BrewBlogger 2.2 Released, Looking for Input

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BrewBlogger

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BrewBlogger is a web-based alternative to software such as BeerSmith, ProMash, and others. Yeah, this is shameless promotion, since I'm the main developer, but I came to this forum looking for inspiration and suggestions as to what to add to it.

BrewBlogger is a free, open-source, web-based, PHP/MySQL application that stores recipes and brew sessions for online viewing and updating. It includes a suite of calculators: water amounts, strike water temperature, efficiency, priming sugar amounts, bitterness (featuring Garetz, Tinseth, Daniels, Rager formulas) force carbonation, calories, ABV, ABW, and recipe calculation. You can log your brew sessions in either U.S. or metric measurements.

What separates BrewBlogger from other software is the ability to have multiple people (like a homebrew club) use a single installation to track and log their individual brews and recipes. Essentially, it's a homebrewing content management system (CMS).

More information can be found on the website at brewblogger.net. You can test drive both the personal edition and club edition there as well.

The latest version, 2.2, incorporates a BeerXML import function (developed by Oskar Stephens) and an improved, more compliant, BeerXML export function. Additionally, it includes an update style database based upon the BJCP's 2008 guidelines.

Cheers,
 
I have been using an older version for a while and like it! :)
Thank you very much for your time and effort.
 
First off, thanks for creating this and supporting it. I love it and hope to be able to support it with a donation soon. Thanks again!

I've been using this for a couple weeks and here are my issues.

1.) When inporting recipes from Beersmith (via BeerXML), the mash schedule does not get imported and needs to be recreated within BrewBlogger.

2.) When trying to sort your recipes by color, IBU or ABV they do not sort properly.

3.) After importing a recipe the yeast is not matched with what is in BrewBlogger properly. And there doesn't seem to be an option to manage yeast, you can manage hops, grains and adjuncts; just not yeast.

You can verify issue #2 via beer.anthonyharvey.com
 
First off, thanks for creating this and supporting it. I love it and hope to be able to support it with a donation soon. Thanks again!

Thanks very much. This has been two years in the making...I'm still working out the kinks, so thanks for giving it a go!

I've been using this for a couple weeks and here are my issues.

1.) When inporting recipes from Beersmith (via BeerXML), the mash schedule does not get imported and needs to be recreated within BrewBlogger.

Oskar Stephens, the mastermind behind the BeerXML import, knows about this issue. In fact, it's because of BeerSmith's quirks that the ability to import BeerXML is limited to the recipes database, which, at this time, does not have mash schedule tables.

It's on my list to expand the recipe tables to include mash scheduling. At present, they only have a "procedure" table that is a sort of catch-all.

2.) When trying to sort your recipes by color, IBU or ABV they do not sort properly.

Unfortunately, this is a known issue that wasn't addressed in the latest release. It slipped through the cracks, so to speak. I'll get it on to the bug list. For now, the best way to get the sorting to work right, for color at least, is to add a leading zero on any SRM that is below 10 (e.g., 08.3 or something).

The IBU one is new to me. I'll look into it.

The ABV isn't new, and I need to address it. Unfortunately, since ABV is calculated by the scripting, the only DB table that can be used to sort via a MySQL query (which is what all sorting is based upon) is OG. I'll get this one back on the bug list.

3.) After importing a recipe the yeast is not matched with what is in BrewBlogger properly. And there doesn't seem to be an option to manage yeast, you can manage hops, grains and adjuncts; just not yeast.

Yeast management is going to be in the next release. As for it not matching, I'll look into it, but the only thing the import script does is take whatever is in the source XML file and plop the text into a DB table.

Thanks a bunch for your comments. If you find any more bugs or want more features, please go to either SourceForge (under the Tracker menu) or GoogleCode to report them. Or, if the inspiration strikes you while you are using BrewBlogger, links are provided under the "BrewBlogger Help" menu from the Administration section.

Prost!
 
This looks suhweet - Is it by chance something that can be added to a CMS type site?

Yes and no. At present, the program is stand-alone. That said, since the program is open-source, an enterprising someone may find a way to code an integration script or skin so BrewBlogger can be inside of, say, a Drupal installations.

