brewing software?

[bdupree]

What is the best free brewing software that everyone here uses, or should I just go ahead and buy one?

 

[azscoob]

I have both purchased and free, our brewclub has free software (brewblog) available to those who want to use it, it works pretty well, nice to have access to your recipes etc from any computer with internet access. helpful when you need a couple things from the LHBS and your recipe is at home on the counter.

 

[D-Ring]

There is a sticky under the software section that will get you started. Also just search " brewing software" here on HBT and you will get a buck of threads. Personally, I am a Mac guy and use Brew Alchemy and like it a lot.

 

[509inc]

+1 Beer Alchemy.

 

[jgourd]

I use a simple spreadsheet that does everything I'd ever need it to. It's in OpenOffice format. Anything else is simply not sensible. And not free or, more importantly, open source.

 

[bull8042]

I have tried a few, but my favorite is definitely Beer Smith. Beer Tools Pro has a strong following, and I have tried it briefly, but I still like Beer Smith better. BS seems to have a lot more calculators and tools...... Definitely worth every penny of the $20 or so...

 

[KyleWolf]

I like Hopville, though you have to be careful with their options. and Brewmaster's Warehouse. But then again, that is also where I purchase my supplies from. The good thing about their calculator is that all the AA values and malt values are real and not averages since their numbers come from what they have in stock.

Only bad part is they don't have anything for strike water etc.

 

[stevo155]

Here' a new one: www.brewmate.net

I have a purchased copy of Beersmith which I use exclusively.

 

[spriolo]

What is the best free brewing software that everyone here uses, or should I just go ahead and buy one?

try to do it with a spread sheet. I've learned so much by tinkering with a spread sheet. IBU's, SRM, OG it's all just basic math. (plus I've learned a lot about ingredients by looking up theoretical maximum points per gallon and measuring my sad efficiency.

Go old school! It's good on ya!

 

[SauceBoss]

just downloaded the trial for BeerAlchemy and so far it looks pretty swell.

 

[509inc]

Beer Alchemy rocks. I like the shopping and inventory features the most. The suggest a beer feature doesnt always show all the recipes that I need 3 or less ingredient for, but it does show most.

I always get quick email reply when I send feedback as well.

In the 6 months I'v been using it the software has been updated 4 times.

 

[djt17]

What is the best free brewing software that everyone here uses, or should I just go ahead and buy one?

If all you are looking for is assistance in recipe formulation, Qbrew does this well. I then use http://www.brewheads.com/calc.php if I need to calculate strike temps etc.

 

[Ølbart]

Brewzor seems like a handy little app to calculate strike water temp, carbonation, etc., for Android phones. It doesn't do recipe formulation, though, but I don't see the point of doing that on a phone.

 

[HH60gunner]

I use a simple spreadsheet that does everything I'd ever need it to. It's in OpenOffice format. Anything else is simply not sensible. And not free or, more importantly, open source.

Any chance I could get you to email a copy of your spreadsheet? I've searched for linux brewing software and have yet to find any that don't require the use of WINE and some meddling. What kind of things can your spreadsheet do? Can it do stuff like conversion from extract to all-grain/partial, vise-versa?

 

[Ølbart]

There are a few Linux apps out there, HH60gunner: Qbrew, Strangebrew Java, Brewtarget, and probably some others. To convert from extract to all-grain, swap pale liquid malt extract with pale malt to get the same extract and gravity.

That spreadsheet does look nice, though.

 

[jgourd]

Any chance I could get you to email a copy of your spreadsheet? I've searched for linux brewing software and have yet to find any that don't require the use of WINE and some meddling. What kind of things can your spreadsheet do? Can it do stuff like conversion from extract to all-grain/partial, vise-versa?

You can get the spreadsheet from my web site. I have an OpenOffice version which I know works just fine, and I converted it also to an MS Excel version--although I haven't tested it since I don't have Excel. Feel free to click on the links (or right-click and Save As) to download the spreadsheet.

Converting to extract or partial mash I don't believe can be wholly done with software. I think you can get partly there that way, but there has to be some sort of human input. There is a feature under the Useful Formulas sheet that allows you to specify the OG you want, among other things, and the % bill for each type of grain (or extract). It will then specify the amount of each you need. It's not a direct conversion, but it can get you started.

edit: it seems that the Excel version doesn't refer to "names" (or labels) properly. I'll have to fix that later. For now, I'd just use the OpenOffice version.

 

[bdupree]

You can get the spreadsheet from my web site. I have an OpenOffice version which I know works just fine, and I converted it also to an MS Excel version--although I haven't tested it since I don't have Excel. Feel free to click on the links (or right-click and Save As) to download the spreadsheet.

Converting to extract or partial mash I don't believe can be wholly done with software. I think you can get partly there that way, but there has to be some sort of human input. There is a feature under the Useful Formulas sheet that allows you to specify the OG you want, among other things, and the % bill for each type of grain (or extract). It will then specify the amount of each you need. It's not a direct conversion, but it can get you started.

edit: it seems that the Excel version doesn't refer to "names" (or labels) properly. I'll have to fix that later. For now, I'd just use the OpenOffice version.

Awesome spreadsheet! Thanks, thats exactly what I needed.

 

[jgourd]

Awesome spreadsheet! Thanks, thats exactly what I needed.

Glad it's being used by someone other than me! By the way, the sheets are protected to prevent accidental overwriting of formulas and stuff. But it's not password protected. You can easily unprotect each sheet as you like to make changes to formulas and other default values.