brew software for linux

[Nealie]

had beersmith for a while. didn't use it much since i've only been in this a few months but i figured i'd build up a database of recipes to work from. had my computer stolen a few weeks ago and made the leap to a linux (ubuntu) box. any recommendations on brewing software that is linux-friendly?

 

[Bokonon]

There might be others that I don't know of but I've used qbrew before. Googling turns up the URL of http://www.usermode.org/code.html

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I still use BeerSmith on my Ubuntu installation. It runs great under Wine (ironic?).

 

[bradsul]

Promash works well through wine too.

 

[JimC]

I still use BeerSmith on my Ubuntu installation. It runs great under Wine (ironic?).

Did you have any trouble getting BrewSheet/Printer functions to work under wine? I have Gecko running which I figured would fix that, but still no love for printing a brewsheet.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Did you have any trouble getting BrewSheet/Printer functions to work under wine? I have Gecko running which I figured would fix that, but still no love for printing a brewsheet.

Alright, so BeerSmith doesn't run perfectly under Wine. Everything works except for the print function. When I need to print something, I export the recipe as HTML (under the file menu), then print it from my web browser. I still think BeerSmith is one of the best programs around, and it's even better with the recent update, so I can live with the minor annoyance.

 

[JimC]

Nice work around. Thanks. I agree, BeerSmith is nice and I didn't want to give it up by moving to Ubuntu.

 

[Nealie]

thanks for the tips. it's good to know that beersmith does well in wine. i'll get on in asap.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I'm not sure if Ubuntu's package just doesn't make the distinction, but on Debian there is a package called wine-print that allows Wine applications to print using CUPS. It appears as if it doesn't work on AMD64 architecture machines.

I personally use qbrew and am looking to expand my programming skills by expanding it's functionality.

 

[Short Drive]

Beer Tools Pro is about to start beta testing their new release for Linux and OS X.

 

[SPLASTiK]

I personally use qbrew and am looking to expand my programming skills by expanding it's functionality.

Cool to hear! What all do you have in mind?

 

[z987k]

I'm not sure if Ubuntu's package just doesn't make the distinction, but on Debian there is a package called wine-print that allows Wine applications to print using CUPS. It appears as if it doesn't work on AMD64 architecture machines.

I personally use qbrew and am looking to expand my programming skills by expanding it's functionality.

I use qbrew as well, but man does it have some annoyances. Like when you open a saved beer, it doesn't show all of the ingredients, just the first one. I really don't like using wine, so I'm sticking with it for now.

edit: I have to take that back, after updating to gusty it works great now!

 

[Kevin Dean]

Cool to hear! What all do you have in mind?

Sorry for the slow responce. I don't frequently check for updates to GNU/Linux software in non-software forums.

Anyway, again, this is a programming lesson as much as a desire to improve the software. But planned features include, for me, recipie scaling. I see a lot of 10 gallon all-grains that I'd like to do as 5 gallon.

Also, I'd like to get a basic all-grain to extract conversion feature in there.

To get more familiar with QT I'd like to add a slider to pick the beer colour. I've not been brewing long enough to think in Lovibond.

I am, however, open to features. At the VERY worst, it might trigger something in the program designer, who I am certain is aware of these forums.

I use qbrew as well, but man does it have some annoyances. Like when you open a saved beer, it doesn't show all of the ingredients, just the first one. I really don't like using wine, so I'm sticking with it for now.

edit: I have to take that back, after updating to gusty it works great now!

I was writing this to say something like "Oh, that bug has been fixed in 0.3.10 in Debian for a long time..." But then I noticed that 0.4.0 is what I'm running, which has been updated for the version that fixed that bug.

Ubuntu Gutsy is still shipping the 0.3.10 version. If you'd like, I can build the 0.4.0 version for you and upload a .deb for easy upgrade. The changelog indicates only that more things were added to the ingredient database but I think a jump from 0.3.10 to 0.4.0 deserves more than a few new ingredients, so perhaps something went on behind the scenes.

If you'd like the packages (and corresponding source) I can build them rather quickly on either AMD64 or i386 if you'd let me know which you'd prefer.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I think a jump from 0.3.10 to 0.4.0 deserves more than a few new ingredients, so perhaps something went on behind the scenes.

Okay, I'm seeing the SVN version has more details. Bug fixes in the 0.4.0 version include adding more ingredients, better support for non-english languages, a fix for a bug that caused sorting issues, some printing improvement and support for importing BeerXML files.

 

[z987k]

Well I can go look for the tarball and build it myself, I don't have a problem with that. I really hate it when updates to software never make it to the release.

