Buildabeer Excel Based Brewing Program - give it a try

[Holden Caulfield]

2.5 years ago, I embarked on all-grain brewing and began building my own Excel based brewing program. This labor-of-love provided me additional ways to enjoy this hobby by enabling me to delve more deeply into the science behind brewing and making great beer. Over the course of 50+ batches and digestion of countless books and articles, it has evolved to include nearly all aspects of recipe building as well as process best practices to achieve a successful brewing day. It is adaptable to accommodate any home brewer's process.

Several features of the program include:

1. Automatic generation of grain quantities based on target OG, enabling quick and easy recipe tweaking
2. Building recipes based on percentages of grain bill, enabling easy recipe scaling no matter the system parameters and batch size
3. For recipes that include sugars and syrups such as Belgians, pounds, kettle pre-boil gravity, and kettle post-boil gravity, are automatically calculated to hit target OG, whether the adjuncts are added to the kettle or the primary - the volume impact of the sugars and syrups are factored into the calculations
4. A step and decoction mash planner that calculates step water and decoction volumes quickly and easily

About the only thing it doesn't do is calculate PH and acid additions, as there are many great applications out there created by real experts.

I would like to share the program with anyone interested and would appreciate any feedback or thoughts on new functionality. As I frequent HBT often, I am happy to answer any questions on formulas, assumptions, etc. Finally, as the databases of ingredients are based on my LHBS some specific ingredients may be absent. If requested, I will add them - in the meantime, a close substitute can be chosen and if it is a grain, the lovibond can be adjusted.

Below are Dropbox links to two versions (first time using Dropbox - I hope it works). One with simple macros that clears each worksheet and one without macros in case there are concerns with security. Both links have been populated with a Belgian Dubbel example with sugars and syrups added to the primary.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4gqxysho6tyeibp/Buildabeer v6.0 - macros enabled.xlsm?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnjwxkc81ppz3we/Buildabeer v6.0 - disabled macros.xlsx?dl=0

Let me know what you think

Thanks.

Regards,

KB

 

[doug293cz]

OT: Gotta ask - Do you brew a lot of rye beers?

Brew on

 

[Holden Caulfield]

OT: Gotta ask - Do you brew a lot of rye beers?

Brew on

No. Mostly brew lagers - dark and pale, bitters, stouts, European ales, trappist Belgians. Prefer continental hop styles.

 

[isomerization]

OT: Gotta ask - Do you brew a lot of rye beers?

Brew on

Must be unrelated