BeerSmith - BeerTools - Promash. - Which is best? What do you have?

Trying to get a view to allow brews trying to make a decision of which of the big three is right for them. (If any)

What do you like about the program you use?
What is it missing?
What does it do really well?
Why did you go for the one you did?

I know we did one previously but there have been major updates.

I own both Beersmith and ProMash. But I only use Beersmith now. The top three packages all have most of the same basic features (e.g., recipe calculation, brew day scheduling, inventory management, etc.), but there are a few things about Beersmith that make it stand out for me. First, it is also the only one that seems to be under ongoing development (ProMash hasn't been updated in years, and BeerTools Pro still isn't 'finished' yet by its developers). For example, it is the best software out there for calculating batch sparge infusion schedules, it does a great job of recipe calculation for late-extract additions, it can handle bitterness calculations for first wort hopping, etc. Furthermore, the developer of Beersmith, Brad Smith runs a great support forum and he is ALWAYS on that thing answering questions, taking advice for future features in the software, etc. Finally, I personally think that Beersmith has an intuitive and very user-friendly interface (unlike ProMash -- but I believe BeerTools Pro is good in this respect too).

Far and away, buying Beersmith was the best $20 I spent for my home brewery. Very highly recommended.

Promash for me. I have also tried Beersmith. Honestly I'm not sure why I picked one over the other. I also tried qbrew but it's lacking a ton of features. Promash and Beersmith both have things I don't like about them. Promash does handle first wort hopping calculations but as Flyguy said, I don't like that it is not in development anymore.

BeerSmith gets the ScubaSteve Stamp of Approval. (It's got real bits of panther in it....so you know it's good).

Really intuitive, simple, and powerful. I have promash, but had several difficulties with saving/recalling recipes that I had done, and I just couldn't get over the interface. I like how BeerSmith has it all in the "windows explorer" style, so all your tools are right there in front of you. I had to tweak a few calculations for sparging, i.e. mashout/double sparge...but figured it out pretty quickly. My only gripes are that I wish you could open more than one window at a time, and I would like to see the GUI get a little bit more awesome...like the one BTP uses.

I've only ever used Beersmith, so maybe I just like it because it's familiar. I like the interface, though, and the convenient screens.

I wish it had a wine section, though. That would really make it rock, and I would pay extra for it. I like to use a thing called winecalc to calculate my sugar additions and sg and it would be great if I could do it in Beersmith and save my recipes. But I guess the name would have to change to Fermentsmith or something.

My vote is for Promash, in the beginning I had difficulty but with the use it became easy, I like the presentation and of the division of the screens allowing a friendly navigation, their possibilities are big, but I still need to deepen me a little more in some details. I already tried other softwares and spreadsheets that I also believe be good, but I always returned for Promash.

i have promash and beer tools pro. i like the look and feel of beer tools but Promash has a refratometer tools and allows you to keep inventory. i wish beer tools would come out with these. i use beer tools mostly.

I've tried all three. I have a paid copy of BeerSmith and BTP. I like BeerSmith best. BTP is nice looking, but it's clunky and the interface isn't very intuitive. I hate starting a new "session" for every recipe. Perhaps BTP will get better with time, but for now, I don't like it. ProMash has some great features, but I don't think it's supported anymore. I also thought the interface for ProMash was a bit clunky and dated. BeerSmith is easiest to use and has all of the tools I need. The menu on the left allows quick switching between recipes and brew tools. The developers just released an update, so I know they're interested in making improvements.

The results might be skewed by Mac users, because only one of our software options (BTP) is up on that list.

mrkristofo said:

The results might be skewed by Mac users, because only one of our software options (BTP) is up on that list.

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Exactly. I just downloaded the Beer Alchemy demo yesterday. It's the first piece of homebrew software I'll be trying out, so I don't really have a baseline established for functionality.

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator is all I use. It could use more realistic IBU calculations and an updated hop list, but it serves.

david_42 said:

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator is all I use. It could use more realistic IBU calculations and an updated hop list, but it serves.

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I used to use that until I got Beersmith.
I think it's probably one of the best free ones.

ma2brew said:

Exactly. I just downloaded the Beer Alchemy demo yesterday. It's the first piece of homebrew software I'll be trying out, so I don't really have a baseline established for functionality.

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I use both BTP and BA, personally. I like the inventory, batch, and interface features of beeralchemy, while I like BTP's ingredients database, mash schedules, and utilization calculators, and units better.

I have Beersmith. I've never used the other ones. A friend recommended Beersmith so I went with it. I think it's fairly easy to use but they should offer automatic updates for the ingredient inventories, I've added a number of different hops to mine

Beersmith +1.

david_42 said:

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator is all I use. It could use more realistic IBU calculations and an updated hop list, but it serves.

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I hope they fixed the IBU calculator. Before I had ProMash, I tried the recipator, and after adding 10 freakin ounces of hops, my IBU's were like 50. I gave up on it after that and bought ProMash.

No particular reason why I bought it other than it was the first one I came across and I liked the trial. Didn't even know Beersmith existed at that point. I've grown accustomed to ProMash, and I don't think I'd switch over unless Beersmith could load my ProMash recipe files, which I'm pretty sure it can't. Plus, ProMash does everything I need it to do (despite having a GUI circa 1992...windows 3.1, anyone?)...and I can think of a thousand other things I'd rather drop $20 on right now. If I had to do it over, I might go with Beersmith, but not now.

