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Thanks!

I am kinda leaning toward BeerSmith, now. I do like the interface a little better, and I like that you don't have to back into the batch sparge number, it's all built in. Unless there's a compelling argument in favor of ProMash, I think I'm joining the BeerSmith camp.
 
Well, I've got 21 days of free trial for BeerSmith, and I can keep using ProMash as long as I can live with not saving my work (that's why I'm posting all the details in my other thread).

If BeerTools will handle batch sparging without work-arounds and Dude recommends it, that'll be good enough for me.
 
Silly question but how does BTP presnt the recipes, BA show it in a list of recipes which you can organize into folders.

Picture-2.jpg
 
the_bird said:
Well, I've got 21 days of free trial for BeerSmith, and I can keep using ProMash as long as I can live with not saving my work (that's why I'm posting all the details in my other thread).

If BeerTools will handle batch sparging without work-arounds and Dude recommends it, that'll be good enough for me.
Click to expand...

This is the same for me. ProMash is great, but batch sparging with it is a pain in the A**. You go on thier site and it is clear that people have requested this feature time and time again.

BeerTools looks good. I'm just waiting for a confirmation that it Batch Sparges easily.
 
Regardin batch sparging in BeerTools--it sounds like the program can be used for batch sparging in the mash designer. I am at work for another hour, I'll play around with it this evening and see what I can tell you guys.

I've sent the admin over at BeerTools a PM--in hopes of getting him over here to maybe come over and tell us more about the product and possibly quell some concerns or answer questions. We'll see what happens.
 
Thanks, Dude! Sounds like there's a bunch of us who are all set to buy, as long as our concerns are alleviated. Ought to be worth his while to give us a little bit of his time.
 
I have said this before... wish there was a demo. I also like to try before I buy with software.
 
Hello Everyone,

Feel free to ask me about BTP. I will look thru this discussion and try to answer some of your questions.

Lathe
BeerTools
 
Lathe poland said:
Hello Everyone,

Feel free to ask me about BTP. I will look thru this discussion and try to answer some of your questions.

Lathe
BeerTools
Click to expand...

Lathe, welcome to homebrewtalk! I was the one that PM'd jeff over at BT, I'm glad you stopped by.

I was one of the beta testers for BT Pro and I knew it was goign to be awesome from the very beginning. I know you guys worked pretty hard getting everythign ready to go. The only issues we've really hit on so far are batch sparging procedures (is it in the mash designer?) and a trial version. As far as a trial, can you guys do something like making a license key expire after a certain amount of days?

Is there going to be a step by step guide put out to help new users acclimate themselves?
 
As you can probably pick up, BeerSnob and I are most concerned with how the program handles batch sparging.

I think all of us would love it if you guys could open the program up for a short-term trail so we can give it a test run.
 
Dude,

Thanks for the invite.
Dude said:
The only issues we've really hit on so far are batch sparging procedures (is it in the mash designer?)
Click to expand...
Yes, It does it. The easiest way to explain this is to post what one of our beta users mentioned about it.

"Saturday I set a double batch sparge session on my own and hit all my numbers +/- 0.5ºF and within a cup or two on the volumes. I was very happy with the results and I think I "get" the schedule tool now.

One thing I did that made this tool a bit more intuitive for me was to add a collect step (I called it "First Runnings") between the MashOut step and the first BatchSparge. This displayed my expected runoff volume from the MashIn+MashOut steps in the main schedule window, followed by the combined volumes following the subsequent batch sparges."

Dude said:
As far as a trial, can you guys do something like making a license key expire after a certain amount of days?
Click to expand...
As for a trial version...
BTP is set up to do so, it would require some work in the store and the download managment system in the MyBeerTools tab. I'll keep you posted.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Lathe
BeerTools
 
Lathe poland said:
Dude,

Thanks for the invite.

Yes, It does it. The easiest way to explain this is to post what one of our beta users mentioned about it.

"Saturday I set a double batch sparge session on my own and hit all my numbers +/- 0.5ºF and within a cup or two on the volumes. I was very happy with the results and I think I "get" the schedule tool now.

