Is Beer Smith worth it?

[beernutz]

Beer smith does't do anything you can't scratch out on a piece of paper. All the formulas are easily accessible and you can spend a few minutes making your own brewlog spreadsheet that does exactly the same things that beersmith does for free. Give me your 100 dollars and I'll give my sheet. it does a lot more than beersmith.

I have brewed for 27 years and in the first 23 of them I used paper then spreadsheets before I finally bought Beersmith which IMO is some of the best money I've ever spent on brewing.

However, I am curious to know what are the many more things your spreadsheet does that Beersmith doesn't.

 

[kh54s10]

Some could easily write a spreadsheet. I am not one of them. And it wouldn't be worth it to me to try just to save $20 - $28. And it would take days or weeks not minutes.....

And for things like grain potential you would have to look that up and update for each grain that you use. BS has that in the add-ons. Not to mention that with a spreadsheet you would have to input all that information, as well as hop and yeasts yourself.

Beer smith does't do anything you can't scratch out on a piece of paper. All the formulas are easily accessible and you can spend a few minutes making your own brewlog spreadsheet that does exactly the same things that beersmith does for free. Give me your 100 dollars and I'll give my sheet. it does a lot more than beersmith.

Put it up for sale and I will pay you the same $28 that Beersmith charges. That is, if I think I would like it.

 

[WarEagleBrewer]

Yup, worth it. This is just one of the smallest amounts you are going to end up spending on this hobby, so you might as well do it now.

 

[BLL]

I have brewed for 27 years and in the first 23 of them I used paper then spreadsheets before I finally bought Beersmith which IMO is some of the best money I've ever spent on brewing.

However, I am curious to know what are the many more things your spreadsheet does that Beersmith doesn't.

To be honest I'm not terribly familiar with BeerSmith because I've never paid for it so I should've chosen my words more carefully. I've used the interface once or twice while looking at a buddy's recipes and I know it competes with Brewer's Friend. My sheet solves for top up volume (when necessary to hit target gravity and final volume and adjusts hop additions accordingly) extract potential and extract efficiency in addition to brewhouse efficiency which I don't know either of those products to do. It also databases information from each brew day and updates my formulas with trends in variables like boil off, expansion/contraction, and timing. It logs the amount of time I spend at various steps and it calculates oxygenation rate in Lpm. Out of habit I use degrees Plato and I set it up to convert everything to SG for practicality's sake.

Some could easily write a spreadsheet. I am not one of them. And it wouldn't be worth it to me to try just to save $20 - $28. And it would take days or weeks not minutes.....

And for things like grain potential you would have to look that up and update for each grain that you use. BS has that in the add-ons. Not to mention that with a spreadsheet you would have to input all that information, as well as hop and yeasts yourself.



Put it up for sale and I will pay you the same $28 that Beersmith charges. That is, if I think I would like it.

If a product works well for someone that's all that matters. You speak as if it's necessary to spend something on brewing software. All I'm pointing out is that it isn't.

I orginally built the sheet when I was brewing professionally so there is more time in it than a few minutes, but in a production setting brewers are often looking for more than Brewer's Friend or BeerSmith offer. That's not say you can't set up a simple sheet pretty quickly and easily with a basic understanding Microsoft Excel.

You're right, it's not for everyone and 30 bucks isn't much money.

Cheers

 

[jcav]

Everyone has their favorites. I however really like BeerSmith. I can convert any recipe and scale it for my rig with ease. I used it to dial in my system and I can confidently make a recipe and know pretty much how it will turn out and how much alcohol I will make. Hops are easily balanced as well and it helps if you want to make the same recipe again. You can make it exactly the same for repeatability once you dial in your system. You can also tweak it and make it stronger or more sessionable and know where you are at since you have a strong starting base to work with. I really like it but I have not used the other software that is out there that is new. I used to use Pro Mash for a long time and then switched to BeerSmith and it does everything I want it to do. Except I wish I could download my saved recipes to a thumb drive or other device. That's the only thing it's lacking for me.....

John

 

[BigFishBrewing]

I started brewing in Nov. '17. I've brewed about 8 batches since (all-grain). I tried all of the free products including the Beersmith trial version.

I got fed up with the free products' lack of ingredients and consistency in design last week and so I bucked up for Beersmith 2. Best (hobby) investment I've ever made. What an amazing product. I've had so much much fun in the last week entering and redesigning the recipes I've used as well as designing an IPA that I am brewing this Thursday. I thought brew day was the most fun ever but Beersmith has made recipe design almost as much fun for me.

