Brewer's Friend Home Brewing Software

March 2013 Release Live

We just deployed some new features that are focused on accuracy and ease of use surrounding water volumes:

• Volume increases from sugars and extracts are accounted for in the Water Requirements calculation.
  • Did you know that 1 pound of LME adds about 10.6oz of volume and 1 pound of DME adds about 9.4oz of volume?
  • The system breaks it up into early and late additions so the starting boil volume is easy to hit.
  • This goes for any brew method, but is most helpful for extract and partial mash.
  • Especially helpful for extract brewers doing a full wort boil.
• Strike and sparge volumes are now displayed in the Water Requirements calculation for All Grain recipes.
• Warnings are displayed in the Water Requirements calculation if mash tun capacity is exceeded.
• Brew Steps now show starting kettle volume (all brew types) and strike volume (all grain only).

• Basic sound effect plays when a timer goes off in the Brew Session Brew Steps section. (Known issue – iPad does not play the sound effect.)
• Recipe View page gets parameterized link to Yeast Pitch calculator.
• Added Danstar’s Belle Saison Yeast, and corrected two other yeasts – thanks to those who wrote in about that.
• Brew button added to Recipe Tools menu. Now the brew feature is accessible without rotating to portrait mode or zooming out when on a phone or tablet.
• Major progress on iPhone backend API for syncing recipes.

Screen Shots:

 
Example Extract batch Water Requirements with early and late extract additions:

Example All Grain batch Water Requirements showing strike and sparge volumes:

Example All Grain batch Water Requirements showing warnings:
This was a 5 gallon batch with 44 pounds of grain, that won’t fit!

New/clarified brew steps:

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February Release is Live – iPhone App 1.0, Label Generator, QR Codes, Share Recipe by Link

Lots of goodies in the February release:

The Brewer’s Friend iPhone app is now available on the App Store!

Version 1.0 is out. This initial version supports recipe creation and a basic brew feature with logs. The plan is to build towards feature equivalency with the cloud application (inventory, shopping list, etc) and support data sync between the two. We are working on 1.1 which will include a custom brew timer designed for iPhone. The groundwork for the data sync has also been built into the backend.

The price is currently $5.99.  As it is, we feel it is competitive with other apps out there, and it will only get better!  Eventually we will raise the price after data sync and a few other features are built in. If you buy now, you will be locked in at the low price!

A new ‘recipe tools’ menu has been introduced to hold all the new features of this release, and it is designed to be expandable.

The new menu appears on the Recipe Edit and Recipe View pages:

Add Recipe to Shopping List:

In the tools menu, there is a button for ‘Add Recipe to Shopping List’. This lets you load the recipe into your shopping list, but you can adjust things before proceeding:

Basic Label Generator Launched and QR Codes:

Accessible from the Recipe Tools menu, a label generator is now built into the system with 6 different templates. They are pretty generic to start with but we see this getting more attention in a future release. Labels look best with your profile picture on them.

Here is a live example.

Shared recipes automatically get a QR code on the recipe view page and the label generator. For those of you who are new to QR codes, they are similar to a barcode. Smart phones have a way of scanning the QR code and following the link to the recipe page.  Pretty neat way to share the recipe at club meetings!

Advanced Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator, version 1.3 posted:

Kaiser from Braukaiser.com developed the state of the art backend engine the water calculator uses. It now supports saving, reloading, and sharing by URL. We are working on integrating the water calculator with the recipe editor and your account’s water profile!

Quick Water Requirements available from Recipe Tools:

Another new feature accessed from the Recipe Tools menu is a quick dialog that computes water volume requirements for the recipe.  It uses a combination of the recipe’s grain bill, the brew method, and your profile settings to compute the numbers.

Recipes can be shared by URL, independently of being added to searchable recipe database:

This is handy if you want to share a recipe, but not add it to the search results.

