iBrewmaster 2. Comparing user experience and community support

[Jes2xu]

Hi all,

So first off I couldn't find anything quiet the same as this, but if I just did a s%#t google and failed miserably kindly inform me that I am a muppet and direct me in the right direction

But I just wanted to see if anyone else in this community is using the software. In my opinion it is a fairly powerful piece of software (especially the way it handles "batches" after brew day). Problem is that it is a little buggy ( ok let's be honest.....is buggy as all #%*+) and the manual doesn't really do it justice.

The idea being to compare, and learn of each other. To pool our experiences, work arounds to bugs/limitations and generally get the most out of the software.

Worthwhile!?!?!

Let me know what you think.


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[dholmsten]

I've been using using it for a while - mostly because I forked out dough. It's very buggy and that's why I'm combing these forums looking for an alternative. Beersmith is looking like the one...


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[abeasst]

Always glitchy. Works well when I don't hit a glitch.

 

[Jes2xu]

Yeah my view of it so far too. It's such a pitty! It could be so amazing if it. . . . . Well . . . . Just worked!!

I just got a reply from the dev team who said there is a new real ease coming soon that they hope will deal to some of the bugs, and also add iCloud support.


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[BrewerJohn]

I use both iBrewmaster 2 and Beersmith 2.

Beersmith 2 is better supported and although it has (IMO) a steeper learning curve, it's much more flexible.

I liked iBrewmaster on my iPad a LOT, and in the beginning it was updated often; now it seems like it's been abandoned.

 

[Jes2xu]

I use both iBrewmaster 2 and Beersmith 2.

Beersmith 2 is better supported and although it has (IMO) a steeper learning curve, it's much more flexible.

I liked iBrewmaster on my iPad a LOT, and in the beginning it was updated often; now it seems like it's been abandoned.

Does beersmith allow you to track batches during fermentation to serving and after like ibrewmaster?

Yeah the dev team said they are working on some new stuff, I just wish they would fix what they have first!!



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[Jes2xu]

I just finished downloading the newest update. Lets hope this one fixes a few of those bugs!

 

[squash1978]

I used iBrewMaster up until just recently. Their latest release last week added iCloud support. When I upgraded and enabled iCloud support the app wiped all of my recipes and batches out! When I contacted support they told me that they've had a few reports of that happening and that the data was still there but I need to back it up to Dropbox to recover it. Well not knowing that when it happened I restored to a previous backup and lost the my must current data that was hidden due to this bug. Their response to me was that (1) I should backup frequently and (2) I shouldn't have done anything until I got in contact with customer support.

That response really pissed me off. They're basically blaming me for their eff up. As a result, I'm switching to BeerSmith.


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[Jes2xu]

I used iBrewMaster up until just recently. Their latest release last week added iCloud support. When I upgraded and enabled iCloud support the app wiped all of my recipes and batches out! When I contacted support they told me that they've had a few reports of that happening and that the data was still there but I need to back it up to Dropbox to recover it. Well not knowing that when it happened I restored to a previous backup and lost the my must current data that was hidden due to this bug. Their response to me was that (1) I should backup frequently and (2) I shouldn't have done anything until I got in contact with customer support.

That response really pissed me off. They're basically blaming me for their eff up. As a result, I'm switching to BeerSmith.


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Yeah that sux! I saw the message after updating, and was supper glad it didn't happen to me!

I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Most of the problems I have managed to find solutions to. Guess I will stick with it for now.


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[Lloydie]

Hey Jes2xu
did the bugs get fixed in the new release of Ibrewmaster2? if you were starting out a fresh would you go for Ibrewmaster 2 or BeerSmith 2?

thanks

 

[Jes2xu]

To be honest I have never really used beer smith 2. I took one look at the UI and design and the snob in me couldn't take it hahahaha.

I have found work arounds for most of the things that annoyed me and yes a lot of the bugs were fixed. When I first got the software I was only doing extract, and most tin can brewing. I liked it because of the tracking capabilities after brew day which I still really like. But now that I'm brewing all grain trying to enter new grains etc on the ipad is just slow.

I'm thinking of investing in beer alchemy. I like the way it handles ingredients ( with batches etc) i MUCH prefer the UI and design to beersmith, and the suggest a brew looks really nice! It does seem a touch lite on features compared to beer smith but i plan on using ibrewmaster in conjunction with it anyway.

At the end of the day im a beginner brewer with little experience with any software though man. Get some advice from some one that knows! Hahahaha


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[squash1978]

If I was starting fresh I would pick BeerSmith over iBrewMaster 2.


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[Jes2xu]

So I found a great workaround to all the problems I was having with ibrewmaster........I bought beeralchemy hahaha

I'm using them together though. Beeralchemy handles the recipes and inventory (batches also). Ibrewmaster does the brewday timers and tracking fermentation schedual times, conditioning times etc.

So far it's working really well, they complement each other well.


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