Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I've been taking the Brewer's Friend online brewing software for a test drive and comparing it with the other two pieces of software I own, Beer Tools Pro and iBrewmaster (the only good option for my iPad up to now). So far I'm really liking what I see and would recommend that others check it out. If you don't already have any brewing software, the trial period is not time-based, but is capped at creation of 5 recipes and execution of 5 brewing sessions. (The difference between those two terms will become obvious once you check out the site.)

The tool is completely web-based, but they do offer a free app for Android. http://www.brewersfriend.com/

The UI is different and will take a few sessions to get used to, but features like the brewhouse efficiency calculator (based on actual measurements, instead of just a guess with no correlation to empirical data), the easy-access comparisons of different color, gravity, and bitterness calculators, and the ability to build, track, and organize individual brew sessions are positive differentiators. It looks like the tool's author has rolled a brewing textbook, brewing software, brewing journal, and inventory manager all into one online tool.

I loaded the Helles I'm making this weekend into it and will be using all 3 pieces of software while brewing it. I'll post back to let you guys know how it worked. In the meantime, if anyone is interested, here's a link to the recipe.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... e-s-helles

DrPaulsen wrote:I've been taking the Brewer's Friend online brewing software for a test drive and comparing it with the other two pieces of software I own, Beer Tools Pro and iBrewmaster (the only good option for my iPad up to now).

Lee, have you tried Beer Alchemy yet, It is not a bad peice of software, that is what I use for my iPhone and iPad. Only real downside is it is not PC supported, it is companion for software for a Mac.

Also, Brad now has BeerSmith 2 Lite, available for iPad and iPhone, downside to that is you can not create recipes in the software it can only display recipes from your Cloud or from your PC version of the software.

Brewers friend is a nice piece off software and and has some functionality that BeerSmith has not yet offered. A pre-generated brew day checklist and a nicer note taking system are the ones I noticed right off the bat.

Beersmith still has it beat in regards to all-in-one functionality I think. Recipe generation tools, timers and the calendar are where it really shines in my opinion. Also the add-on packs and recipe cloud/sharing are really nice.

CJ - I looked at Beer Alchemy, but decided against it b/c I don't own a Mac.  At the time, iBrewmaster looked more attractive to me as a stand-alone app.

I really like Brewer's Friend so far, but have only used it for one batch.  I'm going to keep using it until my trial period is up.  Cloud-based storage of recipes and an interface that works well on both my iPad and a PC is very nice.  (If the Beer Smith mobile app were more robust, I might have a similar opinion of it.)  I also appreciate the ability to enter gravity and volume readings at various points in the brewing process and calculate intermediate efficiency terms.  For example, my conversion efficiency was 84%, while my pre-boil efficiency was 76%.  If I want to improve my brew-house efficiency, I should start looking at my conversion efficiency before adjusting my sparge.  That type of insight is not directly available with iBrewmaster or Beer Tools Pro.  On the other hand, I really like the brew-day timer from iBrewmaster and appreciate the print-outs from Beer Tools Pro.


Brewer's Friend is still relatively new.  It will be interesting to see how the tool evolves.

On Wednesday, January 2, 2013, BrewHound wrote:

DrPaulsen wrote: I've been taking the Brewer's Friend online brewing software for a test drive and comparing it with the other two pieces of software I own, Beer Tools Pro and iBrewmaster (the only good option for my iPad up to now).

Lee, have you tried Beer Alchemy yet, It is not a bad peice of software, that is what I use for my iPhone and iPad. Only real downside is it is not PC supported, it is companion for software for a Mac.

Also, Brad now has BeerSmith 2 Lite, available for iPad and iPhone, downside to that is you can not create recipes in the software it can only display recipes from your Cloud or from your PC version of the software.

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

I am actually not a fan of the BeerSmith software, so I don't use it. I do like the Beer Alchemy though, that is my software of choice, as it does inventory, beer suggestion by inventory, and has the other usual software functionality.

Not a big fan of the web-based stuff and the simple calcs as you can not save previous batches. At least I don't think you can.

I really like the option to calculate conversion efficiency with Brewer's Friend. After using it for a few batches, it's been helpful to be able to take gravity readings from the mash with a refractometer, enter them into the online tool, and determine how far along the conversion is. Today, after a 45 minute rest at 150, I took a gravity reading and then ramped the temp to 164F. The online tool indicated I was only at 73% conversion (14.3 Plato), even though an iodine test said it was complete. After a 45 min rest at 164, the tool said I was 87% complete (16.6 Plato).

In the past, I would have just stopped the mash after the first rest and considered it "complete". When the kettle starting gravity was low, I would have had no idea if that was a sparge efficiency issue or a conversion completeness issue.

