But, seriously...Why?? (inventory items)

[Brewmaster Tom]

As I keep fooling around with this I just find more and more foolishness. The "Other Ingredients" section has been neutered as well. No Irish Moss or Campden Tablet in the drop down menu.

 

[J A]

Yeah...at this point I'd pay extra to just have the old version back. Functionality and user interface seemed fine.

 

[Yooper]

The developer tells me that much of the fix for this is on beta: https://beta.brewersfriend.com/

If you have time to take a look and see if some of your frustrations are solved with the update, that would be very helpful in seeing what we can do to make this right for all of you. If it isn't better, we definitely want to hear about it!

 

[J A]

Okay. Thanks, Lorena.

 

[J A]

The developer tells me that much of the fix for this is on beta: https://beta.brewersfriend.com/

If you have time to take a look and see if some of your frustrations are solved with the update, that would be very helpful in seeing what we can do to make this right for all of you. If it isn't better, we definitely want to hear about it!

Yes! Yes! Yay! Thank god for small miracles! Please, please, please, please make it be like this again.
If, for some reason, they don't want to make this the permanent version, at least give me the option!
Thanks!

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yep it looks nice and tidied up in the fermentables, yeast and hops drop down list great job BF!

 

[J A]

Yep it looks nice and tidied up in the fermentables, yeast and hops drop down list great job BF!

It's the same as I've been used to for a while. I wonder if I've been using the Beta version somehow and just got switched over to the regular one through a default uploading in the server somewhere along the way.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Nope not you it's me putting my 2 bob in when I shouldnt na the fermentables drop down is a delight in both beta and current version I just double checked you want to select a pale ale malt just type in pale all of them come up just scroll down and click on your one. You want cara-malt down drops all the listed caramel malts and various lovibonds you want rye pop that in the title bar down drops all the rye malted options. Yep I'm a happy chappie.
You touched on it in a post above JA we just gotta get familiar with the changes. It's like all things computers it's a new language you've just gotta learn if not your left with pen and paper (which is sometimes the best option). It's a fail safe in my department looking at screens too long makes my head hurt and makes me wanna drink more beer!

 

[J A]

Nope not you it's me putting my 2 bob in when I shouldnt na the fermentables drop down is a delight in both beta and current version I just double checked you want to select a pale ale malt just type in pale all of them come up just scroll down and click on your one. You want cara-malt down drops all the listed caramel malts and various lovibonds you want rye pop that in the title bar down drops all the rye malted options. Yep I'm a happy chappie.

You're not using custom fermentables in your inventory...there's a huge difference. Yes, of course, the drop down works perfectly for all the malts that are already there. Custom fermentables in inventory that's crapped out. If you're using the editor in that way and it's working, I'd sure as hell like to know about it.
In the Beta, all the malts in my inventory that I've entered as custom fermentables (because they're not in the drop-down data base) are in the drop-down as they should be. In the current live version, my inventory custom fermentables only appear in my inventory list, never the drop down and once they're in the recipe, they're glitchy as hell.
If you're using the most basic features, there's no problem. If you're using a customized inventory as I am, it only works in Beta. It used to work in the live version just the same but they've changed it around somehow in trying to accomodate newbies searching for specific malt brands or something like that.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I'm picking up what your putting down now. Looks like BF have their work cut out pleasing everyone but as you know that ain't possible.

So custom fermentables ain't working.
Select the nearest base malt or specialty malt from the drop down list selection and call it done. The malt specs change from harvest to harvest anyhow. For me at my brewing level a generic near enough lovibond base malt with there abouts Diastic power will do for my recipie be it One from Finland or New Zealand.

The main thing I'm looking for from the brewersfriend recipie creator app is a near enough level of predictability from one brew to the next. If I use X amount of base malt X amount of colour malt X amount of bittering flavouring hops and certain Type of yeast then as long as the recipie calculator gets me withing the ballpark of what I'm aiming for then im a happybrewer.

But I understand different horses for different courses.

 

[J A]

Looks like BF have their work cut out pleasing everyone but as you know that ain't possible.

Thing is that the whole thing really worked swimmingly before (certainly in regards to this aspect) and there's nothing in the changes to this part of it that would please anyone. I seriously doubt that anyone asked for a perfectly functioning part of the software/interface to be upended and made unusable.
No, not everyone needs or wants to stock quantities of malt and use the inventory function of the software to build recipes and track quantities but some of us do exactly that. To have that perfectly, seamlessly functional and then have it go to crap is pretty frustrating.

 

[AHarper]

When I first started using this excellent site I used the stored recipes - from everyone's contributions - as a source of ideas as to how to put together a brew based on the experience of brewers from all over the world and the styles they liked to drink. The recipe builder allowed me to select different ingredients from the supplied "lists" to see what happened. The Inventory option allows you to enter your own, LOCALLY sourced ingredients to see what effect that made to the recipe and that it stayed "true" to the original idea.
Once I got to understand how it all worked I progressed to crafting my own ideas based on what I like to drink and the Inventory option allowed me to enter what I could buy and what I had in my cupboard.

Once the system allowed you to enter your LOCALLY derived ingredients into the GLOBAL list forced the system to include all the details that made your ingredient unique - Country of origin, Manufacturer, exact PPG, DP and Lat /Long of the cropped field (sorry being facetious here!) - for what ultimate purpose? Unless someone in Australia want's to import that specific 25kg bag of 2-Row barley from Farmer Giles in Ottowa (which I doubt!) it serves no purpose other than complicate the system with unnecessary detail - which is where we are now.

I honestly feel great empathy for the developers (and Administrators) here as they frantically try to serve everyone's requests and feed the beast they are in charge of.

