Iphone apps for home brewing?

[Lee-Ryan]

Anyone have any recommendations? Seen some out there but not sure what to go with. Have beer smith on my pc but I'd like to have something like that on my iPhone.

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[MalFet]

The two most full featured are Beer Alchemy and iBrewMaster. I use the latter and quite like it.

 

[Pick]

I use Brewpal and I like it. Timers are real handy.

 

[Rob_B]

I really like iBrewmaster, I've had it for over a year and use it all the time. They always have new updates improving the overall performance. I also like uBrew Calc for quick brew math like gravity, alchohol and co2 calculations. There are more out there but these get the most use on my phone. And don't forget HomeBrewTalk's App!

 

[Lee-Ryan]

Thanks for the recommendations! I might look into the ibrewmaster

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[SpottedDogBrewing]

BrewPal all the way For $.99 , WINNING!!
BrewPal is layed out visual better!
Also has in app timers for mash and boil hop additions!
ibrewmaster is set up more like an xcell sheet!

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[astropunk]

For .99, Brewpal is the schiznit

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

Thanks for the recommendations! I might look into the ibrewmaster

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Just remember $6.99 doesn't mean it's a better app :-/
+ u don't get your money back if u don't like it !!! I was fooled by the price assuming it would b more antimated than BrewPal, not!

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[MalFet]

Just remember $6.99 doesn't mean it's a better app :-/
+ u don't get your money back if u don't like it !!! I was fooled by the price assuming it would b more antimated than BrewPal, not!

I'm not sure what you mean by "antimated", but I can't stand BrewPal. It feels like a toy. I use it to play with recipes on the subway, but I can't imagine using it to manage my recipes and batches. Anyway, people have different needs and preferences. Glad the cheaper option worked out for you, but it didn't for me.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

Anyway, people have different needs and preferences. Glad the cheaper option worked out for you, but it didn't for me.

I agree I have both programs, but prefer BrewPal because I have gotten use to it!!
Cheers and happy recipe making!!

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[Brak23]

I wish they would updated Brew Pal to support the native iPhone 4 resolution. But for a newer brewer (look! im a poet), I find that Brew Pal gives me what I need to know.

 

[McGreen]

The forum you are currently in is the best iphone app you will get IMHO. I have it on my iphone and it is pretty sweet. Free too. I'm glad you already have it TS! Anybody else who reads this needs to download! A WEALTH of info here!

 

[scsi]

I have only used BrewPal, and I find it really handy. I can't bring myself to buy iBrewmaster at it's price without a few more screenshots.

BrewPal is kinda buggy tho. And I haven't seen an update to it yet.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

Here are a few screenshots of iBrewMaster!!

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[Lee-Ryan]

The forum you are currently in is the best iphone app you will get IMHO. I have it on my iphone and it is pretty sweet. Free too. I'm glad you already have it TS! Anybody else who reads this needs to download! A WEALTH of info here!

I couldn't agree more! But sometimes I wanna tweak my recipe a bit on the fly and I wanna see what it looks like without having to go to my computer. This is great forum.

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[SpottedDogBrewing]

Xtra

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[rack04]

I use Brew Pal. Although since I do everything ahead of time in Beer Smith then I use Brew Pal more as a shopping list while at the LHBS and as a boil timer.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

BrewPal: pics a little distorted because I took a screenshot with iPhone

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[McGreen]

Wow. Those apps look sick! Both iBrewMaster and BrewPal!

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

BrewPal:
Export options!!

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[Golddiggie]

Can you import recipes into Brew Pal (or iBrewMaster)?? I just tried the BrewingAlarm app (for my iPod Touch) and it doesn't have nearly enough useful items in it... Granted, it's free, but it doesn't use the estimated OG and FG from BeerSmith... Plus, the initial mash temps were insanely high before I corrected it (had a mash-in temp of over 300F )... Even though all the info was in the xml file from BeerSmith...

