I’m sure this topic has probably been discussed before, but I can’t seem to find it. Anyone have recommendations for recipe designer software? I’ve been using brewmate but for some reason the numbers (mostly IBU) just don’t add up most of the time.
Most like beersmith. I tried it but I’m so used to my old software that I can’t switch.
I love beersmith.
I like Beersmith but I haven’t used anything else.
Brewer’s Friend for me.
I prefer to use an online calculator, so I can access everything whether I’m at home, work or on my smartphone. I’ve tried several apps, but I have been using Brewer’s Friend pretty much exclusively for a couple of years now. There are frequent updates, loads of robust features, and the support (if you ever need it) is top-notch.
I too use Brewmate, but was thinking of giving Beersmith a try. Anyone have a good explanation of the benefits of making the move from brewmate to beensmith?
I’m currently using ProMash, but I’ve used Brewer’s Friend and Beersmith before. Any of these do a fine job.
I’ve used the Brewzor app for my Android phone, but I prefer BeerSmith (v2). It does everything well, supports customization to fit my process and equipment, and has a well-integrated Android app and cloud storage capability.
I use Brewtarget. It is an open source software the runs on multiple OSes (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD). I personally have it setup on FreeBSD and because I can secure shell into the machine, I can run the software remotely, but display it locally. So, I don’t need to be in front of the machine to tinker with recipes. I’ve found it works really well, and its calculations are pretty spot on. It also supports BeerXML.
The developers are constantly working on the code and fixing bugs. It is not perfect yet, but it is stable and getting better with each release.
I use Promash and have used it for 8 years. I have a copy of Beer Smith, but haven’t gotten around to figuring out how to use it.
I started out with Qbrew, it was pretty good. Then I tried Brewmate, I really liked this one. Used it for quite awhile. I Finally got Beersmith and I have to admit, at first I didn’t like it. Mostly because I didn’t totally understand how to use all the components. Once I wrapped my brain around it and got my Equipment profile setup correctly, I really like it. The IBU, Gravity and color adjustments are awesome when you’re trying to resize a recipe or dial in a clone recipe.
If I didn’t already have 634 recipes in StrangeBrew (excellent but antiquated software), I would certainly go with BeerSmith.
Does BeerSmith allow one to set the OG, input the grains as %'s, and let the software figure out the grain bill weights?
sort of but backwards, you simply enter the grains and then click the percentages button and put whatever percentage you want in, once that’s done you can adjust the gravity accordingly.
I wouldn’t assume that a change in software will fix anything. By and large, they don’t do math any differently, so if you give a different program the same inputs you’ll probably get the same output. Better to figure out the root cause of your issue(s).
No one else has mentioned it, so I’ll put in a recommendation for Beer Tools. Best interface of the bunch IMHO.
Thinking about brewing software as “recipe design software” overreaches what the software will do. It won’t design the recipe for you, it’s just going to help you with the math to figure out basic attributes.
+1 The recipe design software that I use is between my ears. 
I just developed my own excel spreadsheet with the help of a few good brewing reference books containing the formulas I needed to calculate OG, IBU’s, FG and ABV based on attenuation rates, amount of water needed, strike temps, etc.
I basically know what style of beer I want to make, and research/look up the typical OG/FG range, types and amounts of ingredients for a given style, etc. and then develop and fine tune my own recipe. It works as well as it needs to.
I gave Beersmith a try and really liked it. The data input seems to be more customizable as I can change the %alpha and beta of the hops based on what my LHBS supplies. I think not being able to correct for this is one of the problems I was having with brewmate.