Software or pen and paper?

[Rohlk]

Who formulates recipes with software and who formulates with pen and paper? What do ya'll see as the advantages and disadvantages of either? Who uses a mix?

 

[psnydez86]

I use I brewmaster on my I phone and also write down the specifics in my brew log while brewing. Software is pretty hard to beat as it will help you hit your numbers and get a better idea of where your final product is gonna end up.

 

[EODstads]

I did my first batch pen and paper, upgraded to iBrewmaster for a few batches and then upgraded again to BeerSmith. I have it on my iPhone as well and I can view/edit recipes and share vie their cloud server with other people and get their opinion. I think that it is easier to actually design a new recipe using software because color calculations and projected ABV OG IBUs are all done for you....so in the spirit of convenience bordering pure laziness I vote software!

 

[tonyolympia]

I use pen and paper, together with a simple spreadsheet for calculating the gravity contributions of different malts. Weight times PPG times efficiency divided by volume. I love that equation. If I'm not sitting in front of a computer, a pocket calculator works just as well as a spreadsheet. It's also perfect for calculating ABV.

The only real brewing programs I use are Mr. Malty for yeast, Hopularity for iPhone for IBUs, and sometimes an online beer color calculator. Brewed By Us, I think?

I like piecing the elements of a recipe together myself, and doing at least some of the math in my head. I could be wrong, but I think this approach has made me a more knowledgable and careful brewer.

 

[grathan]

I use both. I wouldn't bother with software unless your focusing on repeatability, managing lots of your favorite recipes, or dealing with large inventory of ingredients. It's better to just observe and remember stuff than to keep track of a bunch of useless data. IMHO.

 

[scutiger]

I use BeerSmith. It was a little daunting at first, but I've got all my equipment dialed in just right to were I know exactly what my mash temps, volumes, losses, efficiency, pitch rate, and so much more will be before I even brew. I run all of my recipes through it, and it would just be too much to keep track of all the details from my 20+ recipes any other way.