I wish both the apps had at least some kind of trial period. That way I could test to see which I liked better before making the purchase. It's not so much about the cost (even though I'm between jobs and money is TIGHT), it's more about buying something blind.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

Can you import recipes into Brew Pal (or iBrewMaster)?? I just tried the BrewingAlarm app (for my iPod Touch) and it doesn't have nearly enough useful items in it... Granted, it's free, but it doesn't use the estimated OG and FG from BeerSmith... Plus, the initial mash temps were insanely high before I corrected it (had a mash-in temp of over 300F )... Even though all the info was in the xml file from BeerSmith...

I wish both the apps had at least some kind of trial period. That way I could test to see which I liked better before making the purchase. It's not so much about the cost (even though I'm between jobs and money is TIGHT), it's more about buying something blind.

No importing on BrewPal:-/ but a good suggestion for the app builder!! I may suggest that one today!!
Not sure about imports on ibrewmaster because I don't use it!! I paid 4.99 when it first come out and havent been able to delete it because of what I paid for it:-( just don't want to throw away money even tho I don't use it !

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[brewstaedt]

I've been using Brewpal on my Ipod and find it to have a pretty intuitive interface (which is important to me because like many my age, I don't bond well with digital technology.) I think it's great for formulating recipes and figuring mash parameters. I'm a new brewer and have not used any other software, but so far I have felt my needs are being more than adequately met by Brewpal. Plus it's only 99 cents.....how can you go wrong?

 

[Golddiggie]

No importing on BrewPal:-/ but a good suggestion for the app builder!! I may suggest that one today!!
Not sure about imports on ibrewmaster because I don't use it!! I paid 4.99 when it first come out and havent been able to delete it because of what I paid for it:-( just don't want to throw away money even tho I don't use it !

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Bugger!

Just looked through the entire user guide for ibrewmaster and it doesn't look like it can import recipes from any other app than itself... LAME!! Not being able to import BeerXML files sucks on donkey junk...

I guess I'll just keep using the alarm tool I found (for free) to keep track of the boil additions. I'll also keep using the BeerSmith BrewSheets to keep things in line on brew day... IF they decide to import BeerXML files, and offer at least some kind of trial period, I'll consider it. Otherwise, I'll use the $7 towards more ingredients.

Just looked on the support page for Brew Pal...

Does Brew Pal support BeerXML import/export?
BeerXML import and export is coming soon in version 1.7!

Just don't know WHEN v1.7 will be coming out...

 

[jessebymail]

I use Brew Pal, very happy with it. It doesnt replace Beer Smith but i make recipes at work then go home and copy them to beersmith. I also use Hopularity to check hop characteristics and inventory. IBrew Beer is a cool fermentation schedule app but it needs a secondary option. Its still handy to be able to see the progress of all your beers. I recommend all 3!

 

[Golddiggie]

I use BeerSmith for all my formulations and record all the info there. I was just looking for something that I could pull the BeerXML file (from BeerSmith) into and take with me when I'm brewing someplace else. Something with a decent timer in it so that I don't need to worry about missing the hop addition times by too much... I've already setup the free timer app I found with the different times from the start of the boil... I can run all of those timers at once, so it should work out pretty well...

I did like the idea of being able to carry my recipes with me, on a device, for when I'm brewing and didn't want to bring my actual brew log book... I guess I'll just setup my laptop to include all my recipes as I finalize them so that I can just take that with me...

 

[mhochman]

One vote for Beer Alchemy. I have the iPhone version, the iPad version, and the mac version. I can sync between the three, which means I can tinker with a recipe on my phone, sync it to the mac, then sync it to the iPad and use that on brew day. Beer Alchemy does everything you'd need, except timers. I am about to do my first all grain batch, so I can't speak for the importance of timers...I have two built into the appliances in my kitchen and I think that will be enough for me.

I can understand why one may not choose Alchemy if one is also not using a Mac, but for Mac users this should be a no-brainer. For non- Mac users the choice may not be as clear though I think Alchemy can easily hold its own against the other two mentioned.

