Trying to make Beersmith IBU's = Promash IBU's

[Stevorino]

I have Promash and decided a few weeks ago to give Beersmith a try. So far it's taken a lot of restraint not to return to Promash.

That being said, one of my biggest gripes about Beersmith is that the IBU's don't match up to what the brewing network IBU's are for their recipes (Promash does). Can anyone think of what the difference could be? I have both softwares using the Rager formula.

 

[ajf]

Yes, Promash is set up to use whole hops, and adds 10% if you use pellets.
Beersmith is set up to use pellet hops and subtracts 10% if you use whole.
(But I don't know what sort of discrepancy you see. I tried a couple recipies, and they came out virtually identical with both programs.)

-a.

 

[Stevorino]

Yes, Promash is set up to use whole hops, and adds 10% if you use pellets.
Beersmith is set up to use pellet hops and subtracts 10% if you use whole.
(But I don't know what sort of discrepancy you see. I tried a couple recipies, and they came out virtually identical with both programs.)

-a.

huh. Mine are off a bit - I'll look into it more and post what I'm off by.

Thanks for taking the time ajf

 

[Homercidal]

Why would you want to switch from Promash? I have not used it, but many people do and it seems to be a well-respected software.

Also, how much are the IBUs off? IBUs are very hard to measure anyway, so is it enough to make you think there will be a problem?

 

[Stevorino]

Why would you want to switch from Promash? I have not used it, but many people do and it seems to be a well-respected software.

Also, how much are the IBUs off? IBUs are very hard to measure anyway, so is it enough to make you think there will be a problem?

I had heard a lot of great things about BeerSmith but I'm very close to just going back to ProMash. I've screwed up 2 batches now in this 'transition' - and I'm not quite sure I have the patience to keep trying it. It has some neat tools that I wish Promash had - but with the way they are applied in the software, I still think it may make sense to make Promash my primary software.

The IBU's are off a small amount -maybe 5-20%. It's not a big deal, but I'm used to reading IBU's as shown by ProMash, so I'm not very happy about relearning bitterness.

 

[robertjm]

I realize this thread is over six months old, but I'll answer the recent question of why someone would switch.

I've been a user of Promash for a long long time and was very satisfied with it. Still am, for the most part.

My issue is that support and/or development for the program has pretty much stopped. I feel for the author as his family is going through some very serious health issues which have been taking up quite a bit of his time. However, Beersmith is VERY active in development. Their forums as active, including the author. They've started a podcast as an addition to their product (not just a sales tool!). Their files support the BeerXML open standard.

Additionally, my preferred OS of choice is linux. I have used the Beersmith demo I downloaded recently on both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.04 (under WINE 1.3 and you have to export the recipe before printing it). I had considered Beer Tools Pro, as they were going to develop a native linux application, but that has apparently went the wayside.

Am I happy about the prospect of spending another $22 on a brewing program? No, not really, but that's my choice and the price of technology.

JEFFREY DONOVAN: If you happen to read this come up for air and let Promash users know what's up with development.

Robert