Brewtarget 1.2.2 - Free Open Source Brewing Software

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rocketman768

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
1,083
Reaction score
28
Location
Evanston, IL
This is the release of Brewtarget 1.2.2. As always, it's completely free and open source (donations very much appreciated!). It works on linux, windows, mac, and more. It's compatible with recipes by software that use BeerXML like Beersmith. In case you're unfamiliar with brewtarget, see the 1.1 thread or the 1.2 thread.

Download it here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/brewtarget/

4743854069_f9eee713dd.jpg

By the way, is anyone interested in making a short demo video for me like ? I would really appreciate it!

New Features

  • More calculators, such as pitch rate, refractometer tools, and a simple unit conversion tool.
  • Advanced mash designer tool (this one is really cool imho).
  • Can show all OG/FG as Plato/Brix/Balling instead of specific gravity.
  • More detailed ingredient descriptions and uses.
  • Lot of fixes and improvements.

There are a lot more, but I can't think of them right now.

Windows Installation
Unzip to wherever. Right click "brewtarget.exe" and then "Send to desktop" or any other method to make a shortcut on your desktop.

Mac Installation
Unzip the app to wherever. You need to have the Qt 4.6.2 (or greater) runtime library installed. Go here: http://qt.nokia.com/downloads then LGPL, then Framework Only. NOTE: there is a problem with some of the Qt versions for mac (including 4.6.0), in that they are missing a few essential components (QtDBus libraries). This is a bug with Qt that I have no control over, but has been fixed since 4.6.2.

Linux Installation
Download the .deb and use dpkg to install as usual. You need to install the libraries for Qt 4.6 or above, as well as Phonon. If you can't use dpkg, you probably want the .tar.bz2 download, which is the source. The build process is the standard "./configure && make && make install". There is also a debian source package available if you want to build a debian package on a different architecture than i386.

Getting Started
Before you do ANYTHING, please go through the example recipe in About->Manual. This example tries to hit on all the features and how to use brewtarget in general.

Importing Recipes From Old Versions
You can export your recipes from the old version and import them into the new one. Instead of exporting them one by one, you can do File->Export Database in the old version. This will create 3 files (database.xml, recipes.xml, and mashs.xml). Then in the new version, you can do File->Import Recipes and choose the recipes.xml file.

Ongoing Translations
I am preparing to release translations of the software, and I currently have translations for Croatian and French. However, I need help translating to other languages (especially like German, Spanish, and other major languages). You only need to be fluent in both English and another language. You need no programming experience. Keep in mind that you have to know all the beer jargon like "wort," "hops," "decoction," etc. There are about 700 short phrases to translate. If you're interested in doing this for a language, PM me your email address, and I'll send you more details. There's no deadline; you just work on it when you have time.

Bug Reports/Feature Requests
If you have a
sflogo.php
account, please report any bugs or feature requests on our feature tracker. Otherwise, just post them on here.

Want to Help Out?
Get an account at sourceforge.net and PM me if you want to be a developer on the project. C++ experience is required. If you do not already know what the phrase "model-view-controller" means, then you are probably not ready yet. Otherwise, you are welcome to use subversion to check out and modify the current code. If you modify the code and want to submit the changes, just let me know.

Anyway, enjoy!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Before I install the new version I'm curious whether the recipes I've saved from previous version will remain intact, or whether they will be wiped out.

If they will be wiped out can I assume that exporting recipe from old version and importing into new version will work?

Thanks for your hard work on this outstanding application.
 
Downloaded this today and put a recipe through it to see how it runs. The interface is really good and it's pretty user friendly, only thing I would say is that the UK measurements options don't seem to be fully in place, for example I can't amend hop measurements to grams, nor can I amend my grain to Kg. It's a bit of a pain having to convert them. Also, in regards the mash options (I didn't get that far) does it calculate strike water quantity/temp etc? thanks!
 
Rocket

Great job once again! I love the new mash editor and you even put a pitching calculator in it!!! Can't wait to formulate some new recipes and brew with the new version.

