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beerfan

beerfan

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I know everyone has their favorites but has anybody used more than one of the following and which one did you like? Or is there better software out there than these choices?
Beersmith
ProMash
Beertools Pro
Strangebrew
BrewWizard

Dan

I currently use Beersmith but I am always looking for improvements.
 
I am presently using Promash. I like it a little better than Beersmith. I a looking into Beertools pro. They have a lot of interesting recipies. I don't know anything about the other software programs you reference. Promash seems to be the most popular program
 
I like BeerSmith - the interface seems a bit more intuitive than ProMash.

I have Beer Tools Pro as well, and it looks prettier, but I still prefer BeerSmith.
 
I use Beersmith because I find it easier to use and customise. I also find the default hop bitterness calculation is more accurate for my set up.
 
I've been a long time promash user but I am transitioning completely over to BeerTools. It is a very in depth program so it is a slow process, especially with all of the upgrades they are doing to it currently.

I just like the feel of it better. VERY, very confusing program for BTP n00bs though. And yes, I'm a n00b. :D
 
I used the trial of ProMash for a while, and just didn't like the interface. I would have tried BeerToolsPro if they offered a free trial, but they didn't, so I tried BeerSmith and like it a lot. Is there something about BeerSmith that you dislike?
 
I dislike the fact that the BeerSmith folks seem to have stopped upgrading/supporting their product. But I still like it better than ProMash and BTP.
 
I use beersmith. I recently tried each of the tools available and beersmith was my favorite. BeerTools Pro came out after I already purchased beersmith. I wasn't thrilled about paying $4 for a demo so I haven't tried to see if it is worth switching. Like Uri I wish someone would buy the rights to beersmith and start upgrading.
 
The one thing I notcied with Beersmith as that my beers ALWAYS comeo ut darker than what the program shows. Could be me though, also ProMash has more of the well known brands if you will. That however is not a problem. I have found a couple of websites that are great for grain information.

Dan
 
beerfan said:
The one thing I notcied with Beersmith as that my beers ALWAYS comeo ut darker than what the program shows. Could be me though, also ProMash has more of the well known brands if you will. That however is not a problem. I have found a couple of websites that are great for grain information.

Dan
Click to expand...

Do tell! What are they?
 
I was going to get Beer tools, but it really worries me that they're not offering a free trial. Didn't they have a rep that shopped here a while ago and tell us that they'd be doing that some time soon?

Seems like a bad marketing decision. Why wouldn't you want to let people sample what you have?
 
beerfan said:
The one thing I notcied with Beersmith as that my beers ALWAYS comeo ut darker than what the program shows. Could be me though, also ProMash has more of the well known brands if you will. That however is not a problem. I have found a couple of websites that are great for grain information.

Dan
Click to expand...

I've noticed this as well. Still a BS user! lol, BS...
 
Do all of the softwares mentioned have an option to log all of your brewings and let you keep track of what date/time you brewed which batch and keep notes for each one?

If not, what does everyone use as a log?
 
DrugCoder said:
Do all of the softwares mentioned have an option to log all of your brewings and let you keep track of what date/time you brewed which batch and keep notes for each one?

If not, what does everyone use as a log?
Click to expand...


That's a good question. Not sure, I don't have any software but I did make (am in the process of making) an X-cel spreadsheet that does most of the 'normal' calculations without going into all the crazy details. I log using a spiral bound notebook and pen.
 
Beersmith treats each "recipe" as a batch. The recipe browser is just like the windows file manager. If you want to make the same beer again you have to copy the recipe (easy enough, just like copying a file in windows.)

In the recipe view you can input the brew date. Number of days in primary and secondary, even tertiary if you choose. Measured OG and FG and even apply a taste rating if you choose. There is also a place for freehand notes.

And you can sort your brews by date.
 
The other cool thing about BeerSmith is that you can create a seperate brew log folder. I have one folder with all my recipes and then I have the brew log with the ones I've actually made, which are also numbered and dated. Very cool.
 
orfy said:
What about the free online tools, beer recipator? from hbd.org
Click to expand...

They work ok but lack features that, in my opinion, are worth the $20. Also they are often slow and less intuiative.
 
I've been using the heck out of the free Beertools recipe generator and calculater.
We keep a spiral notebook to log our brew notes,etc.There are other free tools out there too but i really like the Beertools.Being a cheapskate,I'll settle for way less if it's free!I guess it's the same with the forum here.I love this place and it(you folks) gives me everything I need so I haven't felt the need to pay for an upgrade.....yet.(It would be cool to post pics though:eek: )
Cheers and Happy Holidays to all:mug:
 
Torchiest said:
The other cool thing about BeerSmith is that you can create a seperate brew log folder. I have one folder with all my recipes and then I have the brew log with the ones I've actually made, which are also numbered and dated. Very cool.
Click to expand...

