BeerSmith 2.0

[emjay]

Yes. Should be a volume per hour instead of percentage per hour. And, if anyone is smart enough to integrate a RH with Surface area algorithm based on equipment profile and with selections for wind (fan) and no wind for estimated boil off that would be swell.

I was thinking the same thing too earlier this week.

One thing I was doing with Beersmith (the 1.4 trial, as I knew 2.0 was coming soon) was setting up a recipe for a lambic, and immediately it was clear that setting up the mash schedule for a turbid mash is impossible. That would be a neat feature, even if one that most people might never use. I am probably doing a 4-hour boil with the lambic, and wanted to see what kind of volumes I needed - in particular, if my kettle is large enough to hold the amount of wort necessary to produce a 5gal batch after such a long boil.

It didn't matter though, because I realized that using any mash schedule to work out the pre-boil volume. But the problem with measuring boil-off as a percentage quickly presented a serious flaw - it implies that boiling 10gal down to 5gal takes just as long as boiling a tablespoon down to 0.5tbsp, which is just absurd. I know that it's an extreme example, but if the total boil-off volume seems to be pretty accurate for your standard 60- or 90-minute boil-length and whatever batch size, then the more you change one of those variables, the further off the calculation will be from reality.

For instance, I brewed a Berliner Weisse a few months ago, and the boil volume of 15min represented a difference of 4-fold from a standard 60min boil - same as with my lambic, just in the opposite direction. The main difference is that with the Berliner Weisse, it should end up choosing TOO LOW a starting volume, but that can easily be fixed with a post-boil top-up. The 4-hour boil calculates out to over a gallon more than is actually needed, which can be fixed, I suppose, by boiling it longer, which isn't too serious since lambic only gets a bittering charge (with aged, virtually 0%AA hops at that), but that's a waste of time. Two more beers I have planned though with long boils, a Bière de Garde (3 hours) and a Saison (2 hours), with both also having very time-sensitive hop charges in addition to the bittering (30min, as well as 15 min+ 5min charges, respectively). Obviously if I were to just lengthen boil times to reach the correct volumes, they'd all become useless bittering additions.

So it's a pretty substantial flaw. Sure, more-accurate measures can be done in a manual fashion, but just about everything in Beersmith can, so that's a bit besides the point! Especially when you consider those that might not realize the ridiculousness of measuring boil-off by %.

 

[wyzazz]

wyazz, suggest a "no sparge" mash profile, with adjustments possible for grain absorption worked into it!

I think you'll be pleased on this front...

 

[Revvy]

I like the recipe by percentages feature. And it looks like it has something that a ton of folks come on here asking for- The ability to type in a few ingredients and have it suggest a style. Not something I've seen the need for- I usually know what I want to brew and then create the recipe, but it seems a lot of folks on here want it.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I like the recipe by percentages feature. And it looks like it has something that a ton of folks come on here asking for- The ability to type in a few ingredients and have it suggest a style. Not something I've seen the need for- I usually know what I want to brew and then create the recipe, but it seems a lot of folks on here want it.

BeerSmith has, for as long as I have owned it, always been able to reccommend a recipe based on Inventory. Problem is, 1. You have to have an updated inventory, and 2. You have to have multiple recipes in your collection.

For a noob with time on their hands to play with, it would be easy enough to take a recipe book and start plugging things in for style proven recipes.

But, the final flaw is that the way to search the DB with filters applied for Inventory items is not well known or even discussed in the manual. So everyone assumes it doesn't exist or, they don;t have enough plugged into their recipe DB for it to be worth while.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

You know what would be REALLY nice?

If HBT could incorporate BeerXML files into the allowable attachments. Then we could simply pluck the files from the recipe area and import it into our Brewing Softwares.

 

[Revvy]

BeerSmith has, for as long as I have owned it, always been able to reccommend a recipe based on Inventory. Problem is, 1. You have to have an updated inventory, and 2. You have to have multiple recipes in your collection.

All the years I've used it, I've never seen that feature, what button? I'm like you I never update my inventories anyway.

 

[goetzUM]

More malt and hop libraries are highly needed. I hope he's working on adding those as well.

 

[wyzazz]

More malt and hop libraries are highly needed. I hope he's working on adding those as well.

Easily added to the default lists by an Add-Ons option in the menu. Recipe packs, Different Maltsters, etc...

 

[goetzUM]

Easily added to the default lists by an Add-Ons option in the menu. Recipe packs, Different Maltsters, etc...

That sounds great. Are they going to have Great Western, Simpsons, Gambrinus, Bairds and other maltsters that they currently don't have libraries for? I would really like to record the specific maltsters malt that I use, so that later I can look back and remember what I liked and what I didn't.

 

[wyzazz]

That sounds great. Are they going to have Great Western, Simpsons, Gambrinus, Bairds and other maltsters that they currently don't have libraries for? I would really like to record the specific maltsters malt that I use, so that later I can look back and remember what I liked and what I didn't.

It's my understanding that these will continue to be developed and will be able to be added by the community. Also if you're a current user and have specific grains that you've added to BeerSmith 1.x you can export/import them.

 

[weirdboy]

Can't you manually add that stuff now even in Beersmith 1.4? I am pretty sure I have done it. You just need the malt analysis sheet.

 

[wyzazz]

Can't you manually add that stuff now even in Beersmith 1.4? I am pretty sure I have done it. You just need the malt analysis sheet.

Yes you can but the Add-On's make it a bit easier, especially for the beginning brewer that has almost no knowledge of how much malt can differ between maltsters.

Besides, if someone (or even you) has done the work already then why not submit it to be shared with the community. Having this feature built in to the program would have saved me adding several malts that were already there or had been added by someone else in the community already.

