Brewer's Friend or another web software?

I've been using BeerSmith, and I like it, but I mostly use my work laptop now, and I can't install non work software onto it. My wife has pretty much taken over the other laptop, so I need to find something that I can design and save recipes on that's web based. I've been playing with Brewer's Friend, and it seems to have some issues. I see they also have a forum, but it doesn't get much traffic. I found some of the same questions I have already posted, and sitting there for months with no replies.

Looking for either someone here that's pretty experienced with BF who can answer some questions, or a suggestion of something else to use that's better. My biggest issues are - 1) people who have posted that SG numbers are off between BS and BF (so not sure if I trust BF), and 2) not seeing where BF will give me water volumes and temps for mashing at a particular temperature. Also, it seems to always say boil volume is 7.5 gal, no matter the recipe or boil time.

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Far from an expert but I use Brewers friend to help create recipes and I find the way their water and yeast tools easier for me than beersmith 2.

I can't speak to the gravity inconsistencies if there are any, but regarding boil volumes and such, this can be set in your profile area. By default I think it's 28L but you can make that anything you want.

rawlus said:

Far from an expert but I use Brewers friend to help create recipes and I find the way their water and yeast tools easier for me than beersmith 2.

I can't speak to the gravity inconsistencies if there are any, but regarding boil volumes and such, this can be set in your profile area. By default I think it's 28L but you can make that anything you want.

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Thanks for replying. I guess my question is - where are these water tools? I have set up my profile and my equipment. How do I get this info to impact my recipes? In other words, if my recipe has 14 lbs of grain and I want to mash 1.25 qts per lb, the water section should make that calculation and tell me how many quarts to mash in. And if I want to mash at 152, what temp should the mash water be heated to?

Also, it doesn't seem like the length of my boil is effecting my OG. If I change from 60 min to 90 min boil, I expect that my OG should go up. It doesn't. I'm pretty sure all these things happen automatically in Beersmith.

Am I just expecting too much from the software? Is there no web based software that does all the things that Beersmith does?

Josh from Brewer's Friend here. I'll try to help with your questions as much as I can.

Re: the water and mash calculations, BF is really based around the idea of a "Brew Session". So the recipe itself is the set of ingredients, quantities, and targets for volumes, etc. but the Brew Session is where the real calculations happen around water volumes required, actual results, etc. When looking at a recipe, try clicking the green "Brew" button in the top right. It'll create a new brew session and you can start to play with the water calculations, etc. (Don't worry you can always delete it later). There's also some more information on how the mash guidelines work, etc. in the FAQs here:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/faq/#recipes22

If you're looking for slightly faster results, you can also use the "Quick Water Requirements" tool. When viewing your recipe, go to the Tools menu, then Quick Water Requirements. It'll calculate your mash water volumes, boil losses, etc.

Re: Boil time and OG, BF works a little differently. This is again mostly due to things revolving around brew sessions. So in a recipe, you set the target kettle volume first, on which all the OG calculations are based. So even though the boil time may change from 60 - 90 mins, you still have the same kettle volume set, so the OG stays the same. Of course you can change your target if you'd like.

Thanks so much for all the questions and interest in BF. Please let me know if I can help in any way. You can also reach out directly with any questions though one of the methods here:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/feedback-welcome/

Thanks!
Josh