Current software recommendations for Mac / web

For a variety of reasons I've been away from brewing for a couple years and am reassembling my setup. I'll probably be doing my first batch in a while next weekend.

What is currently considered best-of-breed software for Mac (or web)? I used to use BeerSmith and like many others I have a love-hate relationship with the user interface and complexity. I just downloaded the latest version and it appears not much has changed.

Is there something else to consider? I do all-grain so I definitely appreciate the software doing lots of calculation legwork (e.g. equipment profiles, strike water volumes & temps, end-to-end efficiency calculators). Lots of brewing software recently seems to basically just be glorified recipe apps.

Am I stuck with BeerSmith forever???

(Bonus-points for any software that has a *useful* iPhone app. Even the BeerSmith one just seems to be basically a recipe viewer, not really helpful during brew day.)

Well I've been perusing the "Brewing Software" page and it does seem like BeerSmith is still well-used and loved (including a post today entitled Brewsmith is the best ! Thanks Dr. Brad !!!). So maybe this is it...

What's wrong with beersmith? Not saying it's perfect, but is anything "not working"? I find the timers quite useful, especially with multiple batches brewing side-by-side. I also like how you can change/update a recipe on the fly. Note taking, and the calendar dothingy are kinda weak, but otherwise it's been pretty liable in terms of entering receipes, calculating temps, additions, etc. What's been the problem?

oh and to answer your question. . . Brewtarget is a free option that is good technically, but IMHO difficult to use when you want to set-up mash volumes/temps. Qbrew is still around, but antiquated. Beersmith is probably the best supported app out there, if you discount some of the website based apps that require subscriptions (i.e. brewtoad, Brewersfriend).

P

Brew Target is an alternative for sure. I use BeerSmith and there are a few things I wish I could easily do, none of them really have anything to do with the actual creation of recipes and such.

PLOVE said:

What's wrong with beersmith?

Click to expand...

Well I'm not aware of anything *broken*, but the interface just looks and behaves like crap...

All the icons and labels are fuzzy, most windows either have way too much whitespace or things are cut off, the split-screen sections are always disappearing. I also hate the way it pre-populates the "measured" values... I have to remember to go through and zero them all out before I brew, otherwise I'll think I've already taken the measurement. Likewise, BeerSmith doesn't seem to distinguish between a recipe and a brew batch.

hvjackson said:

Well I'm not aware of anything *broken*, but the interface just looks and behaves like crap...

All the icons and labels are fuzzy, most windows either have way too much whitespace or things are cut off, the split-screen sections are always disappearing. I also hate the way it pre-populates the "measured" values... I have to remember to go through and zero them all out before I brew, otherwise I'll think I've already taken the measurement. Likewise, BeerSmith doesn't seem to distinguish between a recipe and a brew batch.

Click to expand...

Hmm. . . my copy of BS2 on Max (OSX) looks sharp and the windows are pretty stable. Are you running a copy on windows? I do agree that the "measured" values thing, particularly for efficiency, is pretty dumb, but I guess I just ignore them for the most part and calculate such variables offline.

Like I said - not perfect, but I have yet to find anything better. Unlike a lot of other programs, BS seems to well supported by a legion of users and Brad Smith.
P

I have purchased both Beersmith and Beer Tools Pro.

Functionally they work about the same, but I find Beer Tools to be much more intuitive, have way better user interface design and just clicks better for me.

I agree that beer tools is more intuitive at least it works like I think.

I like BeerAlchemy. Has a great iPhone & iPad app that works in conjunction with the Mac app. Price isn't bad either. Much more attractive than Beer Smith for sure. Been using it for about 3 years. It's updated regularly with a major update that came out about a year or so ago (maybe more...can't remember). Try it out and see what you think.

I think just Beer Alchemy allows for a sync from PC/Mac to iPhone. To me, that is pretty cool and easier than having to carry a laptop into the brew area.

Personally, I really enjoyed making my own spreadsheet. I learned basically everything I know with the combination of writing the sheet and doing test mashes when I started out.

For ease of use and no homework, you can't go wrong with an established software.

Problems do arise though when you have issues with software and don't know the equations behind it. I see it on here all the time.

A healthy knowledge of the mathematics of brewing goes a long way to understanding brewing software in general.