 

[weirdboy]

Well I agree but my point is that he has that capability now, and even lacking the malt analysis (which typically doesn't vary substantially anyway) goetzUM could just create separate listings for e.g. Crisp Maris Otter vs Fawcett Maris Otter and make batches with each, noting the qualitative differences. All you have to do is "duplicate" the Maris Otter ingredient and rename it appropriately.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

All the years I've used it, I've never seen that feature, what button? I'm like you I never update my inventories anyway.

It's actually so simple, you'll be surprised you've never come across it.

Select your recipe folder in BeerSmith > Edit > Find. An Ingredient list will pop up and you add things to the list similar to building a recipe as well as other filters for matching options, etc...

Once done, it will list every recipe in the DB you've selected that has matches to the List and criteria you have chosen.

 

[wyzazz]

It's actually so simple, you'll be surprised you've never come across it.

Select your recipe folder in BeerSmith > Edit > Find. An Ingredient list will pop up and you add things to the list similar to building a recipe as well as other filters for matching options, etc...

Once done, it will list every recipe in the DB you've selected that has matches to the List and criteria you have chosen.

Nice! I never knew that existed!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Nice! I never knew that existed!

I wonder if that changes at all in v2.0.

Not very many BeerSmith users know it's there. And some who do, oddly enough, keep it secret for some reason.

 

[wyzazz]

I wonder if that changes at all in v2.0.

Not very many BeerSmith users know it's there. And some who do, oddly enough, keep it secret for some reason.

I'm not seeing that particular "feature" in the current build. I'll ask about it.

 

[wildwest450]

Never saw that feature either, but is it really necessary if you have all your recipes anyways?

_

 

[wyzazz]

Never saw that feature either, but is it really necessary if you have all your recipes anyways?

Not necessary, but nice to have IMHO. Makes finding out what you can make without ordering or making a trip very quick and easy, especially if you've got a rather large recipe list.

 

[wildwest450]

It would also be cool if any grain amounts under a pound was put into ounces automatically. Nice for small additions like roasted barley or pale chocolate.

_

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Never saw that feature either, but is it really necessary if you have all your recipes anyways?

_

Not necessary, but nice to have IMHO. Makes finding out what you can make without ordering or making a trip very quick and easy, especially if you've got a rather large recipe list.

This. In the proad scheme of thing for those not keen or adept at recipe formulation it does make for a nice feature, if you have a large DB, to get an idea of "what" you could brew with minimal extra purchases or from what is on hand at the time.

It would also be cool if any grain amounts under a pound was put into ounces automatically. Nice for small additions like roasted barley or pale chocolate.

_

YES! Or at least, like BTP, the ability to change each items units manually.

You know, for this I may want to work in gallons but for that I may want quarts instead of decimal gallons, etc.... Too many examples to list.

 

[Julohan]

I would like to see an option that says you have brewed a recipe and the inventory will decrease from that recipe.

 

[emjay]

I would like to see an option that says you have brewed a recipe and the inventory will decrease from that recipe.

Yes, that would be nice. Maybe integrate it with some sort of brew log.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I would like to see an option that says you have brewed a recipe and the inventory will decrease from that recipe.

That exists betwen the calendar and the Remove from Inventory button.

What the Remove from Inventory button needs is a link to brewdate so you don;t mistakenly remove 2 or 3 times during the same brew "session". Or, maybe the software just automatically removes inventory item based on a condition that the OG is changed from default.

 

[pksmitty]

That exists betwen the calendar and the Remove from Inventory button.

What the Remove from Inventory button needs is a link to brewdate so you don;t mistakenly remove 2 or 3 times during the same brew "session". Or, maybe the software just automatically removes inventory item based on a condition that the OG is changed from default.

I use the Remove from Inventory feature whenever I brew. I also maintain my inventory whenever I purchase more ingredients. (I really don't brew that often, so it's easy to do)

Is there a "check inventory" feature available that will see if I can brew a given recipe based on what I have in inventory?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

It's actually so simple, you'll be surprised you've never come across it.

Select your recipe folder in BeerSmith > Edit > Find. An Ingredient list will pop up and you add things to the list similar to building a recipe as well as other filters for matching options, etc...

Once done, it will list every recipe in the DB you've selected that has matches to the List and criteria you have chosen.

I use the Remove from Inventory feature whenever I brew. I also maintain my inventory whenever I purchase more ingredients. (I really don't brew that often, so it's easy to do)

Is there a "check inventory" feature available that will see if I can brew a given recipe based on what I have in inventory?

Yes. See above for v1.4 with some common sense modification (choose the recipe you are targeting rather than just the folder, IIRC). Indications are that this feature did not make it's way into v2.0.

 

[pksmitty]

Thanks, Gila. That's a little less direct than I was thinking of, but seems to be useful if you're not sure what to brew.

I was thinking more along the lines of Open a recipe, click "check inventory" and it tells you what, if anything, you are missing for that beer.

 

[wyzazz]

Thanks, Gila. That's a little less direct than I was thinking of, but seems to be useful if you're not sure what to brew.

I was thinking more along the lines of Open a recipe, click "check inventory" and it tells you what, if anything, you are missing for that beer.

Nothing like that in there, but you can open separate windows with your inventory in one and a recipe in another for a quick and easy comparison.

 

[pksmitty]

Nothing like that in there, but you can open separate windows with your inventory in one and a recipe in another for a quick and easy comparison.

That'll work!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Aaaah wyzazz I feel like you're ruining the surprises in-store for the rest of us.

i.e., Spoiler Alert!