That someone, however, is not me. My skillz only go so far (in fact, hard-core php programmers will cringe at my code if they dig in - I'm mostly a hack, learning as I go).
 
If anyone wants to use this software on their own pc, all you will need to get is uniform server.. google it, its really nice you don't need to install, just drop the source code in www folder and run the batch file. You can then go to 78666.com - Guide to San Marcos, Texas to get to the site. I'll be running a copy on my server in a couple of days if anyone wants to use it feel free, may even adapt it a little bit to fit my liking thanks for the code.

If anyone has any questions PM me please.
 
I just want to add my 2cents here - My "club" has been using this for about 2 months now and I have to say its a pretty sound blog. For those looking for a day to day type logging program, this is it. I tried other "professional" programs and to be honest this is the program for those people that need a more "casual" way to track your brewing habits and share them with other members of your group. Thanks for your hard work Geoff. I look forward to trying some of your recipes and continue to enjoy using your brewblog!
Rob
 
That someone, however, is not me. My skillz only go so far (in fact, hard-core php programmers will cringe at my code if they dig in - I'm mostly a hack, learning as I go).

Its not bad, trust me I'm a software analyst and some of the code that comes accross my desk is HORRID.
 
I am installing on my own web server Centos 5.2. I keep getting this error: No database selected

I know I am missing something, I have done this before...
 
I realize this is a little off topic for the thread, but was curious if anyone else had any problems logging in once the site was up.

This is a note to brewblogger: I tried submitting a help request through the brewblogger.net site and it is giving me an error when I click submit.

Anyway, I have the site up and running and when I go to the login screen and enter the default privileged user I get an error. The error I am getting is:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '=', expecting ')' in PATH TO INSTALLED FILES/includes/logincheck.inc.php on line 12

If anyone could provide help on this error it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Monty,

Not sure how your provider is configured but I had to change the localhost variable in $hostname_brewlog = "localhost" to a MYSQL hostname provided by my hosting site. Not sure where exactly yours is erroring but on line 30 it is stringing together the hostname, username, password, and database.
 
For anyone who wants to set this software up on his own local web server, note that the Uniform Server that someone previously mentioned supports only MS Windows.

For those of you running Linux, it is easy enough to set up Apache and MySQL on a Linux system from scratch, or you can try xampp or LAMP. Google it and you may find some distro-specific instructions too.

I also found this Quick Linux Server Installation guide helpful.
 
this is my error
Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Access denied for user 'ODBC'@'localhost' (using password: NO) in C:\xampp\htdocs\brew\brewblogger\Connections\config.php on line 30

Notice: Access denied for user 'ODBC'@'localhost' (using password: NO) in C:\xampp\htdocs\brew\brewblogger\Connections\config.php on line 30

Warning: mysql_select_db(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in C:\xampp\htdocs\brew\brewblogger\includes\authentication_nav.inc.php on line 2

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in C:\xampp\htdocs\brew\brewblogger\includes\authentication_nav.inc.php on line 4
Access denied for user 'ODBC'@'localhost' (using password: NO)
 
It looks good and works well but for the life of me I cannot get the label uploads to work. I always get "Upload_files directory doesn't exist and creation failed." error... I have gone through every line in the relevant PHP files, set chmod manually and downloaded the patch for this but I cannot get it to work.
 
Went back and tried it again yesterday, worked like a champ! I must have been messing something up with the database. Looks good, still playing.

Thanks
 
Admittedly, this is a bit over my head. I've followed the install procedure and get this error:

"Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)"

I get the error when I try and view http://www.mysite.com/index.php?page=login which is how I assume I am supposed to start the app.

I am sure it's just a configuration problem on my end, but I am not familiar enough with this stuff, so any help is appreciated. I did try changing the hostname in the config file from localhost to mysite.fatcowmysql.com, but no luck there. Fatcow is my hosting provider.

Based on the example site, this app looks very, very good. When you get everything on the "to do" list finished it will be very close to exactly what I envisioned the perfect brewing app to be, inventory, recipe AND brew session management and contest entry and scoresheet database.