Other updates:

• BU/GU ratio appears under the More… section on the recipe editor.
• Other Ingredients get a sort button on the recipe editor.
• Additional BeerXML import pattern matches for yeast and style names.
• Brew Session Updates:
  • Fast Ferment Test results displays potential ABV.
  • Ability to edit brew date under ‘Edit’ tab.
  • Displays “days since brew date” at top of brew session page.
  • Links to priming sugar, keg pressure, and label generator added.
• Fixed rotation on jpegs taken from tablets/phones that have the EXIF rotation set.
• Minor platform specific bug fixes.

The feature request forum is a great place to track our progress. Thanks for reading and Happy Brewing!

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January 2013 release is live – Shopping List, Inventory Update, Yeast Updates

The January 2013 release is live. The My Brewing section got a lot of attention – Shopping List, Inventory Sorting, and My Brewing notes. The Recipe Editor has three new fields: target fermentation temperature, yeast pitch rate, and award winning. The Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator is more tightly integrated with the Recipe Editor, and gets a correction to the dry yeast count.

The majority of this release addresses items from the feature request forum. Fellow brewers, thank you for your input, and happy brewing!

My Brewing section updates:

• The My Inventory listing is now sortable.
• A shopping list section has been introduced that works similar to the My Inventory section. Shopping List items can be propogated to invetory using the ‘Convert To Inventory’ button at the top of the My Shopping page.
• In a future release, we will allow a recipe to be added to the shopping list (optionally accounting for what is already in inventory). That will complete the circle of ingredient tracking – from planning all the way to brew day.
• A simple My Notes section has been added that allows free form tracking of brewing ideas.

Recipe Editor updates:

• Yeast section now has target fermentation temperature, and taret yeast pitch rate. While this may seem like too much for beginning brewers, we want to put it front and center how important these concepts are to brewing excellence. The fields are not required, and all existing recipes will simply show a blank.
• A link has been added directly to the Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator. When clicking this link, details about your recipe automatically flow through so you have less info to fill out. Big time saver.
• An Awards Won field has been added to the Recipe Editor and the Search Recipes page. This way you can filter for proven recipes. The use of the checkbox is based on the honor system. We expect brewers who check this box to provide evidence of the award (normally a link to the results). To those of you who have shared award winning brews, do us a favor and check that box so something shows up in the results!!!
• Maltodextrin has been added to the fermentables drop down, and Lactose (Milk Sugar) had its name clarified. Both of these ingredients do not contribute to ABV, since they are non-fermentable sugars. They do increase FG (sweetness, mouth feel, body). The logic in the recipe editor now correctly accounts for this.

The Yeast Pitch Calculator updates:

• In doing more reading, and comparing to manufacturer’s numbers, we feel the idea that dry yeast contains 20 billion cells per gram is over stated (or at least needs a study to back it up).
• The default value is now 10, however the value can be overriden manually.
• The new default is backed up by a study Kaiser linked to us.
• Manufacturers claim only 5 or 6!
• There is more information in the dry yeast notes section of the yeast calculator.
• This release adds additional pitch rates for fine tuning.

Other notes:

• Custom Attenuation can be set up to 150% – which is well past the theoretical max.
• Logins, signups, password changes, and any account related site access is now protected by SSL for your added protection.
• Improved rendering in certain cases in Chrome when zoom level was not 100%.
• When a brew session gets deleted it will now decrement the brew count for the related recipe.
• Brew logs tied to a deleted brew session no longer appear in the dashboard.
• BeerXML logic updated to handle non-standard names of certain yeasts, out dated styles, and corner cases in the water section.
• Fixed bug in Chrome, when searching for beer recipes and hitting back, most recent search will now appear.

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December 2012 Release is Live!

We now support BeerXML import and export! An inventory deduction option is now available when you go to Brew a recipe. We also addressed several items in the Feature Request Forum from fellow brewers.

BeerXML:

BeerXML is an interchange format for moving recipes between brewing software packages. We support the version 1.0 spec. The 2.0 spec appears to be in limbo.

To Import BeerXML:

Look for the Import BeerXML link under the ‘New Beer Recipe’ navigation menu at the top.

It gives you the option of bringing in unrecognized fermentables as inventory custom fermentables. You may upload a file with multiple recipes in it. Trial users – recipes imported from BeerXML count towards your 5 recipe trial limit.