Thanks again!
 
Before I install the new version I'm curious whether the recipes I've saved from previous version will remain intact, or whether they will be wiped out.

If they will be wiped out can I assume that exporting recipe from old version and importing into new version will work?

Thanks for your hard work on this outstanding application.

Yup. You can just export your recipes from the old version and import them into the new one. Instead of exporting them one by one, you can do File->Export Database in the old version. This will create 3 files (database.xml, recipes.xml, and mashs.xml). Then in the new version, you can do File->Import Recipes and choose the recipes.xml file.
 
Downloaded this today and put a recipe through it to see how it runs. The interface is really good and it's pretty user friendly, only thing I would say is that the UK measurements options don't seem to be fully in place, for example I can't amend hop measurements to grams, nor can I amend my grain to Kg. It's a bit of a pain having to convert them. Also, in regards the mash options (I didn't get that far) does it calculate strike water quantity/temp etc? thanks!

If you want to display all the mass/weight quantities in metric units, you can select the "Use SI Units" button in the weight section of the options dialog. If this isn't what you're looking for, let me know.

The mash calculators do indeed calculate strike water quantities and temps. See the manual included in About->Manual for details.
 
That's what I was looking for Rocketman, apologies, I should have been more thorough with it! I look forward to using this!
 
Brewing this weekend. Will have to go through it to see what you changed from that little beta version of yours. Will definitely put that refractometer tool to use this weekend during sparging.
 
Question for you. I'm assuming in the Fermentables tab, the Yield % column is % weight of the ingredient that is fermentable? If so, why is Milk Sugar (Lactose) set at 76.1%? Shouldn't it be at 0% because it's unfermentable sugar?
 
Question for you. I'm assuming in the Fermentables tab, the Yield % column is % weight of the ingredient that is fermentable? If so, why is Milk Sugar (Lactose) set at 76.1%? Shouldn't it be at 0% because it's unfermentable sugar?

Yield refers to the percentage of equivalent glucose by mass as far as measuring the specific gravity is concerned. In other words, if you put X lbs of lactose in Y gallons of water, it will raise the gravity as if you had added 0.761 * X lbs of glucose in Y gallons of water.

However, since we're using the BeerXML standard to be compatible with beersmith, there's not a good way to tell the program that this sugar adds to the OG, but is unfermentable. So, if you prefer setting the yield for lactose to 0, then you can do that. Either way, just be aware that your OG/FG/ABV might be a little off.
 
Witnessed this software at a joint brew day yesterday. Numbers all matched up with what I had in Beersmith. There were less options, but it looks to be off to a great start.
 
This is a great program! I have found two problems. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 with the latest QT. the problem I have found is when I try to arrange the brew-day mode instructions the program crashes and even sometimes it crashes when I click the Brew-day mode. Maybe I am missing something? This is the error I get:

mmap() failed: Cannot allocate memory
abort: audio_out.c:2292: _x_ao_new_port: Aborting.
Aborted

I have just now noticed that it also installs brewtarget in the Accessiories and in the Education locations (Two copies in each place).
 
rocketman, a couple features to be added to future versions:

- A tab to contain free-form notes would be absolutely wonderful
- being able to save and view brewday logs/results (maybe this is there and I missed it?)
- In some of the tabs, the columns are not spaced appropriately for options given. If I change the time from hrs to minutes in the hops tab, it doesn't seem to fit. Also probably don't need 3 decimal places of precision... The spacing issue also shows up when trying to change a hop addition to a dry hop. The pull-down isn't wide enough to even see my option unless I manually re-size the column first.

everything else is good so far! Good work!
 
This is a great program! I have found two problems. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 with the latest QT. the problem I have found is when I try to arrange the brew-day mode instructions the program crashes and even sometimes it crashes when I click the Brew-day mode. Maybe I am missing something? This is the error I get:

mmap() failed: Cannot allocate memory
abort: audio_out.c:2292: _x_ao_new_port: Aborting.
Aborted

I have just now noticed that it also installs brewtarget in the Accessiories and in the Education locations (Two copies in each place).

