What software package to choose ??

[redrider736]

New to Home Brewing, have a million and one questions.
I am wanting to jump right into All Grain Brewing from the start and learn my way.

I have to start somewhere so. 1st post, 1st question.

What Brewing software package should I choose ??

Beersmith, Beer Tools Pro, or Pro Mash ??? ( Please don't say there are others)

 

[djsethall]

I use beersmith and am very happy with it. I didn't like promash at all

 

[hops2it]

There are indeed others. Brewtarget is open source and free. I bought Beersmith and was just kinda getting used to the previous version when the new one came out. Now I'm lost and have been running the old one for fear of mistakes. There appears to be quite a few bugs in version 2 but I'm no expert.

 

[joeybeer]

Hopville.com - it's free and everywhere ! I can check it at a buddies house or on my phone ... Probably not as full featured, but good enough for me

 

[Golddiggie]

I started using BeerSmith late last year, soon after I started brewing.

I've made the transition to v2.0 pretty easily. Sure, it took a little getting used to, but that's to be expected whenever a major overhaul is performed on an application.

There are enough enhancements in BeerSmith 2.0 to make it well worth moving to. For one thing, when you change your mash temp, it adjusts the FG estimate. This was not present in the previous release. It does mean you need to record your actual mash temps now, and/or make sure you hit what you're calling for. But, it does mean you'll be able to have a better idea of what to expect in the final product.

There are plenty of other changes that make it worth getting, IMO... I tend to work through application changes instead of letting them paralyze me with fear. Especially when the small changes (different skin, things moved around, other interface changes) prevent me from taking advantage of greater enhancements.

Personally, I just picked up a tablet that runs Windows 7 so that I can run BeerSmith (v2.0) on that during brew days. Maybe it's because I'm in the IT field that I don't have a fear of technology (pretty much anything out, or coming out)...

You can try BeerSmith (v2.0) for free for 21 days before you need to decide if you want to purchase it or not. It took me far less than that to get used to the first version. Took me less than one evening of playing around to get comfortable with v2.0... YMMV

 

[hops2it]

Yeah I was trying to be nice when I typed my earlier post. The "fear" of which i spoke was moreso fear of the application itself as compared to 1.4. There are a host of bugs yet to be worked out, many of which have been documented at this point and are on a list for Brad to address by priority. Some of these bugs could result in errors on brew day if not realized. Therefore, I am continuing to explore version 2, but will be at minimum, verifying the results with 1.4 before firing up the propane burner.

I don't live in fear of technology either, just that which is not fully polished. So i can't recommend 2.0 to anyone newly in the market for software right now but would highly recommend the prior version. And I'm sure that given some time, 2.0 will be the gold standard in brewing software. The Beersmith forums are doing a nice job of identifying and prioritizing these efforts.

 

[redrider736]

Thanks all. Going to do my home work first and hold off. I am far off from my 1st attempt at a brew anyways.

 

[passedpawn]

Beersmith. Its the only full brewing app with current support.

 

[gingerdawg]

Brewtarget - FTW!



https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/brewtarget-1-2-3-free-open-source-brewing-software-233676/

 

[itsme6582]

I'm not sure what the exact definition of full featured is but I'd call Brewtarget, Hopville, and Brewmasters Warehouse's recipe builder full featured. They all have current support and all have unique features.