Software / Spreadsheets

Name	Cost	Platform	Source?
ProMash	$24.95	Windows	no
BeerSmith	$21.95	Windows	no
BeerTools	$29.95	Web	no
BrewMate	free	Windows	no
QBrew	free	Win / Mac / Linux	yes
Diesel's Brewing Spreadsheet	free / donation	Excel	???
The Beer Recipator	free	Web	no
BrewToolz	free	Web [Ruby]	yes
CyberBrau	free	Web [PHP]	yes

ProMash Simplified

ProMash is a fairly simple database program. To the left is the ProMash folder on my computer at the time of document creation – your location may vary with different versions of Windows (my system was Windows 7 64-bit).

C:\Program Files\ProMash
C:\Program Files (x86)\ProMash

The red arrows point to key database files for the program for HOPS, MALT, YEAST, STYLES, and an EXTRA file. These key files all end with DAT. If you have made a bunch of customizations and saved them they are probably in these files. You can back the files up by copying them someplace else. Occasionally people will update these files (with newer grains and hops, BJCP updates, etc.) and make them widely available. If you have downloaded the newer files to your computer it is easy to update your ProMash. Copy the new DAT files into the folder and allow them to overwrite the older DAT files.

The black arrows point to where your recipes and brew sessions are stored. This can also be helpful for backing up your files, and when migrating to a new computer. Those recipe files are easy to email to others as well.