Comparison

Brew Cloud vs Build a Beer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brew Cloud

Design and calculate homebrew recipes with ease using a comprehensive suite of tools. Access over 12 calculators for stats like ABV, IBU, and water chemistry, and manage a vast library of ingredients. Share and discover recipes within the community.

Highlights
  • Recipe design and calculation
  • 12+ homebrew calculators
  • Extensive ingredient library
  • Custom ingredient editor
  • Recipe sharing and import/export
  • Cloud-based syncing
  • Fermentation tracking
Features
Read full description

Brew Cloud is a homebrewing app for iPhone and iPad that brings beer recipe design, brewing calculators, and a digital brew log into one place. Plan your next homebrew, calculate recipe targets, and track each batch from brew day through fermentation. DESIGN YOUR BEER RECIPES Build recipes with fermentables, hops, yeast, mash steps, and other additions. Adjust ingredients and batch size, review estimated original gravity (OG), final gravity (FG), alcohol by volume (ABV), bitterness (IBU), and color (SRM), and scale a recipe for your next batch. Choose from the built-in ingredient library or create custom ingredients with the Ingredients Editor. Keep recipe notes so you can refine a favorite IPA, stout, lager, or other beer style. 12 BREWING CALCULATORS Keep practical homebrew calculations close at hand: - ABV, ABW, calorie and carbohydrate estimates - Original gravity, final gravity, and alcohol calculations - IBU bitterness and SRM color - Mash and sparge water - Water chemistry and yeast pitch rate - Priming sugar for bottling - Hydrometer temperature adjustment and Brix-to-gravity conversion - All-grain-to-extract and dry/liquid malt extract conversions TRACK BATCHES AND FERMENTATION Create batches from your recipes and keep a brewing log. Record gravity and temperature readings, view fermentation graphs, and save notes to compare results over time. Brew-day instructions and timers help you follow your process. SAVE, SHARE, AND DISCOVER Save recipes to your account and sync them across devices. Import and export BeerXML files to share recipes with other homebrewers. Browse community recipes for inspiration and consult the included BJCP beer style guidelines. MADE FOR YOUR BREW DAY Use US or metric units, switch between light and Dark Mode, and work on iPhone or iPad. Keep your recipe builder, brewing calculations, batch records, and notes together wherever you brew. Brew Cloud includes ads, with an optional in-app purchase to remove them. Questions or ideas? Contact support@thebrewcloud.com.

About

Build a Beer

This AI-powered app assists homebrewers in creating custom beer recipes. It helps generate accurate clone recipes or develop original ones with appropriate ingredients and styles. Explore ingredients and discover new beer styles to brew.

Highlights
  • AI-assisted recipe generation
  • Clone brew recipe accuracy
  • Custom recipe creation
  • Ingredient exploration
  • New beer style discovery
  • Easy-to-use recipe format
Features
Read full description

Expand your beer-brewing creativity with Build-a-Beer. Our AI assistant will guide you to create accurate clone brew recipes, or bring your brewing ideas to life with stylistically accurate recipes with appropriate ingredients. Explore ingredients, play with recipes in an easy-to-use format, and discover new beer styles to brew! Terms of Use: This app uses Apple’s standard End User License Agreement (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Brew Cloud4 screens
Build a Beer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Build a Beer at 5.0 against Brew Cloud's 4.6. Brew Cloud's advantage is ratings volume (352 vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brew Cloud sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Build a Beer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Build a Beer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brew Cloud has 352 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brew Cloud ships an update weekly, Build a Beer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and July 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Brew Cloud versus Build a Beer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrew CloudBuild a Beer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (352 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings352 — better3
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB48 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAvocado Toast Co.David Vanfleet

Customer experience

Brew Cloud

All ratings352 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral20.8%
Negative25.0%

Build a Beer

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Brew Cloud

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App crashes when adjusting OG
  • App crashes when selecting stats circles
  • Lost years of recipes
  • Missing strike water volumes
  • Inconsistent units (metric/imperial)
Show 2 more
  • White screen when selecting brew method
  • Inaccurate calculations

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add wine and mead types
  • Printing recipes
  • Scaling option
  • Convert recipes between IMP and Metric
  • Add water chemistry feature
Show 2 more
  • More additions of ingredients
  • Keep style ABV, IBU, etc. values alongside calculated values

Build a Beer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Brew Cloud

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99
2 purchases

Build a Beer

Subscriptions2
  • Premium (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Premium (Yearly)$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Brew Cloud free?
Brew Cloud is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Build a Beer free?
Build a Beer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brew Cloud or Build a Beer?
Build a Beer is rated higher. Brew Cloud averages 4.6 out of 5 from 352 ratings, while Build a Beer averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Brew Cloud or Build a Beer have ads?
Both Brew Cloud and Build a Beer show ads.
Which is updated more often, Brew Cloud or Build a Beer?
Brew Cloud ships an update weekly, and Build a Beer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Brew Cloud was updated on September 15, 2026 and Build a Beer on July 13, 2026.

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