Brewing software

[paulgough]

I'm thinking about using some brewing software for the first time.

What are the advantages? If I'm following a recipe is that not enough?

Which is best?

All advice welcome

 

[graysalchemy]

I use beer engine its free simple but is well written. Beersmith is liked a lot though it is american and there may be differences between uk and us malts etc.

 

[PD]

Following a basic resipe thats given as per Graham Wheelers book is fine for the ingredients you need for the wort and for the times and wts of the hop additions.
Brewing software will give you an indication of the amounts of liquor ( water ) you will need at various stages and the temps you need to get it to. Strike water/sparge water etc. It will point towards what gravity you should expect pre boil and after boil helping you to keep your brew on track.
It is essential when you go forward into designing your own recipes.

Download a free one and have a play with it. Its part of the home brewing fun when you can't actually brew a beer, you can sit down and play with various ingredients / amounts etc, without wasting any grains or hops.

I use BrewMate.

 

[Underground]

Anything for Mac OSX out there that anyone is aware of?

 

[rich27500]

I also use brewmate and I like it a lot

 

[graysalchemy]

Just tried brewmate and am impressed very impressed I may switch over to it :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Anything for Mac OSX out there that anyone is aware of?

Beer Alchemy from Kentplace software :thumb: :thumb:

 

[31bb3]

I use beer smith its worth the money

 

[orlando]

I use beer engine its free simple but is well written. Beersmith is liked a lot though it is american and there may be differences between uk and us malts etc.

The default settings are US but it has metric settings built in and takes seconds to change. It does have US Malts but it also has UK and European malts too. You can add any ingredient you wish and if you have specifics about the malt such as moisture content, yield even coarse fine difference you can fine tune the software to really help you make recipe creation a simple task. You have the facility to create an inventory of your own ingredients so you know in advance when you are creating a recipe whether you have enough of the components. Timers keep you on track on a brewday

You can set up your own equipment profile so the system "understands" how to inform you of what volumes of liquour you need for each recipe. The ability to keep comprehensive notes for every brew gives you a fighting chance of understanding what went right/wrong with your brew and increasing the possibility of replicating it.

The constant upgrading of the software keeps it ahead of freeware and guarantees it will be around in the long term. There is a Mac OS version and recently there have been versions for phones & tablets. If you are going to pay for a piece of software (you can try the full version for free for 21 days) this is really good value and I think is a very important contribution to upping your brewing game.

 

[Dave1970]

+1 for Brewmate.

I did buy Beersmith because it was on a half price deal. It's a lot more complex, and is probably more capable if you're doing something complicated. I keep going back to Brewmate though because it's simple and at least for my setup works very well.

 

[rpt]

Brewmate refuses to run on my Windows 7 PC despite my reinstalling .net multiple times. For my first AG I am going to use the BIABacus spreadsheet. Obviously only suitable for BIAB brewers.

 

[JohnStone]

+1 for beer engine (Graham Wheelers). Very easy to use and works on my windows 7 :thumb:

 

[mattrickl06]

+1 for Beersmith - although it is American - absolutely everything can be converted.

It has made my first two AG's much less worrying and for £12 or whatever it was will be used forever.

Also the Beersmith forum and really helpful weekly newsletters are great :drink: :hat:

 

[jonnymorris]

I tried a few and settled on Beersmith. My first two brews were both too malty and strong (ABV). Subsequent investment in Beersmith has allowed me to create my own recipes and tweak those of others to ensure a better balance in later brews. I wouldn't like to brew without it.

 

[lukehgriffiths]

I have installed brewmate to try as it is free.
Only used it for recipe design
Like that it takes care of the maths (and I have a maths degree)
Also like the fact it tells you the target OG and potential stength, colour etc
As a beginner I also appreciate the fact it has a style nazi mode so you can decide a favourite or desired type to aim for and create a recipe to match.
The only thing that I'd like is an indication of ingredients that should typically be included e.g. Stout would usually get colour from roasted barley where porter's use dark malts I.e there IS more to a recipe than getting the right strength, colour and IBU. Suppose some should come from experience and available recipes cover this idea but some kind scaffolding would be useful.

 

[PD]

If you understand the style " Nazi " mode, could you enlighten us ignorant ones please....

 

[Dave1970]

If you understand the style " Nazi " mode, could you enlighten us ignorant ones please....

It turns the background of the box yellow on anything that is 'off style'

So if you're making an American IPA, Brewmate expects between 40 & 70 IBU's. If you put in hops to fall above or below that it turns the box yellow as a warning

 

[PD]

aah, thank you so much for that... :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

i had brew mate , used a few times but didn't think it was enough , i now use beersmith and think it's great except for water treatment , no crs option (i think ) . I first started using hopville which i still use from time to time however they upgraded it and i think it's not as good as it was .

 

[orlando]

i now use beersmith and think it's great except for water treatment , no crs option (i think ) .

That is an aspect that needs addressing. But I don't know of any brew software that has really got to grips with it other than stand alone. In this regard I have started to use, with great results, the Brun' water calculator, the European supporters version does allow for CRS. There is also a really good primer on water chemistry that almost makes it understandable to even my none chemist brain.