Brewing software

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Teufelhunde

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What is the brewing software everyone uses? I have used both Brewer's Friend and Brewfather a little, both seem to be usable but I am more comfortable with Brewfather. Brewer's friend seems to have more usable calculators and such. Are there any others I should look for as well?

TIA for input

Lon
 
I started with BeerSmith, but have since switched over to Brewer's Friend. It's all online, so it's easy to pull up from my laptop or my phone. Seems to be very accurate once you dial in your equipment profile. Plus, being online, it's always updated, and I can usually find every ingredient I need when writing recipes.
 
I have been a BeerSmith user for the past several years (using a mix of software before that). For a few years I just used the Mobile version. For a few years before that I used an simple app on my iPod, and I found more use in the mobile version of BeerSmith than the desktop version. The BeerSmith mobile app is a little clunky to use, but supports most of the powerful features of BeerSmith Desktop. There is very little integration between Mobile and Desktop versions of BeerSmith.

Less than a year ago I gave the web version of BeerSmith a go, and decided to pick up a license. The web version is quite easy to use and I like the clean interface. The web version actually has pretty decent integration with Mobile. The license includes both Web and Desktop. I mostly just use the Desktop version once and a while because it has better printing capabilities than Web.
 
I'm a beersmith user from 1.0 and continue to use it because I know it and don't have a real reason to use anything different. I generally only brew at home and bring my laptop out to brew so the desktop version is usually all I need. I did buy the app because sometimes I want to slap together ideas while I'm away from my laptop but I don't use it for brewing. I don't love the idea of the web version just because I don't see the value in the subscription model for the software. If I really need to transfer recipes from one to the other I can email myself the xml.

I also use Bru'n Water for water adjustments. I know beersmith has this capability but I trust the output from Bru'n Water and again I don't have a good reason to abandon what I know works. Bru'n Water also works easiest on a larger screen which is another reason why I keep using my laptop for brewing.
 
another vote for BrewFather here.

I've been dialing in my hardware profile each time I brew.

the yeast starter/overbuild calculator works reasonably well.
the water additions were also easy to follow.
the hydrometer temp correction tool has also come in handy.

BF was my first web-based application that I use on multiple devices. Super handy to have a boil timer running on an old wi-fi smartphone I just had lying around.
 
I use and recommend BrewCipher. But I am the author and therefore biased. I originally developed it due (partly) to what I saw as shortcomings in other software. Some of the "missing" functionality is now common. Some not. One of the things I like most about it is that the various "calculators" (including the MpH 4.2 water model) are integrated, so you don't waste time re-entering the same information over and over again. It also includes FruitCalc (fruit addition OG/FG/ABV) logic.

If you have Excel (or Open Office), you can't beat the price (free). And the help desk is open pretty much every day.

You can download it from -> Google Drive <- or -> DropBox <-.
 
Last edited:
... the developer stopped developing ...
Click to expand...
Early in the hobby, this was one of the reasons that I decided to 'buy the equations (in a couple of books)' where possible rather than 'rent the calculations'. The basic math isn't hard, it's tedious. For occasional mash water calculations, I currently use Brewers Friend.

That being said, the integration of Tilt (and other devices) into various brewing software is exciting to see.
 
Having used Beersmith and BrewFather, I definitely prefer BrewFather. The mobile app is great and I get notifications during the brewday on PC, phone and apple watch. It just seems more polished and easier to use than Beersmith.
 
Tried out BeerSmith, but didn't like the way it handled. Moved to Brewer's Friend and haven't looked back, easy to use, since it's online I can pull it up anywhere and it allows Tilt tracking and can really help you dial in your brewhouse.
 
VikeMan said:
I use and recommend BrewCipher. But I am the author and therefore biased. I originally developed it due (partly) to what I saw as shortcomings in other software. Some of the "missing" functionality is now common. Some not. One of the things I like most about it is that the various "calculators" (including the MpH 4.2 water model) are integrated, so you don't waste time re-entering the same information over and over again. It also includes FruitCalc (fruit addition OG/FG/ABV) logic.

If you have Excel (or Open Office), you can't beat the price (free). And the help desk is open pretty much every day.

You can download it from -> Google Drive <- or -> DropBox <-.
Click to expand...
It's real nice work. But all imperial units. You've writed that? Congratulations!


I brewd with free BrewersFriend. Now I'm using Calcoliamo Birra. It's a free Italian software. Very straight forward.

Anyone else knows it?
 