One thing I did that made this tool a bit more intuitive for me was to add a collect step (I called it "First Runnings") between the MashOut step and the first BatchSparge. This displayed my expected runoff volume from the MashIn+MashOut steps in the main schedule window, followed by the combined volumes following the subsequent batch sparges."
Click to expand...

Thanks for comming over. That answers my question. I am Michael Schaap by the way. I emailed you earlier today:) Thanks again. Going to get the plastic now:)
 
One quick question, ok not quick. Does your software keep track of both of the mashes going on while doing a decontation mash? In other words does the mashing part of the software have the abilty to keep track of the main mash temp as well as the decontation part of the mash?
 
Good question. The answer is yes and no. It does keep track of the temperature in both vessels, however, I believe the one thing it does not track is the heat loss from the mash tun during the decoction. I'll have to look into that.

Thanks,
Lathe
BeerTools
 
So far so good. I brought in a ProMash recipe INSTANTLY. Just opened it up and it came right up.

Bill, you would love this program. It has a very visual method of keeping you in the brew style (one of your pet peeves I know :) )
 
Wow! I'm impressed! Thanks Lathe for coming over and offering us your support. That makes me feel better about the software. I'm currently a promash use as most people around here, but after looking at the features on the site, I'd definitely consider switching!
 
While I will say there are a lot of things in the list before that I wont rule it out. I wonder how well the beertools.com online calculator runs on a newer pda. That may be a handy way to keep BeerTools with you (although I imagine on a small screen like that it would be a pain).

Lathe
BeerTools
 
Someone on BB posted some batch sparging sinstructions...I know I'm memorizing this:

slothrob said:
Okay, here's my way of setting up a Batch Sparge Schedule in BeerToolsPro:

First, go to “Display>Schedule” and Create a “New>Mash In”. Call it “Mash In”.
Double click on the new step or hit “Edit” and... Enter your “Target Temp” and “Infusion Rate” and the program will do the rest of the math.I set the “Vessel” to my mash tun because the volume displayed in the main window is the total mash tun volume.

Create a “New>Rest”. Call it “Saccharification Rest”. Hit “Edit”. You should only need to enter the “Duration Time”.

Create a “New>Infusion”. Call it “Mash Out”. Hit “Edit”. Set the “Target Temp” and play around with the “Infusion Rate” until you get something you like. Hit “OK” and reopen the window, this will sometimes refresh after you close the window (seems to have a bit of a glitch and needs a “lock” box, but it works.) The Final Volume” displayed in the main window is the total volume of liquid and grain, so you know if it will fit in your tun. Adjust accordingly, this seems the scetchiest part of this process, so far.

Create a “New>Collect”. Call it “First Runnings”. Hit “Edit”. I set the “Vessel” to “Boil Kettle”, because the “Final Volume” displayed in the main window will, from now on, be the volume collected to boil. Set the “Sparge Volume” to “0” and it will display the Runoff in this and the main window. The tricky part here is to then set the “Residual”. Either set it to 0 to get the total unabsorbed volume, or set it to the void volume of your tun. Hit “OK” and the volume in your main window will display your first runnings.

Create a “New>Collect”. Call It “Sparge 1”. Set “Sparge Temp”, “Sparge Volume”, and “Residual”. The sparge runoff will display in this window. Hit “OK”. the total collected volume will display in the main window.

Add another “New>Collect” if you, like me, want to do a “Sparge 2”. Edit accordingly.

You can then go back and manipulate the volumes until you get roughly equal runoffs if you want to optimize your proccedure, but watch those “Residual Volumes”, they’ll change as you change “Sparge Volume”, and you have to reset them or you’ll get screwy “Final Volumes.”

I hope I remembered everything and this gets you started.
There might be a way to use Infusion step as sparge steps, I'm just passing on the method that worked for me and fit the way I think about these things. I used this Saturday and hit all my numbers almost spot-on.
Click to expand...
 
Chairman Cheyco said:
Why Dude? Are you considering getting rid of your evil sparge arm and joining the batch sparge team (AKA the winning team)?
Click to expand...

:confused: I batch sparge most of the time actually. Only when I'm teaching someone who hasn't brewed will I break out the old whirlygig.

I've learned that efficiency isn't that big of a deal. Throw another pound of grain in there and call it good. :D
 
Dude said:
:confused: I batch sparge most of the time actually. Only when I'm teaching someone who hasn't brewed will I break out the old whirlygig.