I've never looked into it, but can you submit a deb to them to include in the repositories?

 

[Kevin Dean]

Well I can go look for the tarball and build it myself, I don't have a problem with that.

Good man! But I've got a "nicer" solution for you. It goes against all of the conventional Ubuntu wisdom...

1.) Open "/etc/apt/sources.list" and add, as a new line:

deb-src http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sid main

2.) Comment out (#) all other deb-src lines. Close and save the file.

3.) Run "sudo apt-get update"; ignore the warning about the GPG key.

4.) Run "apt-get source qbrew; sudo apt-get build-dep qbrew" this installs the build-dependancies as well as downloads the latest source code from the Debain repository. This sequence is perhaps one of the most useful commands in the apt world.

5.) Change into the qbrew-XXXX directory (I don't recall the specifics, just "cd qbrew" and TAB will probably suffice.

6.) run "dpkg-buildpackage" and watch the magic.

Assuming there are no major issues the source will compile and then put itself in an Ubuntu-compatible .deb package for your architecture, you'll find it as the only .deb package in the directory ABOVE the one you're in "cd .."

You can install it with the command line "dpkg -i *.deb" or double click on it and launch gDebi (if you're using Gnome).

I've never looked into it, but can you submit a deb to them to include in the repositories?

That's not possible. Some people love Ubuntu for it, I HATE ubuntu for it... Debian has a rolling release called Sid... As soon as a package is ready and will build, it's put into the repo. Sid today might be VERY different than sid from next month.

Mark Shuttleworth thought this was bad for desktop users because it means CONSTANTLY upgrading (and sometimes breaking) your system. The drawback is that if a newer version of an application comes out it isn't even availible until the next release. I just looked and found that 0.4.0 isn't in Hardy either, so perhaps it's simply not being maintained.

I've e-mailed the listed mainter of the applications and we'll see what happens... It won't ever make it into Gutsy, but perhaps I can ensure it stays current in Hardy.

 

[z987k]

Yeah building a deb is not that hard, I could maintain the damn thing from the official source.

oh, btw, your to late with the getting the source package from debian and building it into a deb. configure, make, make install is pretty easy.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I'm a newb to linux, don't really understand all the commands and stuff, but I'm slowly learning with kubuntu. And, for the record, Beersmith was the first program I ran with wine.

 

[z987k]

you can try qbrew if you want...
"sudo apt-get install qbrew"

 

[Kevin Dean]

I'm a newb to linux, don't really understand all the commands and stuff, but I'm slowly learning with kubuntu.

Glad to hear it. GNU/Linux is a great system I think. I love the freedom, the control and the stability. I've been using GNU/Linux for about 5 years now and I miss nothing from Windows.

Don't worry if you didn't understand those commands, they're "advanced" and taking the time to learn them probably will yeild VERY little benefit for you. The quickest way to use qbrew is as z987k and install the version in the repos. You can use the command he gave or you can use Adept to install it, just search for "qbrew".

As you use any GNU/Linux system, you'll learn more about it, that's just the way it happens. Eventually, you'll come to a point where your needs go beyond those of the distro you're using and you'll have to take matters into your own hands. Until you have that need though, it's more enjoyable to keep it simple.

Yeah building a deb is not that hard, I could maintain the damn thing from the official source.

Awesome. I have to say though, personally, I've seen some horrific Ubuntu packages. I'm a Debian user, but I do respect Ubuntu to a certain extent (unlike some Debianistas)... However, some of the packages in "universe" actually fail to build if you grab the source and try to compile. I've never seen that happen in Debian because they quite strictly follow the Maintainers Guide - it's also why I've not seriously looked into becoming a Debian maintainer... I simply don't have the energy to keep that level of quality up.

oh, btw, your to late with the getting the source package from debian and building it into a deb. configure, make, make install is pretty easy.

True, it's scary at first but it's quite easy. It does, however, have some drawbacks. Firstly, source installs aren't managed by apt so apt doesn't realize when it removes things vital to programs you built yourself. Secondly, source can't update itself. Thirdly, it's not easy to remove source applications unless you install to a prefix (I use /opt/program-name/version) but doing that requires a little bit of "extra" work to get things working.

Those thigns, coupled with not knowing your level of experience, said i should probably mention the way that wouldn't add additional maintainance issues for you. But if that's not a problem, more power to ya!

I've e-mailed the listed mainter of the applications and we'll see what happens... It won't ever make it into Gutsy, but perhaps I can ensure it stays current in Hardy.

Tobias responded today and informed me that qbrew 0.4.0 was synced with Debain yesterday in Hardy so expect it to be availible from an Ubuntu repo hopefully by tomorrow.