FWIW, I have BrewPal and agree with an earlier post that it feels like a toy. It's pretty easy to use, though. I have iBrewmaster on my iPad and it's pretty good too. I always turn to Alchemy, though, because my results can so easily end up in my primary database on the mac.

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

One vote for Beer Alchemy. I have the iPhone version, the iPad version, and the mac version. I can sync between the three, which means I can tinker with a recipe on my phone, sync it to the mac, then sync it to the iPad and use that on brew day. Beer Alchemy does everything you'd need, except timers. I am about to do my first all grain batch, so I can't speak for the importance of timers...I have two built into the appliances in my kitchen and I think that will be enough for me.

Post some photo's of Beer alchemy !!
Show us what it can do and how it looks inside the app. The app store only shows 3 photo's

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[o4_srt]

Ibrewmaster has taken the place of beersmith for me. It's not quite as functional as beersmith, but it's nice to have right next to me on brew day. Anything else I need that isn't doable in ibrewmaster is accomplished using google.

 

[mhochman]

I'll come back to add some captions when I have a chance. Note that some of these screenshots are showing different parts of the same screen (eg. Long lists that you have to scroll through).

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[Golddiggie]

I guess, for now, I'll just keep using BeerSmith for everything. Having all it's resources available to me, at any point, is nice. I'll just take my laptop over to the brew-buddies place for entering info, or I'll just take notes onto the brew sheet and enter them into the system when I get home... NBD... Since I have a reasonable timer app, I can use that, or just bring the timer I normally use when at home.

It would be nice, to be able to show people my recipes via either my iPT or BlackBerry devices, but that's something that will just have to wait...

Another negative on BrewPal is that it won't let you rotate so that you can read all the info for your ingredients. Unless you have a very short name for it, you'll have the name, and amount, cut off.

BTW, I used to be a mac fan... But apple continued to do things that just pissed me off. So, I got rid of my last mac laptop almost a year ago and haven't looked back. I do have two ipods, only because the stereo in my vehicle won't work the same with the newer one... IF I could get the F'ing apple locked music to transfer to my BlackBerry Storm2, I'd probably get rid of at least one, if not both, of my ipods... I do look forward to the day when I have zero apple hardware here.

 

[mhochman]

I'll come back to add some captions when I have a chance. Note that some of these screenshots are showing different parts of the same screen (eg. Long lists that you have to scroll through).

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Not letting me edit, for some reason. Most screens are self explanatory. The one called "suggest a beer" is really cool for people who buy ingredients in bulk. If you track your ingredients, it will compare what you have with your recipes and let you know what you can brew, or what you only need one or two more things for.

 

[iBrewMaster]

Hey guys,
iBrewMaster doesn't support BeerXML but not because we don't want to, just because BeerXML doesn't support all of our features and would require us to cripple our app just to support it! For example, they only support 3 fermentation steps where iBrewMaster supports an unlimited number. Three fermentation steps may have been enough back in the day, but with all the advanced and extreme brewing these days, quite a lot of recipes call for multiple fermentation steps. But I don't want you to think that was the only reason....there were at least another 6-8 MAJOR reasons that prevented us from being able to support it right now. This required us to implement our own XML export feature for the time being, for users to share with friends, between iPhones, iTouches, and iPads, as well as to support the free recipe sharing network. Thousands of users from around the world have uploaded hundreds of recipes to our recipe sharing network for others to download and enjoy for free!

An additional issue is that BeerXML hasn't been maintained recently as they have been working on version 2.0 for over 2 years now. We were awaiting ratification of the new standard, but it's not looking like it's going to go anywhere anytime soon. Therefore, we do plan on revisiting this in the future and implementing support for BeerXML 1.0, but it will be impossible to make it 100% compatible. For example, if you export an iBrewMaster recipe that has 5 fermentation steps, only the first 3 will be assigned. However, we do realize that this would be better than nothing!

