BeerSmith 3: Here it comes. Thoughts?

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passedpawn

passedpawn

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I'm gonna grab it and give it a spin the second it comes out. I haven't been too fond of BS2, entirely due to it's awkward GUI. I was a big fan of BS1.4, which had technical flaws but the GUI was straightforward. Releases this month (June)

http://beersmith.com/blog/2018/06/01/beersmith-3-a-first-look/

Major Highlights

  • Support for mead, wine and cider recipe types, including related styles and data
  • Cloud folders, better cloud sharing options and rating of recipes
  • Updated look/feel and smart dialogs that are tailored to the task at hand
  • Water profile tools fully integrated with the recipe builder
  • Support for individual whirlpool hop temperatures and high altitude brewing
  • Mash pH acid adjustments fully integrated with the recipe builder
  • Two stage yeast starters for liquid yeast and dry yeast hydration
  • A ton of new data - hops, grains, fruits, juices, styles, more all updated
  • Backwards compatible - imports your data, and can run side by side with V2
upload_2018-6-1_16-12-13.png
 
I'm in when it's out!

Cheers!

[edit] This would be the biggest reason why:

"BeerSmith now has a proper model for the utilization of steeped/whirlpool hops vs temperature, and lets you specify both temperature and time for each whirlpool addition. It also has an enhanced model for carrying forward unused boil bitterness into the whirlpool enabled from the equipment profile for easy reuse."
 
I can hardly wait for this! Especially the UI overhaul and Whirlpool hops calculations/predictions.
 
passedpawn said:
I've been slowly making more wine, which I track on paper (so antiquated!). I'll be happy to keep those notes in Beersmith. I probably could have been doing it all along, no idea why I haven't, but it just occurred to me :)
Click to expand...

It's weird, but I never use software for wine or mead or cider. I have reams of paper in folders.

Maybe it's because I feel like I'd "have" to have 25 years of recipes in there to compare, but that really is a ridiculous assumption on my part. I must just be too old fashioned or something.
 
Yooper said:
It's weird, but I never use software for wine or mead or cider. I have reams of paper in folders.

Maybe it's because I feel like I'd "have" to have 25 years of recipes in there to compare, but that really is a ridiculous assumption on my part. I must just be too old fashioned or something.
Click to expand...

My first year or two of homebrewing is completely lost due to keeping records on paper. Those pages literally disintegrated - not sure what I got on them, but it must have been some combination of heat and humidity and brewing stuff.
 
I'll get it. I'm using BS2 currently and although I have some things to point at (where one of them doesn't seem to be adressed in #3) i love it. I've slowly been using another paid software as well due to the lack of updates in BS, so I can't wait to see if the new version can keep it up with the other software.
 
Is there a trial available during the pre-order period? I'd like to try it out before purchasing.
 
I will be getting it, if only for the improved UI. I have used BS2 since 2/15/12. I am used to it so I see no reason to try something else. Especially since others with similar features cost the same or more.

Of course I don't know what BS3 will go for.
 
Did anyone see if there are going to be any changes to the manual process of moving recipes from the desktop to the cloud to your mobile? Some kind of automatic syncing would sell me on a cloud subscription. The manual moving of recipes is tedious and I will certainly get me out of sync quickly so I don't bother.
 
kh54s10 said:
I will be getting it, if only for the improved UI. I have used BS2 since 2/15/12. I am used to it so I see no reason to try something else. Especially since others with similar features cost the same or more.

Of course I don't know what BS3 will go for.
Click to expand...

It's $25 right now for the preorder. There's some subscription prices, presumably for the additional cloud recipe storage.

What's the advantage in keeping your recipes online? What do you guys use cloud storage for?
 
I use BS2 on my PC to create recipes, then push them to my cloud folder and pull them to my Android tablet running BS2 for brew day work.
I add the brew day meta data to the file on my tablet, then push it back to the cloud folder when the brew is complete, and close the loop by pulling the updated file back to my PC.

So the cloud folder is just a handy vectoring mechanism...

Cheers!

[edit] So I see the subscriptions offer greater update coverage than the "one time" purchase. I was afraid of that. WTH is going to be the line between "minor" and "major" updates when this version is just hitting the street and is bound to have issues. I've broken pretty much every piece of software I've ever used in over 40-something years of flogging computers and harbor no optimism wrt new releases working as expected...
 
Last edited:
I only use the cloud to keep some recipes off my computer. Before the cloud option in BS2 my computer crapped out and I lost everything.

2 things about this - I print out a paper copy of every brew so that I have a hard copy. And, so far in 100 brews I have never brewed the exact same recipe twice, so I don't know how useful the cloud really is to me.
 
day_trippr said:
I use BS2 on my PC to create recipes, then push them to my cloud folder and pull them to my Android tablet running BS2 for brew day work.
I add the brew day meta data to the file on my tablet, then push it back to the cloud folder when the brew is complete, and close the loop by pulling the updated file back to my PC.

So the cloud folder is just a handy vectoring mechanism...

Cheers!

[edit] So I see the subscriptions offer greater update coverage than the "one time" purchase. I was afraid of that. WTH is going to be the line between "minor" and "major" updates when this version is just hitting the street and is bound to have issues. I've broken pretty much every piece of software I've ever used in over 40-something years of flogging computers and harbor no optimism wrt new releases working as expected...
Click to expand...

