Having the good fortune to be an iPhone owner, I was directed by my BJCP class president to check out the BJCP style guide app. But without a link, I simply searched iTunes for BJCP and not only did the app I was interested in come up, but a couple others appeared too.
The BJCP style guide app is exactly the same as the paper or PDF version available at bjcp.org. It’s searchable, which comes in handy while you’re out and about, trying a beer and doing your best to narrow down what style it might be, or maybe trying to come up with a classic example of a style to compare to the one you’re drinking. Or maybe you’re wondering if you should be tasting butterscotch notes in a Stella? A quick search, and you’ll know for sure.
Yeah, it’s a bit of overkill but if you’re taking the BJCP course, and you own an iPhone it’s free, so why not download it as a study aid?
I also snagged “Beer Quiz” by iBunky. Not bad, but not great either. Basically, you answer ten multiple choice or true/false questions related to beer history, styles, specifics, etc. Not a bad little app to check out for $.99. My only complaints come from a usability standpoint. The app doesn’t correct your answers, it only tells you how many you got correct, and it doesn’t allow you to take the quiz again without restarting the app. Most of the questions are pretty elementary, but they also range up to some that are definitely not general knowledge. Again — if you’re studying for the BJCP exam — this isn’t a bad way to bone up.
The biggest surprise from this search was an app called Brew Pal. This is basically the ProMash program — which I use all the time — for your phone, but even better in some respects. It helps you make malt bills, calculates hop additions and IBUs, has a full set of BJCP style information included, stores original and final gravity information and converts to ABV for both hydrometers and refractometers, and even helps calculate appropriate pressures for force carbonating beer, and as simple as it may be, it even has timers for mashing, boiling, fermenting, etc. If you don’t have a laptop with you at your brew, you don’t have ProMash, but you probably have your phone, and this app can help you come in right on target.
The only things I would suggest for improving the app would be to somehow get it to load ProMash recipes, and perhaps to make water profile calculations.
This is a must have if you’re a brewer, and it’s only $.99! Definitely check it out.
Tags: Beer Apps, Beer Quiz, Beer Software, Beer Style Guides, Brew Pal, Iphone