BeerSmith 3 Frequently Asked Questions

BeerSmith For the Web Access?

  • Anyone holding an active Gold, Platinum or Professional level BeerSmith 3 license in their account can gain access to the web based version by logging in at BeerSmithRecipes.com
  • Basic license holders can start a 30 day trial after logging in and purchase a Gold or higher license if they want to upgrade.
  • If you upgraded, renewed or recently purchased a new license you may need to log out of your account and log back in to update your session cookie.
  • We recommend using the “Keep Me Logged In” checkbox when using the web version so you don’t get logged out of a session in the middle of recipe editing.

Still using the older BeerSmith 2?

Where is my BeerSmith 3 Activation Key?

  • If you ordered via paypal there is no activation key.  BeerSmith 3 uses an electronic license tied to your cloud account which you can see here.  To use BeerSmith 3, just download it from the main download page, install it and activate it – which will ask you to sign into your cloud account.
  • If you ordered from a third party or via FastSpring you will get a gift code which you can redeem here for an electronic license.  Once you have your license in your account, you follow the same steps above to download, install and activate your program.  Use your account login to activate your copy.

License Renewal or Autorenewal Issues?

Display Problems on Mac OSX (lines not showing or showing black)

  • If you are using Mac OSX Big Sur or higher, you need to have the latest version of BeerSmith from the main download page.  Also the latest version does not work well in Dark Mode so try setting your Apple General settings to light mode before launching BeerSmith.
  • If you are using an older version of Mac OSX you may need to download the alternative version which is currently 3.2.7a from the main download page.  Note that the “a” version is compiled for older OSX versions and will correct display issues if using an older OSX.

Can I use BeerSmith on More than One Computer?

How can I tell if I have the latest version?

  • Check Help->About to view the current version.  We’ve had some issues with automatic updates, so if you are not running version 3.2 I recommend downloading it manually and installing from the main download page.

I have BeerSmith 2 – Is BeerSmith 3 a Separate Purchase?

  • If you have a Gold, Platinum or Professional membership, your BeerSmith 2 license will be added automatically to your cloud account up until your expiration date.
  • If you recently purchased BeerSmith 2 (after 15 October 2017) there is an upgrade checker you can use here to get a subscription.
  • If you purchased earlier than that, then you will need to purchase a new BeerSmith 3 license, as only minor updates were included in the base level BeerSmith 2 license.  However, you can download and run the BeerSmith 3 trial side by side with your BeerSmith 2 install to decide if it is right for you.

Can I run the BeerSmith 3 Trial if I already have BeerSmith 2?

Will my BeerSmith 3 Expire if I don’t Renew?

  • If you purchased a Gold level or above subscription and choose not to renew it, then yes the software will expire unless you renew it or have it set to autorenew from your paypal account.
  • The basic license does not expire, but it is offered at a higher price and also does not include V4.0 updates or the additional cloud space and tools.
  • Your data is stored locally on your Documents/BeerSmith3 directory and no data will be deleted if your software expires.  You can renew at any point and access your recipes as long as you have not deleted the data in this directory.

I don’t see a profile for my Equipment listed – how can I find one?

  • A good place to start is The Ultimate BeerSmith Equipment Profile Guide which links in a number of resources for setting up and perfecting your equipment profile
  • If you are using a vendor provided set of brewing equipment, you can check the equipment add-ons by going to Profiles->Equipment and clicking on the add-on button there.  Many profiles are available for download right into BeerSmith.  You can also modify one of the pre-loaded profiles in the equipment view to match your own setup.
  • If that fails, here is a step-by-step  description of how you can create your own equipment profile, as well as videos on doing the same.

How do I Import my BeerSmith 2 Data into BeerSmith 3?

  • The first time you run BeerSmith 3, it will scan your computer for BeerSmith 2 data, and ask you if you want to merge that data.  Merging the BeerSmith2 and BeerSmith 3 data can take a few minutes.  It will also import your most critical options like your unit settings and add-ons.
  • If you don’t want to import your Beersmith 2 data right away, you can also run it later using File->Import BeerSmith 2 Directory
  • You also have the option of exporting and importing BeerSmith 2 data in a BSMX format using File->Export and File->Open to view the files

What’s the fastest way to get started with BeerSmith?

Can I share data between devices or between my desktop and mobile device?

  • You can share recipes via the BeerSmith cloud.  If you are using BeerSmith 3, then your cloud login is the same account you used to register and activate your license when you ordered, and you can access it using the cloud folder in either BeerSmith mobile or desktop.
  • You can also access your recipes from the web by logging in at BeerSmithRecipes.com.
  • By default all recipes you put in your cloud folder are private to your account, but you can also share them to make them public or use the new unlisted option to have a recipe link you can share with your recipe, but not include the recipe in public searches.