To Export to BeerXML:

On the view recipe page, there is an option under the export tab.

BeerXML results:

Expect to see minor differences in recipe stats when moving between programs. This is caused by different brewing equations, rounding, etc. Make sure to double check every field, especially batch size, efficiency, and grain ppgs. For example, Brew Target wants to set its own batch size based on equipment, which can really throw off a recipe’s stats.

If you are getting confused by the results of an import or export, we are happy to look into differences with you. Please use the Contact Us page.

Inventory Deductions:

When you go to create a brew session, if the system detects any matches between your inventory and the recipe, a new table will appear.

The screen gives you the opportunity to override the final inventory balances that will result. It covers grains, hops, yeast, and other ingredients. The only thing it doesn’t cover is priming sugar (unless you add it as an other ingredient).

The logic is extensive in terms of converting between all the possible unit types. For example, a grain in your inventory could be in pounds, but the recipe calls for ounces – the inventory deduction logic will handle that. It can even do corner cases like converting from teaspoons to liters.

For more information, see the Inventory Deduction FAQ.

Other features launched:

• Hop IBUs appear as column on view recipe page.
• Linked snapshot recipes and related brew sessions appear on recipe view page.
• Ability to print inventory. Look for the print button next to the add button on the inventory page.
• Ability to add a comment to the mash calculator log in the brew session feature.
• Updated notes on the mash calculator section in the brew session feature. This is in regards to strike temperature calculation accuracy. It was about 10F low for me last brew session, but it was pretty cold in the shed (50F). I do not think the current equation captures ambient temperature very well. Being that far off is not acceptable to us, and a number of you have also noticed this. We are looking into improving that feature!
• Batch code appears next to brew sessions on dash board.

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October Release Is Live – Plato, Efficiency, and Batch Size Upgrades

The October release at Brewer’s Friend is live!  This release targets serious brewers who want accuracy, ease of use, and more rigor in the definition of their recipes and brewing process. We hope you will enjoy tapping into Plato support on the recipe editor, four types of efficiency available in the brew session, and the ability to designate an all grain batch size as ‘to the fermentor’, or ‘to the kettle’.

Brewing in Plato:

Plato is a sugar extract scale commonly used by pro brewers. It also happens to fit very well with metric brewing.  Many breweries choose to list degrees Plato on their beers instead of specific gravity. Now you can work in Plato too!  Look for the option under the More… button on the recipe editor.

By toggling the Sugar Scale option, the recipe automatically converts OG and FG between SG and °P. Specific gravity is still the default, but it can be changed under your brewing profile.  Brew log entries may also be entered in Plato.

See more in the FAQ about Plato support.

Efficiency:

When someone says they got 85% efficiency, that doesn’t mean much to me.  What kind of efficiency and is it reliable?  There are actually four types of efficiency, and Brewer’s Friend calculates each of them:

• Conversion Efficiency – what percentage of sugar was extracted from the grain in the mash.
• Pre-Boil Efficiency – what percentage of sugar made it into the kettle.
• Ending Kettle Efficiency – what percentage of sugar was present at the end of the boil.
• Brew House Efficiency – what percentage of sugar made it into the fermentor.

This release adds new Brew Log event types for tracking each of these inside a Brew Session.

We have lot more to say about efficiency, but it is too much for this post. Please check our FAQs:

• How is efficiency defined on the recipe editor?
• How is efficiency calculated in a Brew Session?

Batch Size:

Like the term efficiency, ‘batch size’ is also ambiguous. Up until this release, batch size meant how much wort is going into the fermentor for all recipe types.  That still makes sense for Extract and Partial Mash recipes, which involve topping off the fermentor with water to hit target volume.  This release does not change how Extract or Partial Mash recipes work.

All Grain and BAIB recipes now have a setting to change the ‘batch size target’ to ‘kettle’.  Ending kettle volume becomes the batch size in that case.   This improves recipe portability because it eliminates variation from trub losses and hops absorption.

