When we started this blog site I was just getting into using BeerTools Pro as my brewing software. I have since switched to BeerSmith and I am very happy.
My favorite feature of BeerSmith is the recipe organization. I like the ability to organize recipes into folders, and all those folders are easily accessed through a side panel in the main window. You can also select recipes to view just as a recipe sheet without having to dive into recipe editing mode.
BeerSmith has a very nice brewing log and calender feature for scheduling and tracking events such as fermentation, racking and conditioning (which I have tinkered with, but don’t really use).
There is a shopping list feature which has been a great way to make a list, print it and head to the local shop to get stuff.
If you buy ingredients in bulk there is an inventory feature. I suppose that inventory feature would also be usable to track your leftovers too. (Half a pound of this, 2 oz of that)
The limitations that I have learned to live with is in two parts. First, graphically, its not as pretty as BeerTools. BeerTools wins in this category over all other softwares I have seen. The other limitation is that if you are building a recipe with 6 different grains in it, you have to add each grain separately from the grain database. You can’t just open the grain database and click the 6 you want to add, then edit the amounts back in the recipe editor. Its a little tedious, but you get used to it.
Overall, I find BeerSmith to be my favorite software this far. They have good tech support and updates are available. (Not the case with Promash).
For the $20 or so that it costs, its well worth it. There are other online recipe generators on the web for free. But I like having the dedicated software to store, sort and organize my recipes from. There is a free trial version to download, so check it out.
BREW ON!
wayno
I like BeerSmith also. The only limitation I have found is if you build your own water. In the “Tools” catagory there is a water section, but it only deals with salts and not PH.
There could definately be some improvement here.