BeerTools

Anyone here use beertools software...

I'm on a Mac, so some of the other software is not an option for me.

I use it and several other people in our club have it. I like it much better than beer Smith or Pro mash.

I'm a fan.

The recipe output reports are pretty.

It's what I've been using and I like it - was easier for me to understand and use than the others, but I now also have a copy of BeerSmith as well. If you're on a Mac, check out Beer Alchemy as well.

If you do go the Beer Tools route, there's a discount: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/beertools-pro-software-20-off-until-12-31-09-a-149644/

the 20% off Beer Tools is what prompted me to look into it.

BeerSmith currently does not have a mac version, but I did volunteer to help beta test the mac version when it comes out.

I'll look into Beer Alchemy as well before I buy, hadn't heard of that one.

I cannot endorse this product any longer as they do not support an increasingly common netbook resolution (1024 x 600) nor do they seem interested in doing so in the future.

The inability to size the ingredient search to a usable dimension renders the software unusable for creating new recipes.

If it were an easy thing to change I would do it. But the interface would essentially have to be redesigned to accommodate the typical netbook screen resolution. I'm not saying it will never happen, but it won't be something to expect in the next few releases.

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Jeff
BeerTools.com Staff


To me this is an unacceptable response.

That's an interesting problem you have there. What are you using instead?

My current beef with BTP is some essential data is being dropped when you export recipe text or print out. I workaround by pasting into the notes page, but it's tiring. What bothers me is that the crew over there see this as a feature request when I think it's a bug. It's still better, IMHO, than all the alternatives.

Bobby, I've been winging it.

I can create a recipe on my desktop and then transfer it to the netbook, but should I want to materially adjust any ingredients on brewday, I'm screwed.

I can also tunnel in via wifi, but that's not a sustainable strategy either. Not everywhere I brew has wifi available.

The netbook is an ideal brewing computer. I heard that 1 in 5 new computer sales are netbooks. They're basically saying that they're going to wait it out, which is silly. Many people will use a cast-off netbook for brewing years from now, because it is cheap and effective. This problem could very well hant them.

For some reason they are not taking advantage of crowdsourcing ingredients or settings.

No Sorachi in the inventory? Really?

The sole method of getting the product is internet download and yet no central cloud database?

But you're correct Bobby. It's still the best, but only through attrition.

I too use BTP because it's the only Mac brewing software out there, but its also available for PC.

I like it mostly because it connects with your beertools.com account and you can transfer recipes between the two. Meaning, I can load up beertools.com at work, play around with a recipe, save it, then import it into the software when I get home. I know, I know. I shouldn't be doing this at work, but when I've got a few minutes to kill.

One of my problems with it is I have a hard time with the mash scheduling and equipment. I wish I could download a template for all the brewing hardware I use, but sadly, I have no luck finding what I need. I guess I just need to sit down and calculate the dead space on my Rubbermaid MLT.

Glasfeena said:

I guess I just need to sit down and calculate the dead space on my Rubbermaid MLT.

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Easier to MEASURE it than to CALCULATE it.

I've never messed with the online functionality of beertools. I save my recipes to my own webserver so I can get to it anyway.

There are so many things that BTP could be at this point if they had the staffing. Vessels, burners, whole schedules, ingredient data, etc should be selectable from a huge online database. While some data may be bogus, it could be flagged with an accuracy rating from different users. IOW, I could calibrate a sanke mash tun, hit a "publish" button and as users use it and confirm its accuracy, they vote it up.

Alas, the movement has been dead slow on it. Users barely use their forums either.

Set up all your vessels, write the stuff down so you don't lose it. Perform the calibration steps, etc. Once you get that, you're good to go.

Note, I have 3 videos on youtube about setting up BTP.

is the evaluation copy disabled to truely test it out?

just went to convert an oatmeal stout from a partial to full mash an it seems a lot is disabled... want to take the truck for a real test drive... before buying

I too use BeerTools on a Mac. I really like all of the basic but feel they spend way to much time working on their web features and are way to slow improving the basic software. I also wish the inventory aspect was easier to use. I have spoken with many Microbrews and they all seem to love and recommend ProMash but you have to run an emulator on the Mac for that.

olllllo said:

I cannot endorse this product any longer as they do not support an increasingly common netbook resolution (1024 x 600) nor do they seem interested in doing so in the future.

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Does it check when the product runs or only at install? We have a few products at work that won't install at netbook native res so I just toss an external monitor on the book and run the install.

brewt00l said:

Does it check when the product runs or only at install? We have a few products at work that won't install at netbook native res so I just toss an external monitor on the book and run the install.

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It installs without any problem.

The issue is that the ingredient window is re-sized to 0 pixels to accommodate the 1028x600 Netbook resolution.

You cannot expand the ingredient window and therefore can't add new ingredients to a new recipe or edit/add to an existing one.

In prior versions some of these windows could be undocked. This is no longer the case.