Is the Mobile Version a Separate Purchase

  • Yes, because licensing and distribution for mobile devices is controlled by the respective stores (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon) I am not able to bundle the mobile apps with a desktop license at this time.  I can only set one price for all users.  Purchase “BeerSmith Mobile” from iTunes, Google Play or on the Amazon app store.

Where is my data stored?  How do I back it up?

  • BeerSmith 3.1 has improved backup functions using the File->Full Backup to Zip and File->Full Recover from Zip which let you make a complete backup/restore of all your data in a single zip file.  The actual data is stored under %APPDATA%/BeerSmith3 for Windows or ~/Library/BeerSmith3 on the Mac.
  • The earlier BeerSmith 3.0 stores all of your data under the Documents/BeerSmith3 directory for your main user account for easy backup.
  • BeerSmith 3.1 also has significantly improved data integrity checks.  For example your recipes are archived under Recipes->Archive and you can view older versions of your recipes there.  There is also a File->Recover from Backup command to do bulk recovery of files

What are the Minimum System Requirements?

  • PC/Windows: you need Windows 7 or later (Windows 8, Windows 10).  A wide screen (1200 pixels wide or higher) is recommended but not required
  • Macintosh: An intel based processor Mac is required.  A wide screen (1200 pixels) is recommended, as is a 64 bit Mac operating system – 10.8 or higher.  It should also run on the M1 architecture.

I forgot my BeerSmith cloud password or login – how can I recover it?

  • Go to the BeerSmithRecipes.com login page and click on the Lost password link and enter your email address or login name.

I want to move my BeerSmith Mobile license from Android to iPhone (or iPhone to Android)?

  • Unfortunately the mobile licensing is controlled by Google and Apple, and they do not share license data or offer any mechanism to transfer a license between mobile devices.  You will need to purchase a new license if switching device types.

I bought a new mobile device – how do I move my mobile app to the new phone?

  • First, copy your local recipes to your cloud folder on the mobile app.  This is the best way to be sure that you don’t lose them when you move to the new phone.
  • On the new phone, log in to the app store using the same iTunes or Google Play account you used to originally purchase your app.  Then download the app – you should not have to pay again if you use the same account.  Finally copy your recipes from cloud to local storage on your new device.

Can I use BeerSmith 3 for Commercial brewing?

  • Yes, hundreds of craft breweries use BeerSmith for their recipes.  There is an article on how to set up equipment and use BeerSmith to scale up to commercial size batches.  There is also a professional brewing discussion board on the BeerSmith forum.
  • A professional license is recommended if you are using BeerSmith 3 for commercial use.

I want to recover a recipe that I accidentally changed or deleted?

  • Go to Recipes->Recipe Archive and search for the name of the recipe.  It should have a log of all major edits listed by date and time and you can open any of them by double clicking on them and recover from there.

Are Foreign Language Editions of BeerSmith available?

  • A number of volunteer teams have started translating BeerSmith 3 to several languages including French, Spanish and Portugese.
  • Many of these include a ‘Lang.xml’ file which translates the base program.  Some of these are available from the main download page.
  • Additional efforts to translate BeerSmith data and programs to other languages can be tracked on the forum here.

Can I run BeerSmith 3 from a shared/networked drive?

  • We do not recommend running BeerSmith from a shared drive.  There is no explicit database that would prevent two copies of BeerSmith from overwriting each other so running on a network drive could easily result in major data loss.

How can I reinstall my copy of BeerSmith 3 on a new computer?

  • Make sure you have updated to BeerSmith 3.1 on your old machine.  The update is on the main download page.
  • Go to File->Full Backup to Zip to create a zip file with your data.  Copy this file to your new computer.
  • On the new computer, install and activate BeerSmith 3.1 on your new machine first.  You can manage active licenses from your Profile page at BeerSmithRecipes.com if you need to deactivate an old computer.
  • Once the new copy has been installed and activated, go to File->Full Recover from Zip and use the zip file you created to recover.

BeerSmith 3 tells me there is an update available but it can’t download/install the update?

I don’t understand the versioning/session system and I don’t want to many copies of my recipes to record each session?

  • What I do is brew a recipe, keep track of it in the recipe notes and “session” fields, then use the Copy to Brew Log button to save a copy of the recipe
    to my brew log. Next time I brew I will bump the version number and brew date to match the new date and record again, then copy to brew log.
  • This way my brew log folder contains a list of all recipes “as brewed” and has dates and version numbers.

How can I cancel my autorenew?

  • Your autorenew is actually controlled via your paypal subscription.
  • If you open your paypal account and go to “Manage subscriptions” there you can end the subscription to BeerSmith which will turn off the autorenew without affecting your current license.
  • Here are detailed instructions – start by logging into your paypal account, then:
    – Click on the “Gear” icon for your account settings
    – Next click on the payments tab which is just below the top horizontal menu
    – Now click on the button “Manage automatic payments”
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