Beersmith

[stuknkrvl]

Anybody out there use Beersmith? I like to make my own recipes, but it's pretty labor intensive. The reviews I've read are pretty positive, just looking for a little more feedback to be sure it's something I want to buy.

Thanks!

 

[ong]

Yep, it's fantastic. Get a computer version (Mac or Windows), though, not one of the iOS ports.

 

[olotti]

Best money I've ever spent. Makes putting together recipe so much easier I can't believe I brewd without it. I have the program for our laptop but I'd Ike to get the ow for my iPad but maybe that's not a good thing. Either way get it and you won't b disappointed, however there is a learning curve as u have to get your system dialed in to input the correct info as far as boil off rate, trub loss, grain absorption etc but once you do u can customize it and set up your equipment profile for sny style beer you make and that's beyond helpful.

 

[Kent88]

Beersmith also has a Linux version, which is fantastic. If I'm not mistaken, there is an andriod app as well.

It looks like there are lots of online brew sheet/calculators, like the one at brewersfriend. If you want something installed take a look at brewtarget. These are free options. I find the brewersfriend.com beer recipe calculator to be sufficient for my current needs, as it lists a plethora of ingredients, has adjustable batch and preboil volumes as well as adjustable efficiency, and calculates my pre-boil gravity, IBUs, and OG and gives me an idea about the styles of beer that it might match.

Not that I have anything against Beersmith, the free trial looks great and the blogs, podcasts and vidcasts on that site are a fantastic source of information. I might one day buy their software, I just don't see a reason to right now.

 

[Franky]

I really liked Beersmith (did a trial version) but settled with Brewtarget. It's free and works on Linux.

I will say it does have a bit more of a learning curve then Beersmith but I enjoy the fact its free and open source.

 

[C-Rider]

I design ALL of my brews. I use BeerSmith2 and Designing Better Beers. I get ideas of what goes into a style by % and then go for it w/BS. Never have come up w/a bad beer this way.

 

[unionrdr]

I like using Beersmith two for designing recipes before actually buying anything. It takes some work to dial in your equipment & processes. But it's a fantastic tool just the same.

 

[muels]

I use it on the iPad/iPhone. I like being able to mess with a recipe anywhere and pull it up at the LHBS to buy the ingredients. Once you get your system numbers set up properly it's extremely easy. Plus I don't have to lug a laptop around on brew day.

 

[Iseneye]

I use beersmith and it is excellent. I never make standard recipe sizes so I can easily plug in a 5 gallon recipe and scale it down to whatever size I want with a click of a button.

Setting up efficiencies and equipment isn't straight forward so if you get it make sure you read the guides. A good recommendation that I haven't followed yet is to set your trub loss to zero and increase the batch size to allow for it. The brewhouse efficiency system works in a weird way.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Best 20-ish bucks you can spend for brewing in my opinion. I don't like the Android app very much but others seem to.

 

[ong]

The iOS versions are very minimally featured compared to the computer versions... I'd recommend the computer versions to get a lot more control, then you can always push your recipe over to your phone on brew day.