If you're looking for additional features to implement, I'd like to see the brewerytimer app included (www.hoppedale.com - BreweryTimer) and also incorporate screens to run a HERMS system. ;-) Oh, and a stand alone app that can be easily installed by anyone.

Anyway, good work! Hopefully I'll get it working at some point.

Thanks!
 
Admittedly, this is a bit over my head. I've followed the install procedure and get this error:

"Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)"

I get the error when I try and view http://www.mysite.com/index.php?page=login which is how I assume I am supposed to start the app.

I am sure it's just a configuration problem on my end, but I am not familiar enough with this stuff, so any help is appreciated. I did try changing the hostname in the config file from localhost to mysite.fatcowmysql.com, but no luck there. Fatcow is my hosting provider.

I'm guessing your provider only allows MySQL connections from localhost, so you'll probably want to keep "$hostname_brewblog" set to "localhost". Frankly, this error looks like either a MySQL configuration problem, or a PHP configuration problem. You'll probably need to involve your provider's support team.

I installed this on my webserver, and I like it quite a bit. I'm bad about maintaining good records, but a quality web app like this should help.
 
Thanks! I ultimately just went with installing it locally using universal server. Brewblogger is a great piece of software, and with a bit of polishing has the potential to be better than the commercial offerings. I hope the author continues to work on it.

Michael


I'm guessing your provider only allows MySQL connections from localhost, so you'll probably want to keep "$hostname_brewblog" set to "localhost". Frankly, this error looks like either a MySQL configuration problem, or a PHP configuration problem. You'll probably need to involve your provider's support team.

I installed this on my webserver, and I like it quite a bit. I'm bad about maintaining good records, but a quality web app like this should help.
 
I'm kicking the tires on this, and I like the program, but I have a question.

Why not just centrally manage everyone's beer blogs from one server? I see several advantages:

1) You could share stuff with the community at large like recipes, brewing schedules, tasting notes etc. Some guy across the nation might like your recipe, decide to brew it, and give some notes about his experience, and than link to your recipe. Obviously, some people don't want to share all their recipes, but this could be managed.

2) If all you are doing is managing accounts centrally, it makes the application much easier to implement. BeerAg goes to a website, signs up for an account, and ta-da! access to BrewBlogger.

I don't think that the tables would get too huge unless you have tens of thousands of users.
 
This is quite a nice utility! I would dare to say that even HBT could benefit from implementing this into their forums as an added benefit for premium members.

As far as BeerAg's suggestion, I agree that it would be cool to have a centralized DB for accounts of those who don't know how to install it...however...in the event of a club they are a part of implementing it, they would just be wasting space on the brewbloggers database. But it still would be beneficial to have two versions...a hosted one on your server(s) and a downloaded one. Similar to wordpress.com / wordpress.org.
 
Thread necromancy. I couldn't resist though as this program has been running my club's brewing sessions quite well. Nothing like accessing your brew history from work :). If you have a host, I would definitely give this a try.

Thanks Geoff!

Edit. Current rev is at 2.3.1 with a new rev comIng soon to fix some minor bugs. He answers his email fast and answers any questions you may have.
 
Does the recipe calculator account for partial boils in 2.3?

As I don't do partial boils I am not totally sure but... You can scale the recipe and you can change your equipment profile to tell the program your doing a small boil and add top off water. So in essense it looks like that it will account for it. You should try the test drive version out at his website and see for yourself.
 
As I don't do partial boils I am not totally sure but... You can scale the recipe and you can change your equipment profile to tell the program your doing a small boil and add top off water. So in essense it looks like that it will account for it. You should try the test drive version out at his website and see for yourself.

I have it on my website (www.wdesignstudios.com/blog) and I have my equipment set-up as a 3gal pot and doing 5 gal batches, but the IBUs seem to higher than at http://beercalculus.hopville.com.

My Irish Blonde is 35.6 IBU on hopville and 44.6 on my blog. I know that with partials you get less efficient isomerisation, leading me to believe that the blog does not account for the partial as hopville does.
 
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