BeerSmith

BeerSmith is intended to help you brew your own beer. In this respect, the application works as a platform on which you can make calculations, define ingredients, list required equipment and even share recipes with other brewers.

Unfortunately, and mainly due to the fact that brewing is not so easy, BeerSmith is not one of those apps you can use from the start without reading the help documentation available.

The application has a nicely designed interface. However, you should be aware that there are a lot of hidden features, for which you will have to dig a little. In this respect, there is a left panel that allows you to browse through your recipes as well as open different tools contained in the package. Luckily, tabs are supported, which lets you work on different things simultaneously.

It is good that practically everything you need for successful brewing has been included in BeerSmith. In this regard, you can have a list of the required ingredients and equipment, which includes keeping an inventory and a shopping list. Likewise, you can calculate the costs of the recipe by referring to the price of the ingredients. Not only that, but you can also adjust measurement units to the type of equipment you own.

There are special tools to perform calculations related to the main ingredients, such as yeast, hop, grain and water. Moreover, you can use the built-in fermentation profiles or create your own. In this respect, the tool is very comprehensive, as it seems no calculation was neglected.

One of the most convenient features of BeerSmith is related to sharing recipes. For such purpose, there is a special data-sharing platform, where you can socialize with other brewers and synchronize recipes across devices, including portable ones. It is also good that you can save your recipes in various formats, such as BSMX and BSM. However, using XML format guarantees the highest compatibility with other similar applications.

To conclude, most (if not all) experts agree that BeerSmith is the best application of its class. It lets you do practically anything you need to brew your own beer. Regrettably, though, unlike physical equipment that can take care of the whole process, BeerSmith does not actually automate any physical aspects of the brewing.

BeerSmith is a paid application and you should also know that there are free products you can use to help you brew your recipes. So, depending on your purpose and budget, you could probably want to explore a few before making a choice. Luckily, BeerSmith is free to try.