[Stevie]

I've dabbled with beer tools and have buddies that really like it. Have you compared it to beersmtih Sean?

[a10t2]

I've dabbled with beer tools and have buddies that really like it. Have you compared it to beersmtih Sean?

Not too recently (it was still BeerSmith 1.x), but I did try out BeerSmith for the free period once. It seems like they're basically in parity as far as features, but the BeerSmith interface strikes me as needlessly convoluted, especially in setting up all the equipment variables. And as a Mac user, it's hard to get past the Windows-cribbed GUI, but of course that's a relatively minor quibble.

Edit: Just to clarify, this is talking about BeerTools Pro, not the beertools.com recipe calculator.

[Stevie]

The interface is one of my pain points as well. I loved beer alchemy, but the newest full version (2?) is a step back in my opinion. I kept with version 1 for as long as I could, but apple removed some of the resources that the iOS app needed about a year ago. So I jumped ship to beersmith because of the iOS app, but the app is pretty crappy.

I don't want to switch again. :/

[mchrispen]

I started with BeerSmith, and tried to switch to Beer Alchemy and BeerTools and found them so different that I gave up. I think I even paid for one of them (BeerTools) because I wanted to use it longer than the trial period. I think that I am so used to the BeerSmith UI and methodology that it is hard for me to swap paradigms. BeerSmith with the Cloud subscription works pretty well... I also trialed Brewer's Friend, but just hate working through a web form...

But enjoying the conversion to paper - something a bit less structured, and have turned it into a bit of game - to see how close I get to gravity and IBU estimates as compared to BeerSmith and reality.

[Stevie]

I gave Brewers Friend a solid try, but found it way too sluggish to work in a web based environment.

[bbesser]

I use Beertools for recipe formulation and find it to be pretty simple and straight forward (although I have been using it for years).  My main problem with it is that they do not update the hop varieties often enough, so you have to fake them and note it in the recipe.

I then use Brew365 for mash and sparge calculations, and brewers friend for water modifications.

Then on brew day I use a combination of hand notes on a printed recipe sheet, and a brew day spreadsheet that I made and have saved on google docs.

[PORTERHAUS]

I use recipe calculators for my recipes and Bru'n water for water/ph adjustment and I like to actually do some of my water additions/volumes on scratch paper. I keep that with me on brewday and take my notes then afterward I sit down and neatly transfer my notes to a notebook becaise I write like a 3 year old. I like grabbing an old notebook and skimming through and looking back on previous batches. I usually fill a small notebook every year so its a time table of my brewing that I like to have.

[Jeffinn]

I have been working professionally with computers since the days of Hollerith punch cards.

Damn you're really old! 

[Frankenbrew]

My notes used to look exactly like Denny's, but now I'm all BeerSmith and Bru'nwater. Occasionally, I'll go online to Yeast Calc or Green Bay Rackers for mash space or pitch rate.

[S. cerevisiae]

Damn you're really old! 

I am older, but not ancient.  I was trained by the Navy straight out of high school.  My first duty station involved working in a shipboard data center with a computer that was only a couple of years younger than I was at that point in time.  It was a MIL-SPEC version of the UNIVAC 418 central processing unit (CPU).  The MIL-SPEC version was known as the UNIVAC 1218.  This machine had discrete logic and ferrite core memory.   The UNIVAC 1218 had it's own motor generator because it required 3-phase 400 cycle power.  One had to literally enter the address of the boot routine into the program counter to boot the machine. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_418

UNIVAC 1218 CPU

[duboman]

Damn you're really old! 

I am older, but not ancient.  I was trained by the Navy straight out of high school.  My first duty station involved working in a shipboard data center with a computer that was only a couple of years younger than I was at that point in time.  It was a MIL-SPEC version of the UNIVAC 418 central processing unit (CPU).  The MIL-SPEC version was known as the UNIVAC 1218.  This machine had discrete logic and ferrite core memory.   The UNIVAC 1218 had it's own motor generator because it required 3-phase 400 cycle power.  One had to literally enter the address of the boot routine into the program counter to boot the machine. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_418

UNIVAC 1218 CPU

Hey, I've got a bunch of those in my phone;)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[RPIScotty]

Composition notebooks and Excel are all the brewing software and notes I'll ever need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[69franx]

I guess I'm a but of both. I use beersmith to help me formulate inside of guidelines I want to stay inside of, and print out the brew day steps. I then take all pertinent notes on those sheets and then transfer into beersmith notes. The original copies are 3 hole punched and then saved in a binder as a hard copy

[AmandaK]

Like Denny, I have a collection of steno books that I have filled over the years.  While brewing software has come a long way over the years, nothing can replace pencil and paper when it comes to handling unstructured data.   A well-kept brewing log can be a very powerful diagnostic tool.

My thoughts exactly. (Even though I haven't seen the depth/breadth of changes you have. )

I do recipe design in BeerSmith and water calculations in Bru'n Water. I then transfer that information to my two-sided brew day log. I scribble my actions/readings down on the sheet during the brew day. I also have a spot on the back for tasting notes and competition record, if applicable.

Front:

Back:

[RPIScotty]

Like Denny, I have a collection of steno books that I have filled over the years.  While brewing software has come a long way over the years, nothing can replace pencil and paper when it comes to handling unstructured data.   A well-kept brewing log can be a very powerful diagnostic tool.

My thoughts exactly. (Even though I haven't seen the depth/breadth of changes you have. )

I do recipe design in BeerSmith and water calculations in Bru'n Water. I then transfer that information to my two-sided brew day log. I scribble my actions/readings down on the sheet during the brew day. I also have a spot on the back for tasting notes and competition record, if applicable.

Front:

Back:

Very similar to the summary page from my excel sheet. I wanted all my values to input to a page that I could print out.

I really like the idea that you had of embedding the equations in the sheet. I'd like to get away from using my spreadsheet except for recipe formulation and Bru'n Water.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk