Software

[rohanbutler]

Having started my own spreadsheet for inventory, recipies etc, I decided that I was lazy and I would prefer to let some software do the tricky calculations

Having trawled over a couple of searches of the forum I can see that there has been some discussion of brewing software. Though I have not found anything definite, I wouldn't expect too as there is always range of varying opinions.

At this stage I'm running the trial version of beersmith and it seems to work well for my current setup (partials only no AG, but that will come!), though I haven't put it through a field trial yet.

So what are the opinions of the various bits of software out there? Is there a more cost effective option, though $20USD on their website isn't too bad (free is better though!)

Thanks,

Rohan

P.S. not sure if this is most apporpriate thread but I couldn't decide exactly where to put it.

[drsmurto]

I have a fully paid up version of beersmith and i love it - such a simple lay out and easy to understand. Also, its very easy to tweak on brew day when i change my mind 10 times just minutes before dough in.......

20USD for a piece of software you will use as often as MS, bargain i say!

[Kevnlis]

Same here as with Doc. I have tried Promash and though it is very good, Beersmith wins for many reasons!

I use Beersmith every day, multiple time usually and for $20 it is a steal!

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I looked at ProMash and BeerSmith. I bought and use BeerSmith.

ProMash is fine if you like 16th century computer interfaces...

[warra48]

I downloaded the trial versions of Promash and Beersmith.

Ended up byuing Beersmith, as for me personally it is more user friendly.

It's easy to design recipes, and as said above, easy to change your mind right up to dough in time.

I have it set up with my stocks of grain, hops etc. The system will automatically take the recipe quantum away from your stock list, so you always know what you have on hand. Very easy.

[gregb]

See also this thread.

Surprisingly it also started on 2nd April, albeit in 2005.

Cheers,
Greg

[rohanbutler]

Thanks Greg,

Should have done a search of just the topic title, then i would have found what I was looking for.

Rohan

[gregb]

Interesting that back then consensus seemed to be for promash, now we're more of a beersmith town.

Cheers,
Greg

[rohanbutler]

Yes, although if you look at the poll it has them as level pegging, the sample size is way to small to draw a strong conclusion though.

[Kevnlis]

I believe greg, a large part of that is due to the fact that Promash has not been updated in quite some time. The creator has some pretty serious issues in his life and is on a bit of a break, but he did promise to come back to it as soon as he can. I will give it a go if/when the new version is released.

[sonictruth]

I was happy with beersmith when i was using a PC although i did find that it wasnt always very acurate when calculating gravities for extract. Perhaps they put that bug in on purpose to make everyone want to do AG.

Now that Im on a Mac I have been using a trial version of Beer Alchemy which is good also but i think beersmith is better.

So im on the search for some good Mac brewing software, and .....without hijacking the post....... anyone got any suggestions? Do any brewers even use Macs?

I've been interested in BeerTools Pro because that comes for mac and pc but they dont do a trial version so i have no idea what its like. Anyone tried the PC version?

[Tipsy]

I downloaded both demo versions at the same time and used them both for af ew of the same recipes.

I ended going for Beersmith only because it seemed to be a bit easier (a familiar layout).

Price was not an issue

[aceuass]

Beertools for me
http://www.beertools.com
not complicated, I looked at beersmith and it seemed like too much info.
just my opinion
Cheers
Paul