There is a twist with supporting multiple batch size targets: since a different volume is being targeted at a different point in the brewing process a different efficiency value needs to be used. When batch size target is set to ‘kettle’, the recipe switches itself to use kettle/lauter efficiency.

All existing recipes have been defaulted to batch size target of ‘fermentor’, and use ‘brew house efficiency’.

The view recipe page indicates which type of batch size and efficiency is being targeted. The water calculation inside the Brew feature is aware of the batch size target and will adjust automatically. The batch size target default is still ‘fermentor’ but you can change that in your profile.

See more in the FAQ about changing the batch size target.

Other upgrades:

• Recipe view page shows total weight of all fermentables for a recipe.
• Hops AA limit increased to 100 to support hop extract.
• Stand alone hydrometer calculator remembers your calibration with a browser cookie.
• All stand alone calculators updated to look better and support metric units!
• Fix to water chemistry calculator – chalk ppm contribution corrected to account for portion that is non-soluble.
• Brew Session’s Mash Calculator section has a new FAQ.
• Brew Session’s Mash Calculator Infuse tab supports lowering temperature with cold water (but not ice).

We’ll follow up with additional blog posts about Plato and efficiency. We also have a spec done for our upcoming yeast calculator!

Post by Larry

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Printable BIAB Checklist Launched

One of our fellow brewers wrote in awhile ago asking for a printable Brew In A Bag (BIAB) checklist, similar to the current All Grain Printable Checklist, but tailored to BIAB.

Here it is:

BIAB Brew Day Checklist – Printable list of steps for brewing using the BIAB method.

For more information on what BIAB is all about:

• Brew In A Bag (BIAB) All Grain Brewing Method
• BIAB Custom Bags You Can Order, and Example DIY False Bottom

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September 2012 Release is Live

We just launched a bunch of features!  We are proud to say that many of the updates in this release came directly from topics in the feature request forum.  In addition, we made a nice improvement to the brew feature so it reports Pre-Boil Efficiency in addition to Brew House Efficiency.  We also made some major headway towards our first mobile release and group brewing feature (not ready yet). We also did some bug fixes and back end work to keep the system running smoothly.

Recipe Editor:

• Ability to add grains in pounds or ounces (or Kg/g for Metric recipes). Ability to add hops in ounces or grams, regardless of units.  Click on the units label with the little triangle, it works like a drop down box. [Forum thread]
• Under the “More…” button, each stat / equation now has a visual ‘matches style’ indicator. An exclamation point is displayed if the value is out of range, or a green checkbox appears if it matches. [Forum thread]
• Ability to set default hop type under your profile. Saves time if you typically use pellets.

Brew Sessions

• Pre-Boil Efficiency measure introduced (read more about that below).
• Default sort on my brew sessions page set to a more sensible default, and ability to hide completed batches. [Forum thread]
• The brew log entry screen now anticipates the next type of log entry.

Yeast List

• Corrected Wyeast NB NeoBritannia 1945, had wrong number.
• Added the new Danstar BRY-97 yeast. Larry will be using this in his Snifter Grade IIPA (experimental) batch as soon as it comes to the home brew store!

Thoughts on Efficiency:

We have been doing a lot of research on the meaning of efficiency in brewing. Deep thinking, the kind that keeps you up at night. The kind that that gives you dreams like flying on kettle lids through skies filled with clouds of steaming wort, swimming in a giant sized mashed tun, and coding equations from inside a grain husk.

Brewer’s Friend uses Brew House Efficiency (as defined here) in the recipe editor. This can be thought of as ‘to the fermentor’ efficiency. All losses that do not make it into the fermentor are counted against this measure. This is good because it provides a realistic picture of your entire system’s performance, which is what you need to know to brew repeatable batches!  If your friend tells you they get 85% efficiency – ask them which type of efficiency.  That is probably their conversion efficiency or their lauter efficiency, but not their efficiency to the fermentor.  Repeatable efficiency is what really matters. Please be aware that recipes with more hops than normal will cause greater hops absorption losses, thus lowering Brew House Efficiency by ~1%.

