BeerTools Pro Question

[gonzoflick]

Not to hijack but I use beer tools pro and I cant find anywhere that shows you strike temps and things of that nature.. In the section on the bottom called Schedule is it supposed to show a graph or something?

 

[bnutting]

In the middle window of the application in the upper right there is a drop down.
Usually it defaults to Ingredients. Just click on the drop down and select Schedule.

You will need to set-up your MT and stuff first. I believe that if you poke around on the BTP forum there is a Wiki that you can go to that clearly defines all of this.

 

[DUCCCC]

I just bought and downloaded BTP for the Mac this evening, and now I'm regretting the purchase. There's no schedule for extract with steeped grains, WTF???

How long have home brewers been doing extract with steeped specialty grains?

I can't change the extract boil times either. This software doesn't allow for late additions for LME/DME?

This blows. I can see now why they don't do demo downloads, they can't rip you off that way.

Is my bitterness showing yet?

Basically it appears that the "tech help" in the forum says to kluge the AG schedule. What kind of crap is that, particularly for something with PRO in the title?I have been around software long enough to know that I ain't getting my $25 back, and that's a shame.

Hopefully I can save a bunch of others from wasting their money, if they intend to use Beer Tools Pro for extract brewing. The help files suck too.

I should have bought Beer Alchemy.

 

[Bobby_M]

Pro = Extract? I don't disagree with your concern but the argument that "pro" should mean they support extract seems counterintuitive to me.

They have been promising a major update that should include some much requested features. I felt the same way you did when I first bought it but after using it for a while, I think it's a solid package. I am looking forward to the update though mostly for the inventory feature.

 

[DUCCCC]

Directly off their front page:

It is simple enough for the beginner yet powerful enough for the professional.

Yet a search of their wiki has no mention of Steeped grain?

http://beertools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2293&highlight=steep%2A
Actually has a BTP staffer stating "It is hidden right now, but code for the 'Boil' step has been in BTP even before 1.0.1. Wink"

As if it's a Microsoft "feature"?

I guess I'm a ticked because this software is touted here regularly, yet it shouldn't be recommended for anyone not doing AG only!

So basically I've wasted my money. Qbrew is at least free, even if it doesn't do all the late additions, or have all the ingredients.

The appeal of BTP was partially because I'd be able to readily exchange recipes and info with Win users.

Bobby, I really respect your knowledge, and I am very impressed with your videos and willingness to share you information. Many here have been a great help, and everyone seems quite willing to pan products that don't do what they were advertised to do, and so I hope you understand when I say that this software fails to deliver what it promises.

I say noobs and non-AG brewers should steer well clear of BeerTools Pro.

 

[Bobby_M]

Actually, all my posts regarding BTP here have mentioned the shortcomings of the software (and that's with all grain, nevermind extract). My impression is that most of the folks here that have BTP agree that it's falling short of expectations. If you're really unhappy, I'd try getting a refund so you can pick up Beersmith instead.

 

[DUCCCC]

Actually, all my posts regarding BTP here have mentioned the shortcomings of the software (and that's with all grain, nevermind extract). My impression is that most of the folks here that have BTP agree that it's falling short of expectations. If you're really unhappy, I'd try getting a refund so you can pick up Beersmith instead.

I'll see about a refund tomorrow, but I can't use Beersmith on the Mac

I downloaded the trial on my work PC, but I don't have the liberty to bring that computer home to brew with

I should have just gone with Beer Alchemy, and not tried to find a "one size fits all" solution. Caveat Emptor, and Mea Culpa.

 

[bobwantbeer]

And I feel your pain. Right from the get go it has not been at all user friendly. I don't know how it's supposed to help organise you mash schedule or strike temp either. When I get home tonight I'm going to post a massive list of problems I had brewing last night, but my inability to use this software is a big concern. I'm hoping in time I can figure it out, but so far I feel equally screwed. We may have to make a few molotov cocktails and go find these bastards.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

...We may have to make a few molotov cocktails and go find these bastards.

That would require home distilling... that's illegal!

 

[Bobby_M]

I think the problem is, some brewers expect the software to be intuitive for THEIR needs but it's difficult to anticipate what you want. Do you want the software to assume you want 2 batch sparge infusions or just one, should they be equal volume? Do you want a mashout, etc. In this case, BTP is almost too flexible and it didn't ship with enough typical presets. I can't imagine why a few batch sparge schedules weren't included. It's as if the authors or requirment writers have never heard of batch sparging or thought it was some fringe activity.

 

[DUCCCC]

I have to give the BTP folks credit for one thing, they understood that I wasn't happy and they refunded my payment. That right there is more than I expect from most companies these days, and gives me hope that perhaps they will someday come out with a non-Pro version that doesn't require a degree in zymology to operate.

Too bad Beersmith isn't made for Macs, as I'm running it in demo mode on my work PC, and while it's not as flashy as beertools, it is much more straight forward.

Looks like it'll be Beer Alchemy for me.

 

[autoferret]

i just dl Beer Alchemy. I just switched from pc to mac so i had pro mash on it. and all of my resipes transfered w/ no problem. just need to get use to the new way of doing things.

 

[Beer Snob]

I was one of the first people to get Beer Tools Pro. Seen a lot of changes in the program. One thing that did not change in the time I was watching was an easy, click this button way to batch. Has this chnaged? I'm told it is very easy with Beer Smith which is what I am evaluating now.

 

[Bobby_M]

Nope, there are no presets for batch sparging. I don't quite understand that because it's so common now. I finally figured out how to get it work though so anyone that wants to see a file...

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I run BeerSmith in Linux under Wine, and it works just fine. Is there a similar emulator for OS X? Or can you just run Wine in OS X since it's *nix based?

 

[Beer Snob]

Nope, there are no presets for batch sparging. I don't quite understand that because it's so common now. I finally figured out how to get it work though so anyone that wants to see a file...

Yup, you can get it to work. I found that ProMash gave me better figures though with the brews I had made with it. Had some problems downloading Beer Tools and am working them out now to see what changes has been made (my internet address changed).

 

[Orfy]

Sounds to me like Beersmith seems to be the one to go for if you can.

 

[brewt00l]

There are preset drop downs for Single and Double infusion on the schedule display. V 1.0.29 or some such version IIRC

..I have a tweaked template off the batch sparge template from the BTP wiki that I use so I have not played with those presets.

 

[Professor Frink]

i just dl Beer Alchemy. I just switched from pc to mac so i had pro mash on it. and all of my resipes transfered w/ no problem. just need to get use to the new way of doing things.

Along with what ma2brew said, I think I'm going this route, since all my old recipes are on promash. Plus, you can get up to three licenses for each purchase, so if you know anyone who would want to split it with you, it cuts down the cost.

 

[DIY Brewing Company]

I guess I have a totally different view from most of you. I was a beta tester of this and I love beer tools. It is definitely something that you have to tweak but you can use it right out of the box. For steepers, if you go into the ingredients menu you can look at individual grains and see whether or not it needs a mash. If it doesn't need a mash and you know your efficiency of your system you can plug the efficiency in and you will be dead on. I have used all of the software that I seemed to find and this is the most user friendly. The best thing to do for it is to setup templates and run your recipes off of that. The beer tools forum can get pretty much any question you want answered. You can also email me and I would be more than happy to help you with it.

 

[Bobby_M]

IMHO, Beersmith has plenty of advantages against the current version of BTP.

First is the inventory feature (to me this is a deal breaking flaw in BTP).
Second is batch sparging presets. In BTP you have to eventually figure out that the batch sparging is under "Separation"...why not call it sparge or more accurately "lauter"?

BTP is more user friendly? I think you're alone in this view. I did my first and second AG batches on Beersmith and it was intuitive. I didn't have to read documentation or ask on a forum. BTP? It took me a couple days to iron out the schedule portion.

 

[The Pol]

I JUST looked up Beer Tools Pro, and I am running the trial of Promash... I hate promash. Nothing is integrated, I have to enter information 10x just to brew a beer. BTP sayes that it has over 100 water profiles and that it also has a more extensive ingredient list than the other programs. Is that a lie? I do not like that they do not have a free trial... that stinks... but the pages that they show look very straight forward and easy to naviagate. Promash is about as clumsy as it gets!

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm setup on a the BTP 1.1 beta program but there's no word when it's going to be released. It's supposed to have a lot of the features that it currently needs badly. We'll see. It does have a rather complete ingredient list but plently of shortcomings.

 

[blacklab]

Beer Tools is driving my crazy. I can't believe they don't have presets for equipment. I am trying to get it to figure batch sparge volumes. I searched their help site, and someone had already asked if they support batch sparges. Their answer? 'Yes'. Argh.
My excel spreadsheet figures batch sparge volumes fine! Why can't this $30 program?

 

[Bobby_M]

There's a lot of talk about integrating a library of typical vessels and they're soliciting input for those. If you can imagine, it's tough for a part time software company to buy or build one of everything just to load it up ;-)

The 1.5 beta does have batch and fly presets but not as many as beersmith.

Create new vessels and just make sure they're volumetrically correct. Then in the schedule create new mash in, sac rest, and separation (this is the lauter/sparge). In the separation window, you can make the first one a full runnings, then hit the PLUS signs for every new batch infusion/running you want. Make sure you hit the total volume collected lock so you're forced to runoff what the main window expects (the large preboil volume). Don't get discouraged, there's a learning curve in everything.

 

[blacklab]

Thanks for the tips, Bobby! Things are slow at work today so I'll fool around with it and see if I can make it work.

 

[WBC]

Entered in error, sorry

 

[brewt00l]

Beer Tools is driving my crazy. I can't believe they don't have presets for equipment. I am trying to get it to figure batch sparge volumes. I searched their help site, and someone had already asked if they support batch sparges. Their answer? 'Yes'. Argh.
My excel spreadsheet figures batch sparge volumes fine! Why can't this $30 program?

I was able to pull all my presets from other folks posts on the same topic in the BTP form who had the same type of equipment. Then I used the batch sparge template from the wiki to figure out the batch sparge setup and it was off to the races.