[bonjour]

I have contributed to both ProMash and BeerSmith,  Both are good.
Jeff has some personal family issues that he needs to focus on and thus has not been working on the new version of ProMash.  It has not been updated in a long time.  ProMash has a limit of 255 ingredients,  I have maxed it out and when I try something new, either hop or grain, I have to delete something to make room for it.

BeerSmith is maintained on a regular basis and for me is more flexible.  Brad is working on a new version and has included many suggestions from users.  It will be multiplatform including both windows and mac.

At this time I use BeerSmith.

[kgs]

I like Beersmith ok, but since migrating over to Apple products over the past year (work-related migration) I recently tried BeerAlchemy, and like it a lot. I know Beersmith is going to have a Mac version Real Soon Now, but I need software that can support my brewing needs today, not RSN.

[redbeerman]

I've tried Promash, Beersmith and Beertools and settled on Beersmith.  I've been using it for a few years and it works well for me and I prefer the user interface compared with Prolmash or Beertools.

[Mikey]

If I ever hit 255 ingredients, then I'll just need to go back and remove the ones I don't use. There is no possible way I would ever need that much variety. The other option would be to load another copy of it on the same computer and split the ingredients  between different beer styles.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

I've been very happy with BeerTools Pro for the past several years.

[The Professor]

I like Beersmith ok, but since migrating over to Apple products over the past year (work-related migration) I recently tried BeerAlchemy, and like it a lot. I know Beersmith is going to have a Mac version Real Soon Now, but I need software that can support my brewing needs today, not RSN.

I don't use brewing software all that much, but before settling on BeerAlchemy    I successfully tested both ProMash and Beersmith on my Mac using a bit of magical software called Crossover, which allows you to run many Windoze programs seamlessly  on your Mac with the advantage of not having to install the Windows OS at all (to me, installing Windows on a Mac is something akin to putting a lawn mower engine in a Ferrari).   

info here:
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
 

[jeffy]

I like Beersmith ok, but since migrating over to Apple products over the past year (work-related migration) I recently tried BeerAlchemy, and like it a lot. I know Beersmith is going to have a Mac version Real Soon Now, but I need software that can support my brewing needs today, not RSN.

I don't use brewing software all that much, but before settling on BeerAlchemy    I successfully tested both ProMash and Beersmith on my Mac using a bit of magical software called Crossover, which allows you to run many Windoze programs seamlessly  on your Mac with the advantage of not having to install the Windows OS at all (to me, installing Windows on a Mac is something akin to putting a lawn mower engine in a Ferrari).   

info here:
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
 

Is this about the same as Parallels?  I've got that on my macbook but never thought of using it to run Promash, which I have on my PC.

[foobrew]

If you have access to a webserver you can look at BrewBlogger (http://www.brewblogger.net). It's open source (free) and completely web based. A lot of homebrew clubs install it on their website for their members. It doesn't give you paint-by-numbers instructions (yet) but it has all the tools you need to maintain/develop/share recipes and keep track of brew sessions ('blogs'). It uses BeerXML as a format too so you can import/export recipes from other programs like BeerSmith and StrangeBrew. It's the only web-based solution out there which means you have access to your data from anywhere you have a browser (Linux, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc.).

[aubeertine31]

Wow, thanks for all the advice. It looks like BeerSmith is the winner, should've added a poll probably just to be sure. So far I've just been taking notes in my "How To Brew" and random envelopes I find, but i think investing in a nice program will help. I have tried hopville and I do like that. I'd like to see more on the Android market, I have Home Brew Calculator now, but if I'm at home, brewing, I'd rather just use my laptop. Thanks again for the advice

[lonnie mac]

Put me down for Beer Tools Pro... I have used them all though, and all have some great attributes. I'm on a mac. BTP on a mac is like fine pale chocolate is to a mild. Bliss it is...

[chezteth]

I have used both Promash and Beersmith.  Currently I use Beersmith.  I feel the interface for Promash is cleaner but I like the layout of Beersmith better.  As for a free program... I have tried a couple linux programs awhile back and they just didn't measure up.  I'm sure that they have improved with time but I couldn't really tell you for sure.

[corkybstewart]

I bought Promash and Beersmith years ago.  For a while I entered my recipes into each one, but Promash always seemed a better predictor of color and IBU's.   One recipe came out to around 50 IBU's on Promash, around 75 on Beersmith but the beer was definitely not a 75 IBU beer.  I probably could have changed the hops formula in Beersmith but it just seemed easier to stick with Promash.

[beveragebob]

I switched from Beer Calculator to Promash back in '98 and haven't tried or used anything else.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I am a promash user.
I am a Linux user and it runs thru WINE just fine.

[CASK1]

Put me down for Beer Tools Pro... I have used them all though, and all have some great attributes. I'm on a mac. BTP on a mac is like fine pale chocolate is to a mild. Bliss it is...

Also Mac, and also BTP. Couldn't be happier.