Hm, strange error. I'll see if I can find out what it is.

Randar said:
- A tab to contain free-form notes would be absolutely wonderful
- being able to save and view brewday logs/results (maybe this is there and I missed it?)
- In some of the tabs, the columns are not spaced appropriately for options given. If I change the time from hrs to minutes in the hops tab, it doesn't seem to fit. Also probably don't need 3 decimal places of precision... The spacing issue also shows up when trying to change a hop addition to a dry hop. The pull-down isn't wide enough to even see my option unless I manually re-size the column first.

For the notes, check the "extras" button in the toolbar. If that's not what you mean, let me know. The brewday logs and results are the next big thing I want to do. As for column spacing, I have been fighting with this issue, but seems like there's no good way to do auto-spacing with this Qt framework. If some Qt guru is reading this, let me know if there's a way I can get the columns to resize appropriately.
 
I had the same issues as Blindguardian and when the brewday mode was working, it was using a ton of CPU, otherwise fantastic program. Kudos for making something for us Linux users!
 
Importing Recipes From Old Versions
You can export your recipes from the old version and import them into the new one. Instead of exporting them one by one, you can do File->Export Database in the old version. This will create 3 files (database.xml, recipes.xml, and mashs.xml). Then in the new version, you can do File->Import Recipes and choose the recipes.xml file.

I don't see a 'File>Export Database' option in 1.2.1; when you choose 'File>Export Recipe' it only exports the current recipe. If you have the 3 files already, can you simply start 1.2.2 and import them? When you do 'File>Import Recipes, does it also update the database and/or mashs files?

I also kinda miss the big 'BrewTarget' logo above the beer image...
 
As for column spacing, I have been fighting with this issue, but seems like there's no good way to do auto-spacing with this Qt framework. If some Qt guru is reading this, let me know if there's a way I can get the columns to resize appropriately.

I'm hardly a Guru, but you may want to check out resizeColumnToContents

-a.
 
running version 1.2.2 on a MAC (10.4.1) the buttons to save or cancel (I assume) do not have any indication what the button is for. On the main window the three buttons on the bottom right are blank, the equipment editor window button next to the equipment dropdown is blank as well and the three on the bottom. In the fermentable Database window, the two buttons on the bottom left are OK but the two to the right are blank. Other windows have the same issue. Not sure if it's me.

thanks

tom
 
If you have the 3 files already, can you simply start 1.2.2 and import them? When you do 'File>Import Recipes, does it also update the database and/or mashs files?

Yeah, you can do that. When you import recipes, it will in fact add any new ingredients (with a distinct name) to the database.

I'm hardly a Guru, but you may want to check out resizeColumnToContents

Yup. That function tends not to work as you would expect, or at least not how I would expect.

On the main window the three buttons on the bottom right are blank, the equipment editor window button next to the equipment dropdown is blank as well and the three on the bottom.

Hm. Which version of Qt do you have installed? We switched to svg images in this release.
 
Hm. Which version of Qt do you have installed? We switched to svg images in this release.[/QUOTE]

OK, after reading the MAC installation under New features (real men don't read instructions) I installed 4.6.3, I had v4, all is OK. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

tom
 
I've noticed that this new version of Brewtarget hammers my CPU pretty much constantly, even while sitting in background.

Seems that it hovers between 65% and 85% CPU usage most of the time. I'm guessing there is a memory leak or run away process of some sort.

I'm running it on a Macbook, OS 10.5.8, 2.4 Ghz Core2Duo, 4 GB RAM.
 
I've noticed that this new version of Brewtarget hammers my CPU pretty much constantly, even while sitting in background.

Seems that it hovers between 65% and 85% CPU usage most of the time. I'm guessing there is a memory leak or run away process of some sort.

I'm running it on a Macbook, OS 10.5.8, 2.4 Ghz Core2Duo, 4 GB RAM.

