recipe designing software

[Mark1964]

I like beer engine Dennis its simple and works :thumb:

 

[dennisking]

I find it efficient and free.

Oh my god, think I've spent to much time in the company of a certain brewer from Barnsley recently.

 

[Mark1964]

now i could believe that if cost were involved :rofl:

 

[Cononthebarber]

qbrew defaults to US imperial but you can easily change it to metric

options - configure - calculations tab

Cononthebarber:

You can change the Qbrew measurements to metric, via "Options" --> "Configure", select the calculations tab and then set the Measurement units to your liking :thumb: .

Ah yes you can, thanks! I still prefer beer smith though! :)

 

[gurtpint]

Just to throw an off the wall option into the mix

BeerAlchemy For the Mac

Those bits of software are the only reason I would consider having an apple product in the house!!!

Could you elaborate a bit on the strong points of this one, Aleman? I'm looking to buy a software for my Mac but find myself perpetually perplexed by all the options around...

 

[Springer]

I find Beersmith does it for me Its just down to personal preference I guess.
Beersmith works 100% on Ubuntu, not suprising I suppose as there is a proper Linux version, not a cobble up. :lol:
I'm no tecno trousers but I find it easy to use and has all the options I need and more
Being a Linux fan buying software is something I don't do................ :nono: but on this occasion I thought it well worthwhile to spend the money. :shock: :lol:
S

 

[50quidsoundboy]

i like Beer Engine, i can mess with it at work on my Windows PC and it also works perfectly on my Mac (using WineBottler for compatibility).

 

[Aleman]

Just to throw an off the wall option into the mix

BeerAlchemy For the Mac

Those bits of software are the only reason I would consider having an apple product in the house!!!

Could you elaborate a bit on the strong points of this one, Aleman? I'm looking to buy a software for my Mac but find myself perpetually perplexed by all the options around...

Not really, as I don't actually have a Mac, However I do know the programmer. . . . plus it is available on free trial

The software comes out of the box set up for the American market as that is where 95% of the sales occur, it is very well thought of in the US.

I currently use Promash, but as it hasn't actually been developed since 1997, despite several bugs and shortcomings being reported. I have come to the conclusion that I need to change my software, and if I have to go through the pain of learning new software I want to make the right choice.

One thing that I really would like is a promash to X converter that I didn't have to do one recipe at a time . . . The good thing about beer alchemy is that it reads Promash .Rec files natively.

 

[gurtpint]

^ Went ahead and got the free trial version - it's the older one since my computer is not spanking new... Been fooling around with a little now and it does seem quite handy even for a high-tech impaired yokel like me. But alas, prior to this the only software I've been using is the calculator on this site.

I think I'll use BeerAlchemy for my next porter recipe! Will post it up here (recipe section I mean...) in a bit for comments/advice.

 

[BrotherMalice]

I am using brew mate, seems easy enough to get in to, not done AG1 yet (this weekend if I am lucky) but with the built in timers it seems to have all I need :)

 

[Northern Brewer]

One thing that I really would like is a promash to X converter that I didn't have to do one recipe at a time . . .

look at this thread - its has some info on converting promash recipes to beersmith - not perfect but a start. :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

It's always been Beersmith for me, the new version being much better than the older version.
I tried ProMash too, I didn't get on with it at all.

 

[EskiBrew]

I don't think anyone has mentioned our own FREE recipe tool (see hte button in the header). Is that because people do not know it is there and free or because it does not do what they want? There are about 2000 recipes in our database - quite a lot of them are publicly available :thumb:

For those of you who have not seen it, click the Recipes button in the header then click "Add Recipe" - you can create your recipe there and choose whether ot share it or keep it private :thumb:

 

[orlando]

I did try some of the free versions of brewing software and liked Brewmate most of all. The problem is one of the long term, even Aleman's experience with ProMash is salutary, no development since '97. If it is free it's usually worth every penny. It must be impossible for someone developing a free application for a niche market like home brewing to have the incentive to keep going. I didn't want to invest all my brewing experience, recipes and learning of the application to then have to switch to something else because it was no longer supported or having any further development to it. I looked for the market leader and tried an evaluation version. I looked at the support for this on-line and reviewed the user experience. There was only really one with most if not all I was looking for: BeerSmith. I have version 2 and received the latest updates to it (timers and cloud access) for free. The sheer scope of the application is in advance of everything else and it appears to me to be the only one with the impetus to innovate and provide an all round experience. It's YouTube presence provides (everybody) with some of the best interviews with leading players in the home brew world and shows its commitment to our hobby.

For the avoidance of doubt, I have no financial involvement with the company what so ever, I'm just a very satisfied user.

 

[simonranson]

I'm another for BeerSmith. Definately with the money... I do look forward to receiving the e-mails from them too, as I find them really informative.

Simon

 

[Belter]

I wouldn't recommend Beer Alchemy at all. I bought it for the iPhone and got the trial for my mac. The calculators for the IBUs seem way off. The scroll buttons are too fiddly for an iPhone. The calculators are ridiculous and I find myself going online to get the figures I actually need. The inventory is shocking. Having to put your ingredients in batches and all of them separate instead of it just registering what you have and what you use. Some simple clean ups would sort this software out but I find everything about it to not be quite what I'm after.