Beersmith, Promash, Beertools etc. whats best?

[wilfy1970]

I currently use beersmith but have noticed promash alot recently. Which is the best one to use and could be used in a commercial micro brewery set up? Thanks.

[Zatoichi]

Personally I like Beersmith but have no experience of the others. There shouldn't be a lot of difference between them as they are only calculators for basic chemistry equations at the end of the day.

[mysterio]

+1 for Beersmith. Great interface and easy to use.

[Parva]

Beersmith for me too but that's not to say that the others can't do the job equally well. It's just what you get used to using really.

[mysterio]

Beersmith for me too but that's not to say that the others can't do the job equally well. It's just what you get used to using really.

True, if I was starting from scratch and hadn't paid for Beersmith already, I would probably go with Beer Engine

http://www.practicalbrewing.co.uk/calcu ... eerengine/

[crowds]

I quite like Qbrew. just wish it had a few tools like beer engines calculators

[Aleman]

I bought Promash a very long time ago when it was the best software out there. It does the job for me and over time I've come to understand its quirks and foibles, If I was buying now I'd definitely have a look at the others though as Jeff is no longer developing the product . . . . but then it does pretty much everything anyway . . . just the UI and 'flow' could be better.

I also like The Beer Engine, and am eagerly awaiting a new version with the Built in water calculator. . . . I would also like it to be less kludgy in the way you have to save and print recipes. . . . but it does the job very easily and you don't need a computer science degree to start using it.

[Dr. Dextrin]

Of the freebies I know of, I rather like Beer Engine. It does the basics really easily with no frills, despite being a work in progress. Having all-UK units is also great - until you need to enter some data from the US anyway.

The other free offering usually mentioned is Qbrew. I found that a bit limited and buggy. Like a lot of open source software it had that "not yet finished" feeling about it.

Less often mentioned, but rather better in my view (and also free) is Strangebrew. It might appeal if you like full-featured software as it seems to do just about anything you can think of (although I haven't explored it in great detail). It uses US units and data by default, but you can change that and it mostly seems to get things right with UK units - although you might have to enter some of the ingredient data yourself.

[CJBrew]

Well I have Promash and Beersmith and I like them both for different reasons.
I like the Beersmith interface and the fact that it's harder to accidentally lose a recipe while you're in the process of creating it.

There are some subtle differences in Mash calculations.
E.g. ProMash lets you specify the temperature of infusion water (if I remember correctly).
In Beersmith you have to tiddle around with the liquid/grain ratio to adjust the temperature of the added water.

The Mash temp graphs in ProMash are nice.
Promash seems a bit more technical.

Not much to choose between them and I'd recommend both/either.

[NickK]

Have BeerAlchemy.. but I'm on Apple rather than windows..

[adm]

Have BeerAlchemy.. but I'm on Apple rather than windows..

Seconded. It's a great piece of software if you have access to a Mac.

[MrEnthusiasm]

You don't necessarily need an Apple computer. You can buy Beer Alchemy as an app for the IPod touch from I Tunes. Great for carrying the information with you on brewdays and on-the-spot reference

[Piscator]

I use BeerTools - mostly because its free and easy to use

It's always been pretty accurate as well in terms of the way my finished beers have compared with the predicted data.

I can't vouch for it's suitability for use by a commercial micro brewery, but this home brewer rates it

[oxford brewer]

I use BeerTools - mostly because its free and easy to use

It's always been pretty accurate as well in terms of the way my finished beers have compared with the predicted data.

I can't vouch for it's suitability for use by a commercial micro brewery, but this home brewer rates it

I use BeerTools but I have upgraded to the Gold account which costs about $12 a year IIRC?,it gives you more options and allows for more storage of recipes!It works ok for me!

[dandan]

another for Beersmith here, find it simple to use!