I've learned that efficiency isn't that big of a deal. Throw another pound of grain in there and call it good. :D
Click to expand...


Oh, my bad. I thought you were a staunch fly-sparger. I'm curious as to what your percentages are for both of your systems.
 
Chairman Cheyco said:
Oh, my bad. I thought you were a staunch fly-sparger. I'm curious as to what your percentages are for both of your systems.
Click to expand...

I consistently get 86-88% when I fly sparge, and about 76% batch sparging. I am going to upgrade my system to a false bottom and mash pad eventually, but right now I use a simple braided stainless steel screen and it works pretty well.

So what do you get with your system? You use a copper manifold right?

FWIW, SwAMi is the fly sparging stooge.;)
 
Dude said:
I consistently get 86-88% when I fly sparge, and about 76% batch sparging. I am going to upgrade my system to a false bottom and mash pad eventually, but right now I use a simple braided stainless steel screen and it works pretty well.

So what do you get with your system? You use a copper manifold right?

FWIW, SwAMi is the fly sparging stooge.;)
Click to expand...


Wow, those are great fly sparge numbers.

I use a braided SS hose for my system and I'm usually in the low 80s. But like you, I don't really care what I hit, as long as I hit the same number every time. I wish more people would get that through their heads. Repeatability is king!
 
Well I was playing with this method and another that the BrewTools board had said, but my volumes was real screwed up. At least with the recipe I was working on for my next brew. My first running I get like 6.7 gallons.

I figured it out... or at least think I do.... my next brew is an IPA. Going to post the recipe as soon as I figure out how to.... but its 12 pounds of grain. Does this make sense that I get a large first running of 6.7 gallons?

I did another brew with 8 pounds of grain and now the first and second runnings make sense and are appropriate.

Trying to figure out how to post the recipe.... anyone got that far?
 
And Dude, what do you want to do with a maxi pad........

....

.... oh wait... mash pad... mash pad.... :D ....

Currently well buzzed.....
 
I have two computers that I use on a frequent basis, my laptop is used during brewing, and my desktop is used to develop/gather the recipes.
Can BeerTools Pro be dowloaded to multiple computers like I can with Promash?
 
Can I install it on both under one license, or would I have to purchase two copies?

The EULA allows for that as long as you are the only end user.

If there are two end users on two computers then there should be two licenses.

Lathe
BeerTools
 
Lathe poland said:
Can I install it on both under one license, or would I have to purchase two copies?

The EULA allows for that as long as you are the only end user.

If there are two end users on two computers then there should be two licenses.

Lathe
BeerTools
Click to expand...

When will a demo be available? It is unlikely that I would buy another brewing software package without a demo.

Thanks.

BrewStef
 
OK, is anybody out there familiar with both BeerTool and Beer Smith? I've been using the demo of the latter, and I really like it. Very simple interface, I like the layout of the output, seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. What does BeerTools do differently that I might light better?

At this point, for me, ProMash is no longer an alternative.
 
I just like Beer Smith a LOT, LOT better. More intuitive, I like the output better, handles batch sparging with no work-arounds... Nothing against ProMash, no problems, per se, I just like Beer Smith better.
 
Has anyone else been playing with this program?

I am pretty new with Brewing Software, but so far it looks real good. I love the stlyle page. You add ingrediants and these little tic markers move showing you if you have stayed or strayed in the style your brewing. There has been an update on it already. ProMash recipes import in very easily. There is also A LOT of information in the program.

So far I am only having one problem. I am hoping that an update soon solves it because for me its a big one. So far there is no way, that I have found, to copy the recipe and mash scheduale so I can post it here. This, for me, is a major problem. I like to have feedback on recipes and the brew process I'm using before I brew.
 
Michael,

Your feature request is on the list. I was wondering if like on a Mac there is a way to print to PDF on a PC? I have been seeing BeerTools Pro recipes as PDF files showing up on forums around the world. Obviously this wont help you if there isn't a way.

Thanks for your support!
Lathe
BeerTools
 
I used the demo of Promash and was disappointed. This week I checked out BeerSmith and was blown away... I bought myself a copy within 2 days and have used it to craft two recipes already. I love it!
 

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