Hi Brad,
Great product I really enjoy useing it!!
Two small suggestions for your concideration in a future revision.
1. Mash Profile Detail
Like Many of us, I use a small Igloo Mash Tun It works well but isn’t perfect. In a long mash step, say 75 to 90 minuets, you will loose some temperature. If you are making a typical 1.050 to 1.060 batch, the limited volume can also be a challenge. I typically do a 90 minuet, single infusion mash. Then, because of the limited volume, I do a small decoction for mash out. Say you start at 148*F. By the end, you may have dropped to 144 or 142*F. You wish to make a decoct to get up to 168*F, but in the profile your mash out step makes the decoct volume calc based on the infusion step starting temp of 148*F. There is no way to input a step ending temp of 142*F, so the recorded decoct volume is too small and you do not achieve the desired mash out temp. You can jump out to the Decot Correction Tool, but that’s extra time and the detail is not recorded in the Recipe Print Out or the Brew Sheet. Since I often revisit a recipe for “Continuous Improvement†accurate reporting is very important. Having the details in a logical place is key. So, could you incorporate a Step Starting and Step Ending Temp in the Mash Profile? That way the following step temp/volume calculation could be based on the ending temp of the previous step. This would also make multi step infusions much easier for the guys with larger volume tuns. Software brand “PM†does this and its very helpful. Compared to BeerSmith, the 'important to me' reporting sucks in “PM†so it would be helpful if BeerSmith could incorporate a similar step end temp functionality.
2. Ingredients Database files
BeerSmith’s ingredients database files are terrific compared to most other available software, and to your credit for your “Continuous Improvementâ€, they continue to grow!
However, there is only a very limited number of ingredients that are usually available as “In Inventory†either at my home or at the LHBS. Plugging through the very large ingredients files can be error prone and tedious. I have tried implementation of “Inventory†methods but, being a nonprofessional homebrewer, my inventory discipline is weak. I’ve taken to “Duplicating†an ingredient that I use often and renaming it starting with a single letter so it will float to the top of these large files for easy location. It would be nice if I could create “My Ingredients†files. Then I could drag the duplicated ingredient into the smaller more easily searched “My Grains†or “My Hops†file.
Thanks for the opportunity to input. Keep going, BeerSmith is really growing in a very positive way.
Preston
Great product I really enjoy useing it!!
Two small suggestions for your concideration in a future revision.
1. Mash Profile Detail
Like Many of us, I use a small Igloo Mash Tun It works well but isn’t perfect. In a long mash step, say 75 to 90 minuets, you will loose some temperature. If you are making a typical 1.050 to 1.060 batch, the limited volume can also be a challenge. I typically do a 90 minuet, single infusion mash. Then, because of the limited volume, I do a small decoction for mash out. Say you start at 148*F. By the end, you may have dropped to 144 or 142*F. You wish to make a decoct to get up to 168*F, but in the profile your mash out step makes the decoct volume calc based on the infusion step starting temp of 148*F. There is no way to input a step ending temp of 142*F, so the recorded decoct volume is too small and you do not achieve the desired mash out temp. You can jump out to the Decot Correction Tool, but that’s extra time and the detail is not recorded in the Recipe Print Out or the Brew Sheet. Since I often revisit a recipe for “Continuous Improvement†accurate reporting is very important. Having the details in a logical place is key. So, could you incorporate a Step Starting and Step Ending Temp in the Mash Profile? That way the following step temp/volume calculation could be based on the ending temp of the previous step. This would also make multi step infusions much easier for the guys with larger volume tuns. Software brand “PM†does this and its very helpful. Compared to BeerSmith, the 'important to me' reporting sucks in “PM†so it would be helpful if BeerSmith could incorporate a similar step end temp functionality.
2. Ingredients Database files
BeerSmith’s ingredients database files are terrific compared to most other available software, and to your credit for your “Continuous Improvementâ€, they continue to grow!
However, there is only a very limited number of ingredients that are usually available as “In Inventory†either at my home or at the LHBS. Plugging through the very large ingredients files can be error prone and tedious. I have tried implementation of “Inventory†methods but, being a nonprofessional homebrewer, my inventory discipline is weak. I’ve taken to “Duplicating†an ingredient that I use often and renaming it starting with a single letter so it will float to the top of these large files for easy location. It would be nice if I could create “My Ingredients†files. Then I could drag the duplicated ingredient into the smaller more easily searched “My Grains†or “My Hops†file.
Thanks for the opportunity to input. Keep going, BeerSmith is really growing in a very positive way.
Preston
