Beer Engine Software

[Nunfa1]

In preparation for my first brew, possibly next Wednesday, I tried to download the beer engine software from Graham's site but it appears to be down. Any idea where I can get or what else I can use (that's free)?

thanks

[leedsbrew]

Try this! LINK

[Graham]

There was some sort of problem at the ISP. It's back up now.

[Nunfa1]

Thanks Graham, got it now.

[Naich]

Are there any good online equivalents. We don't all run Windows. Or Macs. I've found
http://beercalculus.hopville.com/recipe and
http://www.hopandgrain.com/formulator.aspx
but I don't know how they compare to Beer Engine, not being able to run it. There seem to be a few open source ones on Sourceforge, but this one is the only one that's actually got off the ground:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/brewtarget/
There are others, but they don't seem to be being actively developed.

[Dr. Dextrin]

Beer Engine runs fine in wine. Actually, I think it is a Linux program, just packaged up for Windows.

[Graham]

Beer Engine runs fine in wine. Actually, I think it is a Linux program, just packaged up for Windows.

Tis true. Written in Perl actually. There are so many really stupid idiosyncrasies in the windows system that modifying the original programme to run under windows has moved it so far away from the original app that it is now lost in a swirl of windoze bodges and is unlikely to run cleanly on pure Linux now.

Although I have a new and enhanced version of BeerEngine sitting on my computer, I have decided not to put it out, so to speak. Indeed, I will eventually take the current version off the website. If it was not for the fact that there are between 200 and 300 hundred downloads every month I would have dropped it yonks ago. The armchair brewers amongst us want inventory control and stuff like that. I am not prepared to go that far. One little programme that does one job very, very well, exceptionally well, rather than a programme that does several things half-heartedly, was BeerEngine. People seem to expect more than that. I personally think that BeerEngine was ground-breaking for those of us non-Americans, but its days are numbered.

[PureGuiness]

That's a shame. Beer Engine is an excellent tool, especially for beginners that don't need all the "extra" functionality that tools such as Beersmith provide. It would be a shame to see it go.

[Befuddler]

Although I have a new and enhanced version of BeerEngine sitting on my computer, I have decided not to put it out, so to speak. Indeed, I will eventually take the current version off the website. If it was not for the fact that there are between 200 and 300 hundred downloads every month I would have dropped it yonks ago. The armchair brewers amongst us want inventory control and stuff like that. I am not prepared to go that far. One little programme that does one job very, very well, exceptionally well, rather than a programme that does several things half-heartedly, was BeerEngine. People seem to expect more than that. I personally think that BeerEngine was ground-breaking for those of us non-Americans, but its days are numbered.

That's a real shame. I prefer this program to any of the big "pro" packages precisely because of its focused simplicity.

Would you consider open-sourcing it so someone else can pick up the reins?

[boingy]

Would you consider open-sourcing it so someone else can pick up the reins?

Or if open source is a step too far, how about extending the dev team to include one or two of the softies on here. You could still keep control but the software could be developed and maintained.

[EccentricDyslexic]

I need BE, without it id be stuck for something that scales so easily! How about farming it out for others to have a pop at adding additional functionality? (open of course!)

Steve

[vacant]

I use Beer Engine (wine/Arch Linux). Superior to qbrew (IMHO) which is worth trying and runs on Linux/Mac/Win if any one wants to develop an open source application.

[Jolum]

Graham, let me just say Beer Engine rules!

I've got a Beersmith license but rarely use it since you released BE. BE does everything I need to knock up a brew and catalogue what I used to make it. TBH, it would have been nice to see a version with the Water treatment in it but sod all the extra crap that comes with over-complicated stuff like Beersmith. I just don't see the need for it e.g. inventory management - I for one don't use an application to keep a food inventory of what's in my cupboards\fridge-freezer, nor do I need one for my beer making ingredients

It is of course, your software and if you choose not to continue developing it then fair enough. All I can say is thanks for version 1.09, it's great

[chris_reboot]

please dont remove it!!
I hot desk a lot so sometimes download it a couple of times a month.

It's a grand little program I use every brewday.

[Naich]

Graham - have you thought about turning it into a web app? You don't have to worry about the platform then. If you'd like a server with shell access for perl wibbling I can help there.