BIABacus PR1.3T and perhaps some other prior versions were incorrectly calculating the WYWU (What you will use) amount in Section F. This version fixes it.

I do have quite a new version of The BIABacus however I think I'll need a mathematician to make a few changes that I really want to see. Until then, I trust PR1.3U will keep you going.

All the best,
Pat

Greenman wrote: ↑

6 years ago

I find myself getting increasingly frustrated with how little the various brewing software I've tried matches the reality of my brewday (I've dabbled in several but given Beersmith and Brewers Friend a good solid workout).

Hi Andy,

You are entirely correct to be frustrated with brewing software. It is exactly why we created the BIABacus.
Firstly, to answer your question, the BIABacus handles both recipe conversion and design. Make sure you ask for help though when first using the BIABacus whether for designing a recipe or converting an existing one.

Problems with Other Brewing Software

There are many problems with other brewing software. Besides ambiguous terminology and incorrect formulas, the basic premise of the software is severely flawed. For example, the user has to type in their "efficiency" in their equipment profile and the software then treats that as a constant whereas "efficiency" is actually a variable. These factors have really lead to a lot of misinformation on brewing.

What the BIABacus Does

Firstly, we checked formulas as many were incorrect in other software. We then created Clear Brewing Terminology so there is no ambiguity in what a particular term or number means. We then went into design and had to solve many problems (macros would not work cross-platform for example.) And, being limited to spreadsheet form, with no macros, some big decisions had to be made such as to have everything on a single sheet or spread across several sheets. Literally, thousands of hours went in to just the above however...

Mathematically, the BIABacus is built in a way that no other software can replicate unless they rebuild their programs from scratch and then copy the "guts" of the BIABacus. Basically, the BIABacus looks at not only the brewer's equipment but also each individual recipe. It then auto-estimates evaporation, "efficiencies" and losses etc. For example, the BIABacus will automatically lower Efficiency into Kettle on a high gravity brew and raise it on a lower gravity one.

Problems with the BIABacus

They are a bit like this site. There is so much more we could do, on the site and on the BIABacus, however the time and expertise required is enormous. (Time and expertise could be bought possibly however the site does not have an income source. We have though, spent quite some thousands of dollars out of our own pocket. We do try!)

Until we find a solution to that lack of resources Andy, one thing I do know is that you will get help here when you need it. Study some of the stickies (another IT problem is that a recent change in our software caused some ugly formatting in prior posts - the IT problems go on and on); read up on things like "recipe integrity" on this site, read the Clear Brewing Terminology and, "I think, there are some posts in the last few weeks on Recipe Design.

The BIABacus may look ugly at first but, it is very cool, very fast to learn and use, extremely powerful and flexible. It can handle the simplest brewing through to the most complex brewing - it warns you, guides yo and can educate you.

It is something I am extremely proud of but I wish to do so much more with it.

Remember, start a new thread when you first use it so as someone here can double-check your plan.

All the best,
Pat