Minor is 3.x. Major is 4.0. That's the standard terms for revision numbers. I'm gonna upgrade, but I don't much like payments of any kind, so the subscription is not an option. Plus, I don't care about the cloud stuff.
 
day_trippr said:
[edit] So I see the subscriptions offer greater update coverage than the "one time" purchase. I was afraid of that. WTH is going to be the line between "minor" and "major" updates when this version is just hitting the street and is bound to have issues. I've broken pretty much every piece of software I've ever used in over 40-something years of flogging computers and harbor no optimism wrt new releases working as expected...
Click to expand...
On the bright side, the Linux version won't be out until July, so hopefully some of the initial bugs will be worked out before then.
 
joeg13 said:
Did anyone see if there are going to be any changes to the manual process of moving recipes from the desktop to the cloud to your mobile? Some kind of automatic syncing would sell me on a cloud subscription. The manual moving of recipes is tedious and I will certainly get me out of sync quickly so I don't bother.
Click to expand...
You right click and copy to cloud. Same with searching. Put in the search criteria, find a recipe and copy to a folder.
 
enkamania said:
You right click and copy to cloud. Same with searching. Put in the search criteria, find a recipe and copy to a folder.
Click to expand...
I can't help but find that disappointing. I'm not disciplined enough to copy things back and forth between desktop and mobile using the cloud as a middle man. I want to be able to tinker with a recipe while I'm waiting on line at the grocery store and then pickup where I left off on my desktop when I get home. Does anyone just leave all of their recipes online and forgo local storage completely?
 
joeg13 said:
I can't help but find that disappointing. I'm not disciplined enough to copy things back and forth between desktop and mobile using the cloud as a middle man. I want to be able to tinker with a recipe while I'm waiting on line at the grocery store and then pickup where I left off on my desktop when I get home. Does anyone just leave all of their recipes online and forgo local storage completely?
Click to expand...
You can view and edit your cloud recipes in the desktop. I don't think there is a way to make one update and have it update in different folders.
 
I don't have a BS cloud subscription, just the "free" 15 entry cloudlette. I keep my recipes on my workstation which backs up to a NAS box, and only use the BS cloud to share with my laptop/tablet/phone.

I tried mirroring my BS2 user folders to a Google Drive and while I am able to pull files to my laptop without using the BS cloud service I never found a way to get the BS2 Android app to open a .bsmx file. Brad clearly wired the mobile app for his cloud service. Can't blame him, this isn't a charity he's running ;)

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
I don't have a BS cloud subscription, just the "free" 15 entry cloudlette. I keep my recipes on my workstation which backs up to a NAS box, and only use the BS cloud to share with my laptop/tablet/phone.

I tried mirroring my BS2 user folders to a Google Drive and while I am able to pull files to my laptop without using the BS cloud service I never found a way to get the BS2 Android app to open a .bsmx file. Brad clearly wired the mobile app for his cloud service. Can't blame him, this isn't a charity he's running ;)

Cheers!
Click to expand...
I'm happy to pay Brad for his hard work. I just want things to be automatic. I think that Apple has set that level of expectation where you can begin something like an email on your desktop and finish it on you iPhone/iPad seamlessly. Perhaps his new online service that he teased will be my answer. I'll abandon the desktop and mobile versions and work exclusively in the web application, if that's what he is building.
 
BongoYodeler said:
I'm in for upgrading provided the Linux version is included as part of the upgrade.
Click to expand...
From the website:

BeerSmith 3 Ordering Information
  • System Requirements: Windows (versions 7, 9 or 10), Mac OSX (10.9 Mavericks or higher recommended)
  • Release of software is planned for the weekend of 16 June 2018
  • Ubuntu Linux version is planned for release in July 2018
  • Internet connection required: License is electronically stored in your BeerSmith cloud account, and activated online
 
I pre ordered and went with the gold subscription. Two reasons for me to go with the subscription over the standalone. 1. Cloud backups and 2. access to future online tools. I really like the idea of an online editor which would allow me to make a quick change to a recipe at work!
 
Damn, another subscription-ware!

No upgrade path for me. I guess I'll pay the $25, again, for the full standalone version, at some point, not now.
I'm sure the release is buggy, but as long as fixes and those kind of updates are considered "minor," the SA version will do.

Who really needs (cloud) recipe storage / backup anyway?
 
I just preordered the continuious yearly thing. I don't need a cloud thing, especially if it means i have to "copy" recipes and stuff to the clould every time. I use chrome remote desktop on the laptop in my brewery, and phone (when I'm in the lhbs) to remote into my desktop which runs Beersmith, and all stuff is also synced on gdrive for recipe backups.
 
  • Internet connection required: License is electronically stored in your BeerSmith cloud account, and activated online
Click to expand...
I need to dig on this aspect further, to determine if I need access to run BS. I don't have internet access where I brew, and don't plan to add it there due to the cost of bringing it to the opposite end of the property into a steel sided shop.
 
IslandLizard said:
Damn, another subscription-ware!

No upgrade path for me. I guess I'll pay the $25, again, for the full standalone version, at some point, not now.
I'm sure the release is buggy, but as long as fixes and those kind of updates are considered "minor," the SA version will do.

Who really needs (cloud) recipe storage / backup anyway?
Click to expand...

Sure wish I had my recipes in the cloud when my computer died. I lost 10-15 recipes that I had started, some I really wanted to brew and had worked on them for a while.
 
Rodent said:
I need to dig on this aspect further, to determine if I need access to run BS. I don't have internet access where I brew, and don't plan to add it there due to the cost of bringing it to the opposite end of the property into a steel sided shop.
Click to expand...

This is off-topic, but maybe to help for the poster above. You can use a directional antenna which is just extended from your router, and have also an extended antenna on a repeater inside your shop.
 
Rodent said:
I need to dig on this aspect further, to determine if I need access to run BS. I don't have internet access where I brew, and don't plan to add it there due to the cost of bringing it to the opposite end of the property into a steel sided shop.
Click to expand...

I am sure that this is needed for downloading the program, activating it and for use of the cloud. You won't need that while brewing.
 

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