Anyone like using beersmith?

[juggabrew]

It’s overall pretty good at building recipes and nice to have an offline software I can just open right up. Only thing that’s not very good is the PH and water..these are pretty much worthless and seem to never get updated to be more user friendly.

 

[cfrazier77]

I have been using it for the last three versions and it is great. I think it is a bargain for the cost of a case of beer considering all that it does.

 

[ChadS]

I’ve used it for a few months now. It’s a big learning curve and you have to play with it for a few hours before you really get the hang of it. It’s invaluable to me now though.

 

[JimRausch]

I used Hopville, the precursor to Brewtoad, and then Brewtoad. Have 74 recipes on it and probably double that in brewlogs. When we got the notice that Brewtoad was closing down as of 1/2019, I downloaded the trial versions of both Brewsmith and Brewer's Friend. Tried them both and decided I liked Brewsmith best, so I bought a subscription. So far, so good.

 

[McKnuckle]

I guess with over 30 replies, you're sold on BeerSmith. But I dislike it. I can understand it and am able to use it. But I definitely find it burdensome.

Too many options and inputs and categories to deal with - clutter, clutter, clutter. Reliance on brewhouse efficiency. Numerous data entry quirks that drive me nuts. Etc.

I like each of my recipes to focus on certain key variables, and I like the info to be at my fingertips on brew day. So years back I developed my own spreadsheet, which has evolved to a thing of beauty (if I say so myself). It's formatted to my liking, and it cherry-picks the data and formulae that I most value when assessing my recipes and process.

I also admit that I like to understand the math behind things, so I set a goal to learn the math of brewing by developing my own tools. I fully accept that's not for everyone.

I don't offer this to convince anyone, just to say that not everybody enjoys BeerSmith, despite its status as the de facto brewing software solution.

 

[jturman35]

It’s overall pretty good at building recipes and nice to have an offline software I can just open right up. Only thing that’s not very good is the PH and water..these are pretty much worthless and seem to never get updated to be more user friendly.

I agree! I use Brunwater and like BS it can a little difficult to learn, but well worth it!