What "brew" software do you use?

[sudsandswine]

I did a trial of Beer Tools Pro and liked it. It seemed to suit my needs well (recipe creation, inventory, brewing calculations, etc). A couple other programs I saw were BeerSmith and ProMash, and I was just wondering how they all stack up to one another and if there was one particular application that was better than the others.

Thanks!

 

[mullenite]

I own BeerSmith and am doing the trial of BeerTools Pro and I think I may switch to BeerTools for one reason only... I can set some grains to ounces and some to pounds, so I don't have 128oz of one thing or .12lbs of something.

If there is a way to do this in BeerSmith please someone let me know.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't think anyone has devoted the time to learning all three (or five) packages to really be able to evaluate them objectively. It takes a good 5 batches or so to finally get it and then why would you want to start all over again? I've played with beersmith for my first two AG batches, bought and committed to BTP, and recently D/L'd beersmith again and it felt so weird to me I couldn't use it.

 

[JetSmooth]

I have only used BrewTarget, because it's Open Source and available for the Mac.

I've only used it for one brew and noodled around with it a little bit. But it seems pretty good for my basic needs. If and when I progress beyond it's capabilities, I may re-evaluate. Not to say I think it's limiting. I just don't know what all a "pro" application should be able to do. It's been great so far.

 

[rocketman768]

I have only used BrewTarget, because it's Open Source and available for the Mac.

I've only used it for one brew and noodled around with it a little bit. But it seems pretty good for my basic needs. If and when I progress beyond it's capabilities, I may re-evaluate. Not to say I think it's limiting. I just don't know what all a "pro" application should be able to do. It's been great so far.

If and when you progress beyond it's capabilities, tell me so I can expand its capabilities I'm the main developer on this project.

 

[JetSmooth]

If and when you progress beyond it's capabilities, tell me so I can expand its capabilities I'm the main developer on this project.

Yup. I know that. Yet another positive for the program!

 

[samc]

BTP over beersmith due to macability. Promash has not been updated in years so I would skip it.

I think they all do a lot more than most people really need so anyone of them will work for you.

 

[willeadie]

If there is a way to do this in BeerSmith please someone let me know.

I'm in the market myself and watched the demo video for BeerSmith. He could both use different units for different ingredients, as well as convert on the fly. The former was with a drop-down menu. The later was by typing the other unit after the amount (so, e.g., if you are working in lbs and have a measurement in kg's, you type ".0125 kg" into the box set to lbs., and it converts to lbs. right then and there). Hope that helps.

Here's the video.

 

[Airborneguy]

I use Beer Alchemy and love it. Tried Beer Tools and thought it was not user friendly and didn't keep track of everything the way I wanted it to. I'll be sticking with Alchemy.

 

[jgourd]

I use a spreadsheet that I can endlessly customize and change to my liking when I want to without having to wait for the next version. I can rearrange, etc. Let's just say that it gives me the freedom to do whatever I damn well please when I want to do it. Plus it's free and open source.

 

[mullenite]

It's not the conversion, I can usually do those in my head unless they are really awkward amounts. It's when I look at the recipe it's easier for me to think "Okay, 5lbs 2-row, 2 lbs dme and one ounce of carapils" rather than ".06 pounds of carapils"