I would think that the iodine test would be the more conclusive test for conversion of mash. The iodine test actually tests for starches in your mash. While the software is just a guess on the potential extract of your grain?

I generally skip the iodine test. It will tell you when starches are converted, but not what they are converted into. I tend to make strong beers, and like to give the enzymes plenty of time to convert not just starches but also some of the dextrins to sugars. The mash doesn't just convert starches, but also determines the dextrin/sugar profile.
Having the SW tell you what refractometer reading to expect when "done" seems like a useful tool. My SW is a spreadsheet - that might be useful to add to it.

It's entirely possible my skill in both executing and interpreting the iodine test is lacking.  I've always been taught that you should dump some wort on a white plate, taking care to avoid husk material and grain bits, and add a few drops of iodine.  Once it stops turning purple, conversion is complete.  From the articles Kai Troester has written, it looks to me like there's a spectrum of colors available from purple/starchy to completely done.  I also didn't follow the rigor of putting a single drop of wort on a piece of chalk and then apply a single drop of iodine.  I guess when I say the iodine test indicated the mash was complete, I'm speaking from more of a "kitchen science" perspective than a "proper science" perspective.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Effects_of_mash_parameters_on_fermentability_and_efficiency_in_single_infusion_mashing


Regardless of the iodine test, though, it makes sense to me to sample the mash gravity periodically as an indicator of the level of conversion.  Once the gravity levels off, it's done.  This is obviously much easier with a refractometer, but will be a bit skewed by the presence of larger starches in samples taken early on (i.e. instead of a 4% Brix-to-Plato adjustment, maybe it's more like 6%?).  I think I'm finally starting to understand the value of a Hockurz mash regimen, where you dough-in around 148F for a short period of time to start the conversion process and then ramp up to around 162F to turn off Beta-Amylase, but still allow Alpha-Amylase to take the mash to "completion".  The duration of the first rest will control fermentability, while the duration of the second rest will control brewhouse efficiency.  The concept of measuring mash tun gravity to determine conversion progress is very helpful if you're doing a two-step mash like this, since you'll know when to stop the second rest and start sparging, but I think it's equally useful in single-temp infusion mashes.




On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 11:20 AM, TappedOut <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

I generally skip the iodine test. It will tell you when starches are converted, but not what they are converted into. I tend to make strong beers, and like to give the enzymes plenty of time to convert not just starches but also some of the dextrins to sugars. The mash doesn't just convert starches, but also determines the dextrin/sugar profile.
Having the SW tell you what refractometer reading to expect when "done" seems like a useful tool. My SW is a spreadsheet - that might be useful to add to it.

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Lee, I do a Hockurz mash for all of my lagers. I really want to do decoction but man, what a pain! I have done two decoctions and they take forever! So to get more clean maltiness I do the step infusion mash. 144 for 20 minutes followed by 158 for 45 minutes. With a slow vorlauf I usually mash for 75-80 minutes then slowly runoff to the kettle. I am following Kai as closely as possible and getting good results. Now with my water dialed in, it should improve even more.

Something that has worked well for me was something I found on a website with Lee Chase's homebrew setup. Lee was the head brewer at Stone for many years. He would mash in at 130F and then recirculate and stir the mash to raise it to around 155F. Mashing in below strike temp is much better than mashing in above your desired mash-in temp.

In my system I set the electric HLT to my desired single infusion mash temp usually around 152F to 154F. I heat about 13 gallons of water up on a timer with PID so all my water for a 5 gallon batch is ready when I get home from work. Then I mix in my grain which strikes in around the upper 130's. I hook up the HERMS and start to recirculate. I recirculate during my entire mash (thanks Tasty) and adjust the temperature on my PID as I go. I am only using 120v so it takes some time for the HLT to raise the temp. If I want to speed it up I have a gas burner under it I can kick on as well. I basically mash-in at 130 something and then start a slow rise of 15 to 20 minutes up to 153. It sits there for about 30 minutes still recirculating. Then I bump the temp up to 168. This takes another 15 to 20 minutes and then I let it hold at 168 for 10 minutes before I start the sparge. It takes some time but it is pretty hands off which allows me time to get kids to bed and what not before the sparge.

Lee -

Thanks for the tip. I was interested in trying a new software that is being updated with new features on somewhat of a more constant basis. BeerTools I don't think have been updated in awhile. Each software has its pro's and cons.

I don't use probably 95% of the features now and want to really take advantage of it. I'll try this out to see how it does.

I also added CR Water data to their database in case anyone wanted it. It's from the last report posted here.
-Martin