I've used many of them, more than 10, I've settled on Brewer's Friend, but I use Pricesless Calc often to double check, and HomebrewDad's yeast calc, and my own system of way-too-damn-many-spreadsheets-in-dire-need-of-database-conversion also. It's not patented, but it's not in the public domain either.
 
Let's set the tone using a :) prefix rather than a postfix :)

balrog said:
way-too-damn-many-spreadsheets-in-dire-need-of-database-conversion
Click to expand...
:) ... but why ruin a perfectly good hobby by organizing ingredients in Boyce Codd Normal Form?


For those mentioning which brewing software they prefer, it would be interesting to know what their "primary computer" is.

Mine is a is a 2012-ish laptop with a 1920 x 1080 display, SSD, Office 2016 license, running Windows 10. So for me, a combination of Excel & Word currently works well for me. As I mentioned earlier, the basic math isn't hard, it's tedious. And for everything else, there's BrewCipher (see #10 above).

If my only device were a phone, I would likely be a loyal BrewFather or BrewersFriend subscriber.
 
I don’t use software during brew, just timers, following brew sheet from excel. Primary ‘puter is win10 desktop, all ancillary laptops and computers are win10 w gdrive and most brew files synced there. I dislike virtual keyboards and have no idea how I’d get by with just phone. It do make a nice timer.
 
I use Beer Smith on a desktop computer. I use it to develop my recipes and have gotten very use to its features even though there's some I don't use. I tried to keep up with the inventory feature but usually forget to add when I make a grain purchase. When I'm ready to brew I print off a recipe and keep it handy during the brew day to add notes as I go then add them to the software copy.

Just started looking at Brewfather since I see a lot of folks here using it. Thanks for the reading!
 
BeerSmith here too. I've been using the recipe cloud recently to remind myself what I'm supposed to be doing on brew day, which is quite helpful
 
I use a Mac and used BeerSmith for a while, but have switched over to BeerTools. I find the equipment setup and volume calculations much more straightforward with BeerTools. Not so many places to see what is going on behind the scenes. I also like the mash schedule much better in BeerTools for step mashes.
 
I just don't get how some seem to struggle with setting up Beer Smith. Readjusted my expectations due to adding a steam condenser and it works out just perfect.
 
Chris112 said:
Having used Beersmith and BrewFather, I definitely prefer BrewFather. The mobile app is great and I get notifications during the brewday on PC, phone and apple watch. It just seems more polished and easier to use than Beersmith.
Click to expand...


Same here. I don't dislike or ever hated Beersmith. I just felt like it was clunky to me compared to Brewfather. I used Beersmith for a while (v2) until moving over to Brewfather.

I probably would have stayed with Beersmith, but I was able to get a free code through my brew club for Brewfather, so I have it free for a year. The biggest advantage for me is the shared platform and the ability to track a Tilt device, which is something I would like to get in the near future. The biggest and only negative I have is when running the timers on BF during a brew day, they go inactive if I don't keep my phone from going to sleep mode. I almost missed a hop addition because of that.
 
It wasn't that much of a pain for me but I found BeerTools to be more straightforward. I also didn't like how BeerSmith's final volume and efficiency was geared towards what made its way into the fermenter rather what was left in the BK after cooling. The latter is much more straightforward for me to measure accurately.
 
Let's just step back a moment and realize that we are having one of those existential conversations like "What's the best Text Editor?" The result is of course a full blown religious battle of epic proportions involving attacks, counter attacks, thinly veiled reason, and likely rabid wombats.

To each their own.

Unless you're talking about liking Lima beans. Then, of course, you're wrong.
 
I work with wine not beer so I use a program I wrote myself in VB.Net. tracks current brews, evaluations, batch info, and even inventory (though inventory it tailored to my racks and I'm not skilled enough to be able to let the user configure their own racks in program) I considered selling it and asked for opinions after showing screenshots on another homebrew site but it seemed no one was interested so I gave up on the idea and just use it for myself.
 
balrog said:
Let's just step back a moment and realize that we are having one of those existential conversations like "What's the best Text Editor?" The result is of course a full blown religious battle of epic proportions involving attacks, counter attacks, thinly veiled reason, and likely rabid wombats.
Click to expand...

In this topic, I'm seeing mostly "I use ... because ...".

Seems like people with laptops/desktops are often mostly using solid desktop apps (or custom spreadsheets) & people with phones are often using solid web based apps like BrewFather / Brewers Friend.
 

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