[dllipe]

About me:
- started brewing April of this year and made about 7 extract batches before switching to all grain
- Drinking second AG batch now, first one turned out drinkable, second one is definitely better
- 3 other AG batches are in various stges of fermentation and were kits

I just downloaded the 21 day trial version of Beersmith and it looks really cool and seems to have some great tools, especially for building your own recipes.

I wanted to know how many other brewers out there use Beersmith (or any other software package) and how much utilization/value you get out of them.

Cheers!

[tschmidlin]

I like beersmith.  I'm still getting used to v2, but I find brewing software to be a really valuable tool.

[mxstar21]

Beer Smith is great in my opinion.  It makes it really easy to create your own recipes.  I have the new version, but with a 2 year-old and an infant, I haven't had time to play with the version 2 very much.  The first couple times I tried using it, I had some issues, so I am still using the original version.  I am sure the new one is great, I just need some time to sit down and play with it.  It is definately worth the $20 or so that it costs.

[hopfenundmalz]

I am still using Promash, but am getting familiar with Beersmith which I now also have.  Look and feel is more modern.  Don't know if it has any better bells and whistles yet.

I could brew without the software, but why?  Really does make it go better.

[Pinski]

I've found beersmith to be really helpful. Recipe planning, brew planning and record keeping organization has really helped improve the consistency and efficiency of my process.

[bo]

The one thing I wished that Promash had was an easy way to adjust inventory. Creating a session each time is not what I want to do. Just put an active button in a recipe that says "Brewed" and it automatically adjusts the ingredients based on the recipe.

Unless there is a way to do this and I'm too stupid to figure it out?

[bluesman]

Beersmith 2 is even better IMO. It has all of the tools I need like a water calulator, mashing schedule, inventory, boiloff tool, etc...etc...

Makes the brewday better.  

[weithman5]

i downloaded trial last night. haven't played with it yet.  i have been using brewtarget and a site called brewsmart that have been okay. of these two brewsmart has allowed me to design recipes and batch information independent of the recipe. brewtarget really couldn't.  but brewtarget helped visualize and modify the recipe easier.  i am hoping brewmith will bridge the gap.

[madscientist]

I love BeerSmith.  It's worthwhile if you want to create your own recipes.  There are some free programs that do this (beer calculus, qbrew etc), but there is so much more you can do in BeerSmith.  I do partial mashes and partial boils so it really streamlines everything for me.

[richardt]

I am still getting used to the newest version of BeerSmith (Version 2.0).
Use M. Brungard's water calculator to determine your desired water profiles for the beer styles you're making.
It separates the mash and sparge additions to keep your pH exactly where it needs to be.
BeerSmith doesn't do this.  I use Brungard's calculator and then create a new water profile in BeerSmith using that data.
BeerSmith's water profile calculator can be tweaked under Ingredients so that when you create your own "RO build" profile (or whatever), then the BeerSmith program can add the salt addtions automatically to any recipe when you select the water profile.

I'm surprised by how many deficiencies I keep finding in the data base for version 2.

I recently had to add some hops (Whitbred Goldings Variety) and yeast strains (WY1450 Denny's Favorite 50) to the list of ingredients.  Neither of these are "new" kids on the block.

[davidgzach]

Check out Beer Tools too.  I liked the UI a little better.  You can also formulate recipes on the website and download them in to the software.  Not sure if Beer Smith does that as well, but I like the feature.

[blatz]

The one thing I wished that Promash had was an easy way to adjust inventory. Creating a session each time is not what I want to do. Just put an active button in a recipe that says "Brewed" and it automatically adjusts the ingredients based on the recipe.

Unless there is a way to do this and I'm too stupid to figure it out?

you mean the "remove from inventory" button?

[bo]

I think you mean Finalize Inventory and that's in a brew session. I just work off of recipes. I know, I'm not using it right, but that's what I do. I knew about that button.

[blatz]

I think you mean Finalize Inventory and that's in a brew session. I just work off of recipes. I know, I'm not using it right, but that's what I do. I knew about that button.

no thats not it.

I just work off of recipes as well - never even seen the brew session tab you speak of.  there is an option to "remove from inventory" which takes all of the ingredients in the active recipe out of your inventory and gives you a warning if you do not have the said ingredients.

[bo]

I think you mean Finalize Inventory and that's in a brew session. I just work off of recipes. I know, I'm not using it right, but that's what I do. I knew about that button.

no thats not it.

I just work off of recipes as well - never even seen the brew session tab you speak of.  there is an option to "remove from inventory" which takes all of the ingredients in the active recipe out of your inventory and gives you a warning if you do not have the said ingredients.

You are referring to Promash, right?