As part of this release, we have just introduced a new efficiency measure: ‘Pre-Boil Efficiency’ – the percentage of total available sugars that made it into the kettle.  It can also be thought of as lauter efficiency. Volume losses from mash tun dead space and grain absorption count against this measure.   Those of you who have been diligently making ‘Pre-Boil Gravity’ log entries will automatically see this figure computed on your existing brew sessions.  This number is generally 8-10% higher than Brew House Efficiency, since it does not count trub losses and kettle dead space.

We are working on adding ‘conversion efficiency’ in the near future, which looks only at the efficiency of the extract in the mash tun, before any draining takes place. This number is always the highest.

Well, that’s all for now.  Happy brewing!

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The White House Releases Beer Recipes!

The wheels of Washington’s political bureaucracy have turned.  With only 12k of the 25k signatures needed on the formal petition, the White House released the beer recipes to the public. These are very straight forward extract batches that can be done with a basic brew kit on your stove at home.

We loaded them into Brewer’s Friend:

Honey Ale
Porter

There were a couple minor details to fill in, such as the bittering hops used in the Porter recipe, or what type of Crystal malt is used in the Honey Ale.  Even so, this will get you pretty close to the results. It is likely they didn’t use Brewer’s Friend to track the brew, so maybe they don’t know either!

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Benefits of Cloud Brewing Software and Our Pricing Model

In case you are curious about why we went with an annual subscription fee, and why we think it works better, this post should clear up some details.

You may be on the fence like this fellow brewer who wrote in (edited and anonymized):

Its hard to justify $10 a year when I can just buy an application for $28 or use a free website. Your site definitely has more features than others (I would miss the batch scaling capability), but I most likely will go with the $28 option unless I’m missing something. 

Here’s our honest answer:

Quite right, pricing is a challenging issue. We had to come up with something reasonable for the pricing and your feedback is appreciated.  That said, at $28 for a lifetime, we’d go out of business in a hurry!  Hosting, maintenance, support all add up.  Home Brew Talk asks $25 per year, and $125 for a lifetime last time I checked, so as for an online community we are well aligned there.

Maybe we could come up with a free forever edition that was somehow plastered with ads or nerfed in some other way?  It may come to that, but for now we have solid traction, sales at a very healthy conversion rate, and a decent growth rate.

The cloud based aspect is probably the biggest benefit.  If you use a smart phone or tablet, you can get on the site with that device and it works reasonably well (not quite a native experience but we are working towards that).  BF works on Mac, PC, Linux, just about anything with a modern browser and an internet connection.

Consider that Windows8 is going to hose a lot of application developers. In a year or two other software makers could be in a position where they have to re-write a lot of code, and force their users to upgrade.  Though it looks like $28 once, it is actually $28 every few years (this is true of all software, our model is just putting that up front).   Since BF is browser based, you have nothing to worry about in terms of technology shifting under your feet, and you get the upgrades automatically. In fact, we have ZERO incentive to hold back features so you buy again.  Instead, we have every incentive to make you delighted every time you visit!

As for free sites, you get what you pay for in terms of service, backups, and attention to detail.  We take pride in responding to user requests and we improve the site all the time based on user feedback. Check out the forum to see our progress there. We are also professionals, so that is something else to consider.   At the end of the day, we’d love to have you as a customer.  At $17.99 for 2 years, that ends up being a fraction of the price of a single batch, and solves the problem of organizing the details in one, easy to use spot.

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Inventory Management Feature Launched

Hey fellow brewers!

We just launched an inventory manager! It tracks fermentables, hops, yeast, other ingredients and equipment. Look for it under the My Brewing navigation menu at the top, or the My Inventory button inside your brewing dashboard.  In future releases the system will provide the option of deducting items from your inventory when you ‘Brew’ a recipe.

Early release users: you have less than a week to purchase a premium subscription and still get extra time added to your account.

The hop harvest is coming up in a matter of days! If you are contemplating a fresh hop brew, this is your only chance until next year.  Your local home brew store should have fresh hops lined up for purchase if they are not already sold out.

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