48 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

I can be a slow and methodical creature at times. Brewing batch after batch without much thought about how I'm doing it or what could be done differently. But there are times when the light shines on me and I have a thought. I have been using the painfully simple recipe calculator on Tastybrew.com for as long as I can remember. It's as easy as you can get for getting a feel for OG, FG, IBU, SRM, ABV of your beer but I wonder if it's time I put my big boy pants on and picked up a true piece of software to keep track of things. I used to have Promash and I have a version of BeerSmith right now. What's new and what's best? I actually prefer simple so it would be nice if I didn't have to jump through rings of fire just to enter a recipe. I was woken up to this by an email I got this morning from BeerTools.com apologizing for some sort of inaccessibility issue. Cheers Brothers.

[beach]

I use Beer Smith 2. But, I'm a newb compared to most of you guys. I've only been brewing about 4 years and started off using BS1. From the beginning I found the user interface easy to use. I tried Promash before settling on BS, but haven't used any of the others that are available.Beach

[Big Nake]

Did ProMash disappear? I thought I heard they were no longer making a product. I do have BeerSmith 2 and should probably blow the dust off of it and take it for another test drive. Denny mentioned that he knows the guys who run Tastybrew and that their site is supposed to undergo some big revisions. They are sorely lacking on some of the grains & hops that we all use now and their BJCP guidelines are outdated. I have to say that if the revisions are good but the product continues to be simple, I may like it enough to forget any other application. Yes, I'm a Simpleton!

[BlKtRe]

Pro Mash does everything I need in brewing software. The UI may not be as pretty as BS but I dont care about pretty. I care what it can do. So for me buying new software is pretty much a waste of money plus having to move all my recipes over. If I didnt already own any software Id probably get BS. But I sure do get frustrated with people complaining about how BS is to figure out.

[jammer]

I still use Promash. I like it. simple to use after a few times. I do not think it is still supported or updated, but you can edit and add existing ingredients yourself. I have downloaded a few others to try, but havent found one to replace promash yet. YMMV.

[HVB]

I use beer tools pro and have for years. Always worked well for me.

[Big Nake]

A good point was brought up: Can these products have recipes moved back and forth or are the formats different? Will BeerSmith take ProMash or BeerTools recipes or is there some type of conversion? I'm going to play with my BeerSmith 2 and report back. No football for us today (bye week) so I might find some time to play with it.

[BlKtRe]

Here is a PM converter. Seems simple enough I just havent had the time to mess with it...https://outofkey.com...file-converter/

[tag]

I have been using ProMash for years. I have heard that ProMash will be updated soon, but I haven't seen anything yet.

[denny]

Did ProMash disappear? I thought I heard they were no longer making a product. I do have BeerSmith 2 and should probably blow the dust off of it and take it for another test drive. Denny mentioned that he knows the guys who run Tastybrew and that their site is supposed to undergo some big revisions. They are sorely lacking on some of the grains & hops that we all use now and their BJCP guidelines are outdated. I have to say that if the revisions are good but the product continues to be simple, I may like it enough to forget any other application. Yes, I'm a Simpleton!

Yes, there is major change in the works for TB, but I have no idea how soon it will happen. There are also some quirks to the recipe calculator there, although ATM I don't recall exactly what the issues are. I'm a confirmed Promash user and lover. For the last 2 years I've been toying with Beersmith, but I just can't get it to make sense for me. It's like it almost tries to do too much stuff fro me when I'd rather have it be a bit more manual.

[BlKtRe]

Yes, there is major change in the works for TB, but I have no idea how soon it will happen. There are also some quirks to the recipe calculator there, although ATM I don't recall exactly what the issues are. I'm a confirmed Promash user and lover. For the last 2 years I've been toying with Beersmith, but I just can't get it to make sense for me. It's like it almost tries to do too much stuff fro me when I'd rather have it be a bit more manual.

Common complaint I hear about BS from brewers that have never used software before and from PM users trying to convert over. Ihear this complaint all the time. But to be fair I also hearr good things about BS fro, people that took the time to figure it out. Another complaint I hear is setting up the brewery is a PIA in BS. So this is why I have not moved over yet.

[Big Nake]

I do hear people saying that they are used to one product and have difficulty trying to work with another. It may just be what you're used to. Right now I use the Tastybrew calculator and get my recipe to look like I want and then I use a combination (sometimes) of EZ_Water and Bru'N'Water for the water part of it. It's not complicated and it's what I'm used to. It would be nice for an application to have an inventory, a recipe calculator and a water section where everything was in the same place and my guess is that all of the latest versions of these products do this. Denny, if you hear of a timetable for the TB update, please let me know. I occasionally go ob there expecting an "extreme makeover", but it never comes. Cheers gang... enjoy your Sunday, your football [or baseball] and your homebrew.

[denny]

Ken, Rob writes TB from the ground up in his "spare" time from his job as a developer for a very large internet company. He's been working on TBv2 for years and had hoped to have it up by the end of this year. I don't think that's gonna happen. The focus of the new version AFAIK will be on recipe formulation and not so much on the forum as it is now. I'll let you know if there's any info I can pass along.Working again today, no football, baseball, or homebrew....

Edited by denny, 14 October 2012 - 11:26 AM.

[Big Nake]

Working again today, no football, baseball, or homebrew....

I'm sorry about that, my friend. I will have one for you. Not the same, I know.

[denny]

I'm sorry about that, my friend. I will have one for you. Not the same, I know.

Actually, it's not a bad thing to have enforced "no beer" days several times a week. But don't let that stop ya from having one for me!

[Mya]

Actually, it's not a bad thing to have enforced "no beer" days several times a week. But don't let that stop ya from having one for me!

truth here

[Breakpoint]

I've fiddled with a bunch of different things, but the one I've used most is Diesel Draft's Excel spreadsheet. I like how easy it is to manipulate and I can just add an extra line and alter hops by just changing alpha acids or adding a line for a new ingredient.I've messed with the recipe builder over at Brewer's Friend, but once they started charging for it I kind of lost interest. It's nice because it's cloud based, so I can grab my recipes anywhere.I downloaded Brew Target for my garage computer that runs Ubuntu. I started to use it and I couldn't really figure it out easily (I'm not a computer genius, but I can typically figure things out), so I kind of dropped it. Plus, it's kind of ugly. I know Blktre said he doesn't need something that's pretty, but it does have a little weight.

Edited by Breakpoint, 14 October 2012 - 05:17 PM.

[bigdaddyale]

Promash and BeerSmith owner here.I use ProMash.I think JD lost interest in PM so I doubt there will be an update.It all ready does everything I need it to do as is

[djinkc]

Yes, there is major change in the works for TB, but I have no idea how soon it will happen. There are also some quirks to the recipe calculator there, although ATM I don't recall exactly what the issues are. I'm a confirmed Promash user and lover. For the last 2 years I've been toying with Beersmith, but I just can't get it to make sense for me. It's like it almost tries to do too much stuff fro me when I'd rather have it be a bit more manual.

Been using TB for years. I guess I have adjusted from the defaults they have and it gets me where I want to be. Great site. To tell the truth, I should just start doing it by hand. Besides, everything gets written down anyway. It still is a very nice online calculator to have. Hats off to them.

[Mya]

I have zero reason to switch from ProMash, it does everything I need, despite is' non scaleable interface