Tips and Recipies in the quest to brew the perfect beer

5 Reasons to Use Brewing Software

BeerSmith

If there was an award for “Most Useful Brewery Tool”, it would definitely goto my brewing software. You won’t find a brewery gadget that has more versatility. Considering that the price for most brewing software packages ranges from free to under $25, it also has some of the best value for your dollar. For the uninitiated, brewing software (as the name implies), is a software program for your computer which allows you to create and store your brewing recipes. Most of the packages also include several other useful tools. Here are 5 good reasons why you should be using software.

Consistency. You need to have your brewing process down and be able to repeat the steps accurately each time. With most software packages, you can enter a list of your specific brewing equipment, the recipe you intend to brew and print out a brew day worksheet to follow. In many cases, after you’re done brewing, you can also go back and add notes to keep a log of the brew day.

Recipe Customization. How many times have you tried to brew a recipe your found on the internet only to have it turn out not quite as you imagined? Maybe the recipe was bad, but more likely your brewery and techniques were different than the person who wrote the recipe. I start every brew session by entering the recipe into my brewing software. The software is setup specifically for my equipment so I can make adjustments specific to my brewery to achieve the desired results. I can then easily make minor changes to the grain bill or hopping to still reach the correct gravity or IBUs before I brew it.

Calculators. I’m pretty lazy. I enjoy reading technical brewing texts as much as anyone, my brain goes numb when I start thinking about calculating the potential gravity of my grain bill, SRM, water volumes, mash temperatures, etc. It’s vital that you understand the science and math involved in each step of the process, but software just helps relieve the tedium of actually doing these calculations every time.

Experimentation. I have probably a dozen recipes that I’m just messing around with right now. I’ll read something, or talk to someone and get an idea about a neat brew. So I start a new recipe and I’m free to spend as much time as I want tweaking it, or changing it, adding things here, subtracting things there. By starting the brew in software I can make adjustments until it looks pretty close to what’s in my head. Obviously it’s not the same as actually brewing, but it’s a great way to get close before you spend the time and money for the brew session.

Planning. Once my recipes are setup, I can schedule which days I’m going to brew them. I know that a recipe with a multi-step mash and a 90 minute boil probably isn’t a good candidate for brewing after work if I want to be in bed before 1 am. I don’t have to try to remember what day I brewed which recipe, or how many days since I pitched the yeast, or how many weeks it’s been in the keg (or bottle). All of this is recorded in the software. If I want to plan for a competition (like NHC), I can consult with my software to figure out the latest date I can brew a given recipe. Some software packages even have a built in calendar so that your recipes and schedule are all centrally located.

I personally use Beersmith, which is quite popular, as are ProMash and Beer Tools Pro. There are at least 20 different software packages available, nearly all with free trials, so you’re free to decide which one you prefer before making an investment. Here is a short list to get you started.