Windows 7 pro doesnt have that issue, I am at less than .3% cpu usage.
 
I was checking out the program, and the first thing I see is in the strike calculator, there are most of the usual components except for how much water volume you need to infuse at strike temp initially. I see the total volume, but not the amount needed to strike.
 
The malt meter - Just wondering if anyone else is getting "way hoppy" when their bitterness falls into the IBU range of your selected style? Or is this calculated in a different way? I am doing a guinness clone - dry stout, and at 35 IBUS it says way hoppy. The range is 30-45
 
also in the default settings, the Grian absorption is showing G/kg instead of G/lb and the Water to Grain ratio is showing Qts/kg instead of Qts /lb. the numbers are right, but the text doesnt match up.
 
The malt meter - Just wondering if anyone else is getting "way hoppy" when their bitterness falls into the IBU range of your selected style? Or is this calculated in a different way? I am doing a guinness clone - dry stout, and at 35 IBUS it says way hoppy. The range is 30-45

have you got the "Style Nazi" turned on?
 
I've noticed that this new version of Brewtarget hammers my CPU pretty much constantly, even while sitting in background.

Seems that it hovers between 65% and 85% CPU usage most of the time. I'm guessing there is a memory leak or run away process of some sort.

I'm running it on a Macbook, OS 10.5.8, 2.4 Ghz Core2Duo, 4 GB RAM.

I'm getting the same thing, (55-80%) on Ubuntu 10.04 2.2 Dual Core Athlon, 1.5 GB RAM. (I know, not a powerhouse)
 
I've noticed that this new version of Brewtarget hammers my CPU pretty much constantly, even while sitting in background.

Seems that it hovers between 65% and 85% CPU usage most of the time. I'm guessing there is a memory leak or run away process of some sort.

I'm running it on a Macbook, OS 10.5.8, 2.4 Ghz Core2Duo, 4 GB RAM.

Yes, I noticed this too right after I released it :/ However, I've found the problem and fixed it. What was happening was that the little maltiness widget on the main window was asking the recipe to recalculate the IBUs EVERY SINGLE TIME it was drawn on the screen (which can be thousands of times per second).

You guys are sort of my Guinea pigs when it comes to finding bugs in this software, so thanks for putting up with bugs like this from time to time. I'll wait a little while to see if people find some more bugs, and I'll fix them all and make a "fixed" release shortly.
 
I was checking out the program, and the first thing I see is in the strike calculator, there are most of the usual components except for how much water volume you need to infuse at strike temp initially. I see the total volume, but not the amount needed to strike.

I think you'll find what you're looking for if you click the Brewday Mode at the top or if you highlight a mash instruction and click the edit button to the right (looks like a pencil and paper).
 
The malt meter - Just wondering if anyone else is getting "way hoppy" when their bitterness falls into the IBU range of your selected style? Or is this calculated in a different way? I am doing a guinness clone - dry stout, and at 35 IBUS it says way hoppy. The range is 30-45

It's just a widget based on the IBU:GU ratio chart that gets posted around here all the time, and it ignores the style you have chosen. You can completely ignore it if you want. If you think there's something wrong though, send me a pm and I'll check it out.
 
I think there may be a bug in your Mash Designer in the calculation of the used tun space. It's telling me that with just over 20lb of grain in a 10gal tun, I can't get 5gal of water in there. Bobby_M's chart here suggests that my MLT can hold up to 24lb of grain at a 1.25 qt/lb thickness. Your software won't let me get anywhere close to that!
 
nice stuff! i went to download my trusty brewtarget for another computer of mine and found out its a new version, im checking it out now. love the extra features so far. thanks rocketman!
 
update: ive been fiddling with it and yeah i see what people mean about high CPU usage though its not a huge deal, but also is there an instruction manual for the mash setup? ive always kind of had to leave that part out when i used previous versions, and im sure it works, but i cant figure out how to do a decoction in it
 
Back
Top