 

[r4dyce]

Sorry to piggy back on this thread, but does anyone have any opinion of beersmith mobile for Android? People seem to really like beer Smith but There are so many negative reviews it is hard to trust

 

[lump42]

not worth it. brewers friend is free. Also all of the formulas for process calculations are available free all over the interwebs and with a very basic knowledge of how to operate microsoft excel you can easily put together your own recipe building utilities

Brewers Friend subscription is even better. I can keep all my recipes, brew sessions, and inventory in the cloud. I can get to it through any web browser.

 

[bpgreen]

Sorry to piggy back on this thread, but does anyone have any opinion of beersmith mobile for Android? People seem to really like beer Smith but There are so many negative reviews it is hard to trust

I use BeerSmith and really like it. I bought the android app and tried it a few times, but didn't like it. It may well be better now.

 

[day_trippr]

I run the Android app on brew days on a 10" tablet, after pulling the recipe (created on my peecee) from the BS cloud. I use it to calculate strike temperature given the day's conditions and run the timers, enter a bunch of notes as the brew process progresses, then when the brew is done I push it back to the cloud and pull it to my peecee to update the recipe there.

I've used the app for a couple of years and am happy to have it, as a tablet is much easier to deal with than a notebook imo (smaller, and much less likely to have something get stuck from random wort drips). But I'm clearly using a subset of the overall BS2 app functionality, so if there are problems outside of my usage scope I wouldn't know about them...

Cheers!

 

[eric19312]

I agree the combo of app and desktop is great for data collection, did not realize how easy to adjust for grain temp / equip temp till I read @day_trippr s post. I’ll try those timers again this weekend and see if the crash bug is still there.

What I like best about beersmith is Brad Smith’s ongoing commitment to the platform. Heard him mention on his podcast recently that he is working on hop utilization in whirlpool as part of upcoming upgrade. I’m interested to see what he comes up with but good or not I’m pleased to hear there is support for continued improvement.

 

[Dcpcooks]

It’s a good investment. You can easily scale and tweak recipe designs. The timer and cloud functions are very useful on brew day.

 

[Setsumi]

Sorry to piggy back on this thread, but does anyone have any opinion of beersmith mobile for Android? People seem to really like beer Smith but There are so many negative reviews it is hard to trust

I only have the android app. Used brewtoad before... Loved brewtoad until the ability to add own ingredients was removed.
Pros for the app, can add own ingredients like hops and grains, can have multiple equipment profiles and scale different mash processes. Can download recepices and tweak recipeces.

Only negative for me is you cannot import a bmxl file, you can only download from the cloud. It would also be nice to export/import own equipment profiles between devices. Others will add that the app does not have an inventory, but for me inventory keeping is not an issue.
For the money, less than 2 us for me the mobile app is definitely worth it. I use it on planning my brew, tweaking a recipe for my malts and hops and style of beer and then on brew day I rathr forget about the device.... But then I only brew beer....

 

[kh54s10]

The app does not have all the features that the PC version has so if you were only to get one I would opt for the PC version. Many use the PC for recipe development and then use the app for brew day. I couldn't see paying for the app to get limited features that I already have on the PC. I have a place dedicated for my laptop come brew day.

Oh, and as I said previously, it is a tool that you will have to learn to use properly, but well worth it.

 

[Bassman2003]

Just buy it and support Brad who has given a lot to the brewing community. $20 for all of the convenience, I can't believe we are even discussing it. To those who want to tell people that you can swap a full featured program like Beersmith for an Excel spreadsheet? I have to respectfully call B.S. on that one! This is the whole purpose of buying software, to get a finished product to use, not design. I think it is not a true comparison when you look at everything BS does. You would need to put some serious hours in designing your spreadsheet and it would still look 'pocket protector' imho.

Sorry to be pointed but two pages to decide on a $20 investment for great software with counter arguments?... Best to keep some perspective that things cost money to make and make well. Brad is s good guy. Worth the investment.

 

[aeviaanah]

Any word on the next update?

 

[Boomer]

Looking for opinions on beer Smith. Worth it or do most people calculate on their own or use freeware? I have tried brewgr before. Wasn't sure if there was much of a difference.

What is worth it? It’s less than ingredients cost for a brew and it’s a great way to cross reference and cross check free software. I do it just because. Plus Brad is a great dude, you’ll get some great emails, and why not?