I personally would favour STANDARD ingredients held in the Global list and a detailed local Inventory list to pick from - as that is what I will be using to make a brew. As it is I have, recently, found a supplier in Ireland that, despite delivery charges, have ingredients that I have to input into my Inventory list with all the details just so I can distinguish them from all others. Just "Pale Malt" doesn't seem to be sufficient.

The reason I am saying all this is that I am just about to post another fault I have found brought to light by the "complications" of the ever-expanding Fermentables list. I would hate to have to organise all this on a small phone - all that scrolling would drive me nuts and put me off using it.

 

[J A]

@AHarper , go to the Beta version link that Yooper provided a few posts back in the thread. Log in and open a recipe that you haven't saved using the new nonsensical version. You'll see that your inventory items will populate into the drop-down just as they used to do and ingredients sort properly and custom fermentables in inventory look just like any other ingredient in the calculator.
My plan is to only use the Beta version for recipe calculation and never save a recipe with the current calculator. The Beta is actually the old version (at least in that aspect) and the new version went live with hundreds of problems. I suppose that the new issues are resulting from changing code so that fixing one glitch is causing a cascading effect to make new issues.
It's a mess and it's a shame.
I used to really sing the praises of Brewer's Friend to my brewing acquaintances. Now I don't recommend it to any one, ever.

 

[Nosybear]

When I first started using this excellent site I used the stored recipes - from everyone's contributions - as a source of ideas as to how to put together a brew based on the experience of brewers from all over the world and the styles they liked to drink. The recipe builder allowed me to select different ingredients from the supplied "lists" to see what happened. The Inventory option allows you to enter your own, LOCALLY sourced ingredients to see what effect that made to the recipe and that it stayed "true" to the original idea.
Once I got to understand how it all worked I progressed to crafting my own ideas based on what I like to drink and the Inventory option allowed me to enter what I could buy and what I had in my cupboard.

Once the system allowed you to enter your LOCALLY derived ingredients into the GLOBAL list forced the system to include all the details that made your ingredient unique - Country of origin, Manufacturer, exact PPG, DP and Lat /Long of the cropped field (sorry being facetious here!) - for what ultimate purpose? Unless someone in Australia want's to import that specific 25kg bag of 2-Row barley from Farmer Giles in Ottowa (which I doubt!) it serves no purpose other than complicate the system with unnecessary detail - which is where we are now.

I honestly feel great empathy for the developers (and Administrators) here as they frantically try to serve everyone's requests and feed the beast they are in charge of.

I personally would favour STANDARD ingredients held in the Global list and a detailed local Inventory list to pick from - as that is what I will be using to make a brew. As it is I have, recently, found a supplier in Ireland that, despite delivery charges, have ingredients that I have to input into my Inventory list with all the details just so I can distinguish them from all others. Just "Pale Malt" doesn't seem to be sufficient.

The reason I am saying all this is that I am just about to post another fault I have found brought to light by the "complications" of the ever-expanding Fermentables list. I would hate to have to organise all this on a small phone - all that scrolling would drive me nuts and put me off using it.

I tend to like this approach as well.

 

[Yooper]

@AHarper , go to the Beta version link that Yooper provided a few posts back in the thread. Log in and open a recipe that you haven't saved using the new nonsensical version. You'll see that your inventory items will populate into the drop-down just as they used to do and ingredients sort properly and custom fermentables in inventory look just like any other ingredient in the calculator.
My plan is to only use the Beta version for recipe calculation and never save a recipe with the current calculator. The Beta is actually the old version (at least in that aspect) and the new version went live with hundreds of problems. I suppose that the new issues are resulting from changing code so that fixing one glitch is causing a cascading effect to make new issues.
It's a mess and it's a shame.
I used to really sing the praises of Brewer's Friend to my brewing acquaintances. Now I don't recommend it to any one, ever.

The beta version should go live on the 28th- that's the plan for right now.

 

[Chaps]

.it's the combination of inventory and custom fermentables that has been the issue.

And forget about using Gluten Free grains. Theres also this passive-aggressive code built into the site where it knows what you want but doesn't let you actually use it. Im looking at you CaraMillet Malt. If you try to search for it..nothing. But if you create a custom fermentable, it fills in all of the information including gravity and diastic power and yet it still doesn't let you add it by searching or from the custom fermentable tab. What gives?!?

 

[J A]

it fills in all of the information including gravity and diastic power and yet it still doesn't let you add it by searching or from the custom fermentable tab. What gives?!?

Interesting that you'd get any info auto-filled in a custom fermentable. Unless something has changed (again?!) I'm used to having to input information into all the fields for Custom Fermentables. But, no they won't show up in the fermentables drop-down in the recipe calculator.

 

[Chaps]

Interesting that you'd get any info auto-filled in a custom fermentable. Unless something has changed (again?!) I'm used to having to input information into all the fields for Custom Fermentables. But, no they won't show up in the fermentables drop-down in the recipe calculator.

I thought it was super weird to. Heres the proof

Also side note; apparently if you use an apostrophe in a custom fermentable it crashes the whole thing...

 

[AHarper]

I thought it was super weird to. Heres the proof

Also side note; apparently if you use an apostrophe in a custom fermentable it crashes the whole thing...

Yes I found that ages ago and thought it was fixed..

 

[J A]

Okay...so the fermentables drop-down seems to be showing my inventory items again. Thanks for that!!
I'm not at all thrilled about having to go back and re-edit every recipe I've accessed for the last few months, but if things will just remain consistent, I'll take it.
Thanks for all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, guys!