Best ipad app for new brewer

[beerclone]

Am curious what everyone's opinion is on the available brewing apps. I thought about beer smith, can anyone tell me if good for a beginner or not?

 

[insanim8er]

Am curious what everyone's opinion is on the available brewing apps. I thought about beer smith, can anyone tell me if good for a beginner or not?

Beer smith is alright, but not with out its flaws... I'm just annoyed at how he goes about charging.

I paid for it when it was recently released and wasn't super impressed to begin with. There are some updates, but he then makes a major update and converts the one I paid for into the "lite" version and expects me to re-pay for the newer version.

 

[3PegBrew]

This is true, beersmith stink in regards to newer versions requiring money. However, for beginners and intermediate brewers, Beersmith2 is worth its price and then some. There is a lot to the program. Mash profiles. Water profiles. Calculators. You put in the numbers, it calculates for you.

 

[insanim8er]

This is true, beersmith stink in regards to newer versions requiring money. However, for beginners and intermediate brewers, Beersmith2 is worth its price and then some. There is a lot to the program. Mash profiles. Water profiles. Calculators. You put in the numbers, it calculates for you.

Right, but he's talking about apps for the iPad.

Beer Smith 2 is for the PC

 

[passedpawn]

Right, but he's talking about apps for the iPad.

Beer Smith 2 is for the PC

I used Brewer's Friend on my last batch of beer and loved it. I used the online version, but there is also a iPhone version, so maybe it works with iPad?

I think it's free for up to a couple of recipes or some similar limitation.

Very, very clean interface. I've used BeerSmith for years, but I might convert to this new software.

 

[beerclone]

Looks like I can get beer smith and beer smith lite. Some other options more expensive like I brewmaster?

 

[beergolf]

I have a mac and and ipad. I use Beeralchemy. It works well for me. I can write recipes on either device and synch them to both. I often use my iPad when I brew and enter notes and any changes as I brew then synch them with my main computer. For example if the AA of the hops is. different than the recipe, I can adjust on the fly with my Ipad and get the info back to my other computer. Easy.

 

[insanim8er]

I have a mac and and ipad. I use Beeralchemy. It works well for me. I can write recipes on either device and synch them to both. I often use my iPad when I brew and enter notes and any changes as I brew then synch them with my main computer. For example if the AA of the hops is. different than the recipe, I can adjust on the fly with my Ipad and get the info back to my other computer. Easy.

hmm... i'll have to check that out since i'm on a mac too, but I also run VMs so PC apps aren't an issue. I haven't made the jump to purchase an app yet. I almost got beer smith for the comp.

But I kind of got a bad taste in my mouth for the iPad app. Plus it doesn't handle lactose, and I find that to be a bit of an issue. I also noticed it had some issues with adding juice for making ciders.. etc. I followed some online tutorials on how to do it, but it ended up WAY off. Could've been added wrong, but shouldn't be that difficult... IDK.

Do you know if beer Beeralchemy does those things properly or with ease?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I used Brewer's Friend on my last batch of beer and loved it. I used the online version, but there is also a iPhone version, so maybe it works with iPad?

I think it's free for up to a couple of recipes or some similar limitation.

Very, very clean interface. I've used BeerSmith for years, but I might convert to this new software.

If you liked that try
https://www.brewers-assistant.com/Account/LogOn?ReturnUrl=/

IMO its the closest to Beer Smith and it is totally free.

 

[coolharry]

I use iBrewmaster 2 on my iPhone and really enjoy it. I haven't tried any of the others though so I can't really compare. It's relatively simple to get started with and comes loaded with a bunch of recipes and a few from Northern Brewer.

 

[roxbob]

I use ibrewmaster as well, and really like it. Haven't used any of the others, but for an app to keep track of everything on an iPad while brewing, I would definitely recommend.

 

[RoundKid]

I second Brewer's Friend. It doesn't actually have an iPad app, but the website is optimized for use on a tablet and works great. Or you can use the iPhone app on the iPad in double size.

The website is a yearly fee instead of a one time fee like a program, but their program is top notch and constantly being updated and improved.

Larry is member here and has always been very responsive to new features requests and correcting bugs.

I used to use Beersmith but switched because I could use Brewer's Friend from any computer, tablet, or phone since it constantly syncs with the cloud.

 

[beerclone]

What about brew pal? Any experience? It's cheaper which for now I like as long as it does what I want.

 

[jcinco101]

I started out using brewpal for iOS. Cheap, worked well. It's in the App Store.

Cheers

 

[brent77]

Beer smith is alright, but not with out its flaws... I'm just annoyed at how he goes about charging.

I paid for it when it was recently released and wasn't super impressed to begin with. There are some updates, but he then makes a major update and converts the one I paid for into the "lite" version and expects me to re-pay for the newer version.

From what I've heard the guy is pretty good with customer service, and I think i read of people having similar issues, and he was pretty good about helping them out when contacted. Maybe drop him a line and see what he says about this.

I really like beer smith, it has a lot of great features I haven't found as reliable on things like brewersfriend, or brewtoad, etc. (free services)

 

[insanim8er]

From what I've heard the guy is pretty good with customer service, and I think i read of people having similar issues, and he was pretty good about helping them out when contacted. Maybe drop him a line and see what he says about this.

