BeerBorg

I use Beersmith and am very comfortable with it and have it down pretty well to my way of brewing but I have used Brewer's Friend (not sure if it's still free) and it's going to be quite the competitor to the full featured programs out there. It takes more time for me to input the recipe but it's constantly upgraded (based on the emails they send me often) and pretty powerful.
If you're not happy with what you are using now, I think there's a trial version of it online. For now, I'm sticking to what I paid for but it's good to know there are some other good programs out there.

Indeed, Brewer's Friend gives you the ability to create and save 5 recipes in the free trial. By then you should figure out how everything works and whether or not you want to get the paid version.

I use BeerSmith since Hopville changed to brew toad. Like MrB they weren't ready for the change and lost their whole grain/dme/lme/hme catalogs. I got BS tuned in it only took 3 brews for it to get my boil off dead on.

Well of course BrewMate imports your entire recipe from qBrew and displays them, allows you to make and save changes too which is a must have. The only drawback is the qBrew and BrewMate imports of their ingredient databases are not compatible. All that means is that when formulating a new recipe you get to use the ingredients that come with BrewMate.

I'm contemplating on converting my updated qBrew ingredient database into a format BrewMate can read in too. I like BrewMate because it's new to me, it's free to install and it looks powerful and easy to use. The three built in timers are a nice touch too, there's a timer for mashing, a timer for the boil and a third timer to use when oxygenating your wort or making hop additions.

Screwy, did you check out all the other extras under the tools tab in Brewmate?

Also, it hasn't been completed yet for Standard measurement (US Gal, and Lbs...etc) but with the program open and a recipe loaded go to the settings tab at the top and change lbs to Kilograms and gals to liters in the drop down menu. Then look to the right on the main screen and look what pops up above the timer tab. This "Brew Day" function will help and allow you to factor in all your water needed and other measurements for your brewday. Like I said, it's still in the works for Standard measurements, but it's comming soon. A brewing water chemistry calculator is also in the works for Brewmate. A new update is to be released soon. If these things come about, this will be a very nice free program. Enough tools and extras without being too cluttered or overwhelming.

The important part is find and use what you like for what works for you. There are many options out there...just throwing Brewmate out there for those that don't know about it.

I stopped using qBrew when I stopped using Mr. Beer stuff. I have been using brewtoad recently because it allows a bit more portability with the recipes. Since I haven't been able to do a lot of brewing myself this year I have had a couple of nights brewing with a friend and he's been using some of my recipes. It's just easier to have him go to a webpage instead of doing it some other way.

I might have to give brewmate a try. I tried brewsmith and it was too much for what I needed at the time. When I ramp up and get to brew more I have been thinking about purchasing it.

MadBrewer wrote:Screwy, did you check out all the other extras under the tools tab in Brewmate?

Also, it hasn't been completed yet for Standard measurement (US Gal, and Lbs...etc) but with the program open and a recipe loaded go to the settings tab at the top and change lbs to Kilograms and gals to liters in the drop down menu. Then look to the right on the main screen and look what pops up above the timer tab. This "Brew Day" function will help and allow you to factor in all your water needed and other measurements for your brewday. Like I said, it's still in the works for Standard measurements, but it's comming soon. A brewing water chemistry calculator is also in the works for Brewmate. A new update is to be released soon. If these things come about, this will be a very nice free program. Enough tools and extras without being too cluttered or overwhelming.

The important part is find and use what you like for what works for you. There are many options out there...just throwing Brewmate out there for those that don't know about it.

I plan to spend sometime this weekend looking a little deeper into everything that's there. So far in less than an hour I'm already liking BrewMate, a lot. I also like the idea that the application installs locally too instead of being on the internet, just nice to know if a site closes your recipes are still around.