Brew Pal is a great app for homebrewers

I received a gift certificate to Beer at Home for Christmas from my mother-in-law. Thanks, Linda! So this weekend, I’m going to brew a batch of American style IPA.

I’ve been experimenting with homebrew software and really like Beer Alchemy from Kent Place Software. I had a license a few years ago, but through multiple email and computer changes, I lost it. Not wanting to spend $30 on another license at the moment, I remembered that I had downloaded the Brew Pal iPhone app a few months ago.

Before my Beer Alchemy trial had expired, I formulated a big Imperial IPA recipe. Turns out it was too big for my setup. To do five gallons, I’d need a 10-gallon Mash/Lauter Tun, and I’ve only got a 5-gallon one. So I decided to dumb down the recipe and make a standard IPA (it was only later that I came to the obvious conclusion that I could brew a 3-gallon batch and it would fit).

I pulled out the iPhone and got to work. In less than 10 minutes I had formulated the basic recipe for an American style IPA using Beer Pal.

The user interface takes some getting used to, but once you learn your way around, it’s rather easy.

The real action on the app takes place on the oddly named and kind of hidden “More” screen. From this screen, you start your recipe by adding grains and hops.

It’s easy to add grains using the iPhone’s slot-machine like interface. Once you have a grain, you can change the grain’s properties as well as the amount you’d like to use. I’m not sure if the app supports full extract brewing (although there is a section to add extract).

The same goes for hops and yeast.

Once you have the ingredients picked out, you can use a nifty “Styles” tool that will search for styles that match your recipe. The app will tell you how your recipe compares to the Beer Judge Certificate Program ranges so you can adjust quantities and other variables to match specific styles.

The app also features an “Addition” section where you can add additions to the boil or fermenter.

There’s also a handy notes feature where can jot down notes. I used it to track my mash schedule and temperatures.

Once you’ve finished your recipe, you can export it via email. The email contains all your gravities, ingredients, mash temperatures and volumes as well the boil and fermentation schedules and any notes you added.

On brew day, you can use the app’s timers to time your boil, mash and even fermentation.

The app does crash quite often, but thanks to the “Live editing” option, it appeared that my data remained unscathed.

Because the app is on the iPhone, you can easily take it with you to the homebrew store in case you need to make any last-minute changes to your recipe, like when they are out of a certain grain or yeast.

This little app is more than a bargain at 99 cents!