I don't bother numbering and dating as I can sort by brew date but I do the same thing with a folder for beers actually brewed and others for someday beers or recipes posted here that look interesting.
 
For the mac users out there, I think Beer Alchemy is the winner:

http://www.kentplacesoftware.com/products/BeerAlchemy.html

Really nice program, great interface and it's the only brewing software I've found to date that has a nice recipe browser. It also does inventory management, brewing logs, etc. Overall I've been happy with it, very capable for brewing and a great looking interface to boot.
 
beerfan said:
The one thing I notcied with Beersmith as that my beers ALWAYS comeo ut darker than what the program shows. Could be me though, also ProMash has more of the well known brands if you will. That however is not a problem. I have found a couple of websites that are great for grain information.

Dan
Click to expand...

Hmm Beersmith always seems to be spot-on for me.......


Orfy said:
What about the free online tools, beer recipator? from hbd.org
Click to expand...


For those of us poor schleps with dial-up, Recipator is too damned slow. Although I do have it bookmarked.;)
 
I have used Beersmith for extract brewing for a long time now and it works just fine. The database for grains is a little smaller than Promash but it does seem easier to use, at least to me.
 
Also, with Beersmith you can add hops, yeasts, grains, extracts etc. Just provide the basic info and it will be added to your local database.
 
I use SUDS. It's a shareware. But I'm not sure if the author still supports it. I've emailed him without an answer. There are a few bugs in it. It's worth a try as the unregistered version doesn't cost anything
 
  • Lee's Brewery Beer Math and conversion JAVA calculator - Online program.
  • Lee's Brewery Hydrometer temperature correction JAVA applet - Online program.
  • ABC Brew 1.01 - Requires Lotus 1-2-3.
  • Beer Formula Calculator 1.3 - Excel spreadsheet..
  • BeerMeister 2.0 - Mac OS 8 or higher or OS X versions available
  • Beer Recipator - Online recipe formulation page.
  • www.beersmith.com - One of the most favoured. Free to try
  • Beer Stein - Collector's Edition. Keep track of your beer stein collection with this package from Village Collectors for use with Windows 95 or higher.
  • BreWater 3.0 - Windows utility for analyzing and synthesizing brewing water. Version 3.0 adds a pH calculation for water built from ion-free water as well as a Formulation Wizard, which will do all the water design work for you if you're too lazy to fiddle with the salt sliders yourself. Freeware; new all-in-one setup program with uninstall utility.
  • Brew Log Pro 1.1 - For Palm.
  • Brew Wizard 1.61 - Shareware. Home brewing reference, recipe calculator, inventory control, style guide, shopping list.
  • Home Brew Kit Master V1.4 - Home Brew Kit Master is a program for recording the details of your home brews, printing reports, calculating alcohol content, generating tasting sheets, and providing a searchable knowledge base of tips on home brewing. A great homebrewing aid, which will help you to create consistent homebrews. Suitable for all homebrewing kits, including beer, cider, and ginger beers. Shareware $15.
  • Homebrew Recipe Calculator 2.2 - Online program. designed to compute beer recipes and serve as a log for the brewing of those recipes. . Windows 3.1 or higher.
  • Mashcalc - Downloadable program for mash calculations.
  • ProBrewer.com - Online brewering and conversion tools.
  • ProMash - Commercial software designed for the experienced brewer. $24.95.
  • SUDS 6.1 - SUDS is a brewer's database and log program. SUDS 6.1 is for Windows 9x/NT/ME or 2000. This program provides a single place to put all of your recipes, log entries and miscellaneous brewing comments. Provided is a formatted log entry system, Recipe formulator, water addition calculator and a host of other features. There is now a handheld version for Windows CE as well. Finally you can bring your recipe formulator into your brewery with you.
  • StrangeBrew 1.7 - Powerful and easy to use recipe database for all types of homebrewers.
  • Tinibuw IBU calculator 0.09 - Downloadable program.
from http://leebrewery.com
 
Somehow you skipped over beersmith. As long as you're making a list you should have that one, in case someone is skipping pages and doesn't see how much was already posted. www.beersmith.com
 
I got tired of waiting for Beertools Pro to come out with a demo so I decided to purchase Beer Alchemy. It is working awesome!!! :)
 
Cregar said:
I got tired of waiting for Beertools Pro to come out with a demo so I decided to purchase Beer Alchemy. It is working awesome!!! :)
Click to expand...

Now we just need an iPhone version :)

I might have gone for beertools as well, but with beer alchemy had a 30 day demo and did everything I can think of with a slick interface, so they got my money.
 
That things gonna be what, like six hundred bucks?

I love how Apple stock picks up $10 in the past week or so, when everyone has known this damn phone was on its way for years. Market efficiency, my ass!
 

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