I really like beer smith, it has a lot of great features I haven't found as reliable on things like brewersfriend, or brewtoad, etc. (free services)

Oh he does reply to emails and is on top of it. I just know the lactose thing has gone on for a long time, and he response to the juice didn't quite get me where I needed to be... I kinda just left it at that. I'm sure if I pressed it, he would help.

I still have a hard time with how he charged for the iPad version that was sub par, then changed it to lite and re-charges 7.99 for the newer version. I understand he needs to make a dime, but get the original version to a better working version before changing it up and charging again.

 

[brent77]

On his site it says that you can "in app upgrade" from the lite version to the full version for the difference in price. So in this case it would cost $3 to upgrade for you.

Oh he does reply to emails and is on top of it. I just know the lactose thing has gone on for a long time, and he response to the juice didn't quite get me where I needed to be... I kinda just left it at that. I'm sure if I pressed it, he would help.

I still have a hard time with how he charged for the iPad version that was sub par, then changed it to lite and re-charges 7.99 for the newer version. I understand he needs to make a dime, but get the original version to a better working version before changing it up and charging again.

 

[beerclone]

I downloaded the free version of brewers friend on ku iPhone to try it out. Seems pretty cool. I like how it lets u know if your recipe for a type of beer fits the type. I am putting together an iipa extract recipe and it helps me know what to adjust. So far so good.

 

[bigskygreg]

I third brewers friend. I've tried several (not beersmith, however) and kept coming back to brewers friend. It's free to use for up to 5 recipes, but I have a yearly paid subscription and iphone app now (unlimited recipes and syncing) and don't expect to try anything else. It's easy to use and since it's online, you can access it anywhere.

 

[brian2can]

What about brew pal? Any experience? It's cheaper which for now I like as long as it does what I want.

Love brew pal. Been using it for years. I use it all the time. Used it for at least 20 batches.

 

[insanim8er]

On his site it says that you can "in app upgrade" from the lite version to the full version for the difference in price. So in this case it would cost $3 to upgrade for you.

Guess I haven't even noticed that... I never use it because, like I said, it's sub par...

Guess I'm no longer $7.99 mad... I'm only $3.00 mad

 

[TipsyDragon]

I like iBrewMaster on my iPhone. It's frigging ugly on iPad but still has all the same functionality.

 

[Hawkeye11]

Right, but he's talking about apps for the iPad. Beer Smith 2 is for the PC

The ipad app is also called BeerSmith 2. They released v2 earlier this year.

The cloud recipe integration is great. It allows me to access my recipes from phone, PC, or iPad.

 

[insanim8er]

The ipad app is also called BeerSmith 2. They released v2 earlier this year.

The cloud recipe integration is great. It allows me to access my recipes from phone, PC, or iPad.

Since I don't want to be "that guy." I won't correct you by mentioning that it's actually called BeerSmith Mobile Home Brewing. And The other one is BeerSmith Lite.

 

[eric19312]

I've got about 50 batches in Beer Alchemy. Have it on my mac and ipad/phone. It is very cool to be able to look up recipe details at a club meeting on my phone, but worth it to have the full mac version so I can type with a real keyboard when working on recipes or entering nots in the logs. Synch works well but its not cloud based. That means you have to manually remember to synch and it is possible to make changes on your multiple devices that cancel each other out. Just something to be aware of...

 

[Hawkeye11]

Since I don't want to be "that guy." I won't correct you by mentioning that it's actually called BeerSmith Mobile Home Brewing. And The other one is BeerSmith Lite.

Yes, that is the formal name to look for in the App Store. Once installed, it just goes by BeerSmith 2.

Not quite the same as the PC version, but good enough to use as a standalone product. The editing feature in V2 of the iPad app is a great upgrade.

 

[beerclone]

I decided to go with brewers friend. Will see how it goes but so far I like. I have never made my own recipe so this will be interesting.

 

[insanim8er]

Yes, that is the formal name to look for in the App Store. Once installed, it just goes by BeerSmith 2.

Not quite the same as the PC version, but good enough to use as a standalone product. The editing feature in V2 of the iPad app is a great upgrade.

Good thing I wasn't "that guy" huh?

Is it worth paying the extra $3? I haven't even really used the lite one since I bought it... Would I actually use it if I paid the extra $3?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Good thing I wasn't "that guy" huh?

Is it worth paying the extra $3? I haven't even really used the lite one since I bought it... Would I actually use it if I paid the extra $3?

I own Beersmith for PC, but refuse to buy any of his mobile apps just on the premise he charged 4 dollars for the Lite app and what equates to a web viewer of the Beersmithrecipes.com website and a countdown clock for your brew day, as a developer i just cant support that type of highway robbery.

I can see the mobile app being useful, but i always have my laptop around during brew days.

 

[insanim8er]

I own Beersmith for PC, but refuse to buy any of his mobile apps just on the premise he charged 4 dollars for the Lite app and what equates to a web viewer of the Beersmithrecipes.com website and a countdown clock for your brew day, as a developer i just cant support that type of highway robbery.

I can see the mobile app being useful, but i always have my laptop around during brew days.

That's what I'm talking about! That's why I am annoyed the way he released the first version, I bought it. I expected him to develop it. But instead, he makes a separate app and converts the one I bought into "lite"

I would have never paid for it if I had known he would do that. It just seems shady. I never use the app because it's pointless.

What he should have done was upgrade everyone who paid for the first version, then separated the lite. Forcing me to pay for a USEFUL app is just BS.