We're about to release versions 1.45 for the iPad and 2.75 for the iPhone. There are a lot of new features including support for First Wort Hopping, automatic carbonation step calculations, over 250 additional fermentables, and a bunch of other features. Bottle Carbonation supporting Table Sugar, Corn Sugar, and DME additions are included, as well as Force Carbonation psi calculations. We have had over 18 updates to iBrewMaster in less than 2 years and have no plans on slowing down anytime soon. In fact, our last update was just February 17th! Please visit us at www.ibrewmaster.com to view the user documentation and additional screen shots. The user guide is a version behind as we worked quickly to bring another update with quite a bit of new features. (We do support automatic mash water volume and temperature calculations!) However, we should be caught up in another week or so when we submit the new versions to Apple and will have the new user guide included in the app update. Also, check out the review on iTunes for feedback from real users.

Finally, you won't find any app with better support! We're always searching the web for feedback and typically reply to all e-mails the same day. So feel free to contact us at our support e-mail address on our website with any questions. (Can't include it here due to e-mail spam scanning!)

Joe
iBrewMaster, Inc.

 

[o4_srt]

Joe, not sure how this would be accomplished, but is there any way to adjust og and FG estimates based on mash temperature? All the software programs I have tried calculate FG based on attenuation, and while this is partially true, mash temperature also affects the amount of fermentables (ad unfermentables) produced. Lower mash temperature results in lower FG, and higher mash temperature results in a higher FG.

It's probably a lot more difficult to accomplish than a calculation just based on attenuation, which is most likely why it hasn't been done yet, but just thought I would throw it out there.

 

[iBrewMaster]

Sorry Facebite, you are correct that we take the same approach. And I never have seen any programs take that into consideration. Altitude is another thing that can effect this calculations, and I have seen some published research on that, but I myself haven't seen how to take the mash temp into consideration.

Joe
iBrewMaster, Inc.

 

[BaldManBrew]

does brewpal support extract and mini mash as well?

 

[SpottedDogBrewing]

does brewpal support extract and mini mash as well?

I don't see why not. It offers dry and liquid extracts choices.

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[cimirie]

I've got both iBrewmaster an BrewPal. I got iBrewmaster first and have used it longer. However, I like BrewPal better. iBrewmaster is cleaner and a bit more straight forward, but I find BrewPal to be a) more capable b) more useful on brewday.

To those that said BrewPal felt like a toy... I don't even know what that means. If you mean it has tons of features and screens that can/need to be tinkered with like a new toy, I agree. That, by the way, is it's biggest downfall. You can adjust SO much, it's not always easy to find what you need. it can get very frustrating at first. iBrewmaster IS much more intuitive.

I still use both (the continual update of recipes on iBrewmaster and the personal recipe archive make it superior for keeping track of your batches and getting exposed to new recipes), but if I had to chose only one, it would be BrewPal - for now. But, I would definitely recommend both.

 

[Tarheel4985]

I've been struggling with the same decision as others here and the biggest drawback for me with all the available apps is lack of support for BeerXML files, as others have mentioned. My solution, although not ideal, was LogMeIn Ignition, which I had already purchased to access my computer while traveling. Now I just use LogMeIn to access BeerSmith on my laptop and I don't even have to have it with me. The formatting isn't ideal (I'm using it on my iPad) but at least it shows me everything I need and it isn't too hard to input changes and notes throughout the brew session.

This isn't a solution for everyone but just a thought. I anxiously await an app that will support import/export of BeerXML files. I had hopes that BeerSmith would create a mobile app but that seems very unlikely.

 

[cyclonite]

I wish BeerSmith would make a mobile app also. I have both BrewPal and iBrewMaster, and while both have their strong points, they are missing features that BeerSmith. I wish I could import/export between them, thus BeerXML support (even if it does miss some features) would be great.

I bought iBrewMaster since BrewPal hasn't been updating and adding features, and it constantly causes memory issues and crashes on my iPod touch. iBrewMaster is very good and always adding features at least, well worth the money. But, it still has a way to go to reach BeerSmith levels.