded the free trial version and ended up paying the $20 for the full copy. I think it's easy to use and I like how you can enter what you have on hand for ingredients and when you put together a recipe it'll tell you what you still need to get.

*for all I know promash and beer tools will do this too, brewsmith is all I've used...
 
I've only ever used Beersmith and it's ok. There are some things I like, some things I don't. I wish your recipe window would stay open when you check the inventory, for example. But for the $20, it's fine.
 
Onescalerguy said:
I use the FREE Beertools online and love it.Works for me!
Cheers:mug:


Same here. Though I don't understand a lot of the more complicated things that some of the programs do. I just batch sparge and I'm really a beginner.

Monk
 
I use beersmith and promash, though promash mostly for tools now.

I was a promash guy then when my HD crashed I started using beersmith to see what it was like, then reinstalled promash. I don't like promash's interface, but I do like that you can have multiple windows and recipes open.

They both need an upgrade. I think beersmith will be out with one sooner than promash though. PM people run a brewery and they don't seem to give a rats a$$ about upgrading PM any more.
 
I've been using ProMash for about 3-1/2 years now. Tried BTP, wasn't impressed at all. Not very intuitive.

ProMash gets my vote for being user-friendly, the price is right, and easy to use. Just wish it was updated more often. :(
 
I second firebrewer's post. Been using ProMash for awhile, and it does everything I need it to do. Tried Beersmith, and it was alright, just different...and looks more complex. I like the relatively simple UI on PM, even though the program is pretty complex.
 
I actually feel just the opposite of Evan. I think Beersmith is easier to use than Promash. Tried both trial versions and went with Beersmith.
 
Yeah, I can't stand ProMash's interface.

One of the things I'm working on now, though, is building my own spreadsheets to replace Beersmith (which I do like) - primailry so that I can have a better understanding of where the calculations are coming from.
 
I've used promash pretty much since I started brewing a bit over a year ago. Does nearly everything I needed to, but I'm not too crazy about their brewing sessions.
 
Beersmith.
I like the export to text feature. Helps me keep a backup of my "Recipes.txt" file which I can also store on my Palm. That's nice when I'm wanting to order some ingredients for a recipe and don't have my laptop with me.
 
BierMuncher said:
Beersmith.
I like the export to text feature. Helps me keep a backup of my "Recipes.txt" file which I can also store on my Palm. That's nice when I'm wanting to order some ingredients for a recipe and don't have my laptop with me.

You can do that wth promash as well. Select "print" then in export to text file. Odd place to put it, but all the exprt functions apeear on the print menu.
 
Don't see iBrewmaster listed. Been using that for about a year. Previously used Brewpal and ProMash. But I love having iBrewmaster in my picket on the iPhone.
 
I use Beer Alchemy mostly but I also have iBrewmaster. Maybe because I've used it longer ( was the only Mac brew software I could run on my older power pc iMac at the time) I prefer Beer Alchemy.
 
iPhone didn't exist when this poll was created. OLD thread.


Anybody but me find it amusing that the first post on this thread in 2012 is exactly 5 years to the day almost the hour from the last post in 2007?

Edit: And keeping with the question BeerSmith II for me.
 
Swapped from ProMash to BeerSmith this year - like going from a...a thing that's barely mediocre to another thing that's really, really good. :)
The Cloud thing with ingredients and recipes is great, scaling tools. Highly recommend BeerSmith
 
I voted none of the above having tested Brewtarget, Beersmith and several others I cannot recall. None of them fit exactly to my process and equipment so I wrote my own using MS Excel.
 
I can't seem to vote on my iPhone. I used to use brewTarget...ad really liked it.

I recently started using iBrewmaster. I like it for the convenience but I'm still trying to get used to its nuances.
 
Love beersmith 2. It was just okay at first, but once I customized the equipment and data to my process I have been very happy.
 
Brewer's Friend is now out of the early release phase and has a subscription model. There is a free trial that lasts as long as you want, but you can only have up to 5 recipes and 5 brew sessions. The price is reasonable compared to other products and it is cloud based so you can use it wherever.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/
 
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