 

[Jayjay1976]

I like brewers friend, nothing to install unlike BS and I can access my recipes or sketch out a new one from anywhere. I don't use the "Brew It!" button because it seems unnecessary, likewise the inventory function would be better if it allowed me to select ingredients in a drop down from what I have in stock, and keep track of depleting supplies. It also doesn't remember what %AA my hops have, which is annoying. Crap maybe I should look into beersmith?

 

[jschein]

Isn't the paid version of Brewers Friend now at $20 per year?

BF = $20 per year, BS = $20 - $28 once depending on where you buy it.

I bought BF years ago for $99 lifetime

 

[r4dyce]

Just buy it and support Brad who has given a lot to the brewing community. $20 for all of the convenience, I can't believe we are even discussing it. To those who want to tell people that you can swap a full featured program like Beersmith for an Excel spreadsheet? I have to respectfully call B.S. on that one! This is the whole purpose of buying software, to get a finished product to use, not design. I think it is not a true comparison when you look at everything BS does. You would need to put some serious hours in designing your spreadsheet and it would still look 'pocket protector' imho.

Sorry to be pointed but two pages to decide on a $20 investment for great software with counter arguments?... Best to keep some perspective that things cost money to make and make well. Brad is s good guy. Worth the investment.

I mean... No. I'm not going to just buy something because someone is a nice guy lol. Especially when the reviews from 2 weeks ago say the strike water calculations are off and have been for a long time. So I guess I'm just going to hold off on it.

And really any calculator type program like this IS an excel spreadsheet anyway just with better window dressing. It's also kind of funny to dismiss the DIY approach in a homebrewing forum.

 

[eric19312]

I mean... No. I'm not going to just buy something because someone is a nice guy lol. Especially when the reviews from 2 weeks ago say the strike water calculations are off and have been for a long time. So I guess I'm just going to hold off on it.

And really any calculator type program like this IS an excel spreadsheet anyway just with better window dressing. It's also kind of funny to dismiss the DIY approach in a homebrewing forum.

Why create this thread? It’s not a point about whether Brad is a nice guy. Point is he will likely still be supporting the platform in a couple years. Can’t say as much for Pro-mash, Beer Alchemy etc.

Also I call BS on claim the strike water calculator is off. It works just fine on my system.

 

[Bassman2003]

I mean... No. I'm not going to just buy something because someone is a nice guy lol. Especially when the reviews from 2 weeks ago say the strike water calculations are off and have been for a long time. So I guess I'm just going to hold off on it.

And really any calculator type program like this IS an excel spreadsheet anyway just with better window dressing. It's also kind of funny to dismiss the DIY approach in a homebrewing forum.

I have been using the program for 14 years. If it did not work I would not be here saying to buy it. Is just think the DIY references are out of touch when it comes to a developed software program. There is a lot in this program and to dismiss it and say a new user can re-create it with a spreadsheet is just not realistic.

 

[kh54s10]

I bought BF years ago for $99 lifetime

I bought Beersmith years ago for $19.98! Lifetime also.

 

[r4dyce]

I have been using the program for 14 years. If it did not work I would not be here saying to buy it. Is just think the DIY references are out of touch when it comes to a developed software program. There is a lot in this program and to dismiss it and say a new user with re-create it with a spreadsheet is just not realistic.

Agree to disagree I guess.

Sorry I should have reiterated I was referring to the beer Smith mobile app. Apparently the calculations for strike water are not good in the app. I understand the experience might be better in the pc version, but at this point I just rely on my movie devices

 

[Bassman2003]

No worries. Brew on.

 

[beernutz]

The answer to the OP's question is of course, yes, BS is definitely worth $20 and I personally would pay twice that much after having used it several years if I had to buy it again.

However it is not perfect and thankfully there are other alternatives if you don't like it. FWIW, almost everyone in my homebrew club uses it as do two of the three small brewery owners I know.

 

[lump42]

Isn't the paid version of Brewers Friend now at $20 per year?

BF = $20 per year, BS = $20 - $28 once depending on where you buy it.

True you could but BF has unique benefits that BS doesn't, such as ability to access the full program features anywhere with a browser. For those that have a smartphone, that's everywhere.

For the cost of less than a batch a year, I can create a recipe on a lunch break, or check my inventory in the LHBS. Especially important when the closet LHBS is over an hour drive away.

 

[dustinthompson85]

Well I went ahead an bought it didn't think there would he this much conversation and passion in this topic. Thanks for all the feedback and happy brewing!

 

[Bassman2003]

Have fun.

 

[Beerlad]

Beersmith is ok, but it is not free. I have just created a new innovative calculation tool, feel free to check it out and leave feedback to me! You will find it at beerlad,com