As someone who bought BTP sight unseen (no free trial), I'm anxiously awaiting the next major dot release which should include the much awaited inventory feature. As someone who stocks large amounts of ingredients, it's a pain to have to check the stash each time I want to craft a recipe. Since I know beersmith has this, I can only recommend it until BTP upgrades. I also hear they'll have a free trial at that point.

Evan! said:

I've grown accustomed to ProMash, and I don't think I'd switch over unless Beersmith could load my ProMash recipe files, which I'm pretty sure it can't.

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Here you go:
http://www.beerxml.com/converter.htm

What Bobby M said about BTP.I've been using the free Beer Tools version for about a year and SWMBO just got me BTP for my b-day.I wanted it mostly for inventory features that i thought it had(it doesn't).I actually like the free version better but i haven't done much with the new one yet for comparison.
Cheers

Another vote for BeerSmith. I tried trials of all kinds of packages. BeerSmith seemed to be more full featured, have a better interface and have better support.

$20 very well spent.

Another happy BeerSmith user. I tried Promash demo for a time. Good program, but did not like the lay out and found it "clunky" as someone said.

BeerSmith is simple, easy to use and has the basic features I need in homebrewing. It's easy to create and keep track of recipes and I like the water profile feature. It is serviced and was updated recently.

I have not tried BTP.

Dr Malt

after all this great reading i am ready to buy the Beersmith program. thanks for helping me with my decision.

Same here. Thanks for a great thread. I'm off to download Beersmith.

digging the post from the dead.... I visited Beersmith's website and it appears they don't offer a Mac version. Any other Mac users find a suitable alternative?

glin60 said:

digging the post from the dead.... I visited Beersmith's website and it appears they don't offer a Mac version. Any other Mac users find a suitable alternative?

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Try here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=51683

I really like BeerSmith. It does everything I need it to do.

weasle708 said:

after all this great reading i am ready to buy the Beersmith program. thanks for helping me with my decision.

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I think Im sold also!

anyone else have a comment before I pull the trigger?

I like the support that beersmith has given me. I tried one of the other three and was less than impressed. there are still some quirks I'm working out but If it doesnt have decent support then us people with less than perfect computers skills just get frustrated. Oh I always hit my #'s now that I understand the program. Thanks beersmith.

beersmith FTW

I tried beersmith and pro mash and ended up with beersmith
I think what would make it better though.
Would be if you could copy and paste one recipe into another.

I need to change my Vote. I am a newly converted BeerSmith User! It's just better.

I tried all three and settled on Beersmith. Easy to use and has regular updates. Plus it had the longest free trial.

The limit in Promash was 3 recipes/sessions. It was bad enought that the software wasn't user friendly, but then limiting me to only being able to use it really three times made it difficult to purchase.

I must say that the $20 I spent on Beersmith has been one of my best purchases so far in home brewing.

I have used all 3 of the Windows based offerings. For the longest time my preference was towards ProMash based soley on ease of use. I later began using BeerSmith due to the recent update improvements and have not questioned the platform since.

What do you like about the program you use?

I like that it is "actively" developed. It is not in the "Beta" phase of design, has an adequate user manual, and is actively updated.

What is it missing?

The ability to user select units of measure for specific fields.

What does it do really well?

Help me build recipes and track inventory.

Why did you go for the one you did?

It is more current. See why I like it.

What improvements would you like to see?

I would like the developer to allow tools to be opened as a window rather than forcing the recipe to be closed.

GilaMinumBeer said:

What is it missing?

The ability to user select units of measure for specific fields.

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Perhaps you missed it Gila, but Beersmith is EXCEPTIONAL at doing this. First, to enter measures in any units (regardless of what is displayed on the recipe form), just type in something like 1.5 oz or 42 g. It will recognize the 'oz' or 'g' units, and automatically convert to whatever units are currently displayed.

Second, to quickly switch units to Imperial or Metric, just hit CTRL-E or CTRL-M, respectively.

Finally, to change the units displayed for any field in the recipe, from the menu select Tools --> Options, select the Units tab, and pick the units you want (including their increment values).

That's another nice thing about Beersmith -- it has an incredible amount of 'hidden' power that isn't always obvious, but is very powerful once you find it.

I am a mac user so unfortunately all of the options given are unusable by me. I currently use a free mac app, but I am looking at BeerAlchemy. Does anyone have experience with beer alchemy?

-DIG

digunderground said:

I am a mac user so unfortunately all of the options given are unusable by me. I currently use a free mac app, but I am looking at BeerAlchemy. Does anyone have experience with beer alchemy?

-DIG

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Yes. It rocks.
[ame="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22beer+alchemy%22+site%3Ahomebrewtalk.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a"]http://www.google.com/search?q=%22beer+alchemy%22+site%3Ahomebrewtalk.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a[/ame]

I use Beersmith. Off the top of my head the only thing it's missing that would be real nice to have is an efficiency calculator.

I have tried all 3 and by Far Beer tools Pro(New version will be out soon) is head over heals better in my opinion.

devaspawn said:

I use Beersmith. Off the top of my head the only thing it's missing that would be real nice to have is an efficiency calculator.

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Beersmith calculates your efficiency automatically if you record your actual gravity (and volume) going into the fermenter. Look for it on your recipes list page.