Beersmith free download

Since this comes up all the time...

Recipe formulation: Beersmith/brewtarget/brewersfriend. Brewtarget is a great team making an opensource free software. It will be releasing a new update soon-ish once they iron out all the bugs. I feel like they're still a short bit to go before I can use them exclusively.

Volumes/temps/efficiencies: Priceless' BiabCalc my mash calculator, for obvious reasons. It's pretty awesome. Ever want to know what efficiency to expect on a new recipe? Let me tell you. My obviously unbiased opinion is that the larger software packages make is way too convoluted to get your volumes accurate. Why do I have to open 14 different windows and tabs to get through this?

Mash chemistry/ph: Bru'n water. Anything else is a compromise.

Yeast starters: Brewunited is my preferred.


The best package would incorporate multiple software, and is what I usually end up doing when I plan a brew. I'd love to see this all put in one software, but that time isn't coming anywhere soon I don't think.

bru'n water for water chemistry and mash ph.

something like brewuniteds starter tool for yeast starters.

my mash calculator, link in my sig, for volumes and lauter/mash/brewhouse efficiency estimates.

and Sean Terrills refractometer correction tool.

Bonus round: Scott Janish' hop calculator for flavor/aroma additions with boil time addition coefficients based on the hop oil volatility curves posted in one of his blog posts.

Note: IDK what the deal is with brewers friend, but their efficiency tool is not correct. It always reads a few (3-9) percent higher. IDK if the formulas wrong, it doesn't account for grain moisture content, or the grain yield/potentials are higher than they should be...


tl;dr Both are great for recipe formulation, and are a little crappy for different reasons for water volumes. Neither will estimate efficiencies before your brewday.