Add/Update data

How to add or update shared ingredients and profiles in the Brewfather database.

Brewfather includes a shared global database for ingredients and common profiles. Data update requests can add or improve fermentables, hops, yeasts, miscellaneous items, equipment profiles, water profiles, mash profiles, and fermentation profiles. If you can't find the data you need, this guide covers how to add it to your personal inventory or profiles and optionally contribute it to the shared global database.

Add ingredients or profiles for your own use

Adding ingredients to your personal inventory is as simple as going to the Inventory page by selecting it in the main menu, then open the type of ingredient and then clicking the Add button in lower left. Fill in the details, then save. Here is a guide on how to get proper malt data.

The same can be done for profiles in the "Profiles" page.

After adding the item or profile, it will be available in the recipe designer.

Add missing data to the global database (available for all users)

You can help by adding missing data or updating existing data by submitting a request in the app.

To add data you created yourself, first add ingredients in Inventory or profiles in Profiles as described above.

Then go to the settings page and click the "Manage" button in the data section to Submit Data Update Request.

Here you can submit a new request to add or update data in the global Brewfather database.

Click the "Submit new update request" button.

Add a description of your request that makes it easier to identify what you are updating/changing/adding.

Add a link to the source of the data, or describe how you got the information.

In the update request, click Add Item and choose the type you want to contribute: Fermentable, Hop, Yeast, Misc, Equipment, Water, Mash, or Fermentation. After adding the item or profile, you can alter or modify the data as needed.

Use Delete Item only when you are requesting that an existing global item or profile be removed or retired.

You can also import a BSMX file using the import button at the top right. This will add all the items in the file to the request.

If you are updating an existing global item or profile with improved data, you must make sure the existing entry is selected as the item to be replaced. Use Add Replaced Item or Edit Replaced Item to search the global data and choose the current entry your new data should replace. This helps reviewers publish the update against the correct shared database record.

For profile requests, submit profiles that are likely to help other Brewfather users, not one-off personal setups. Include enough context in Source and Update Description for review. For water profiles, clarify whether the profile is a source water profile or a target profile when relevant. For mash and fermentation profiles, use clear names and steps so reviewers can identify the intended process.

When you are done, click the "Submit for approval" button and your request will be reviewed, and once approved, the added data will be available for all users of Brewfather.

General guidelines for data added to Global Database

These rules must be followed for your request to be approved.

• Make sure most of the numeric details are added when available

• Fermentability on fermentables can be left blank, this is normally not available

• Keep text description reasonable in length, not too long and detailed

• Attenuation of yeast must be set to the maximum value specified by the laboratory. Example a yeast attenuates from 75% to 82%, set attenuation to 82% (this works best with the default "Normal" calculation method). But include the range in the data section for min and max.

• If you are updating an existing item or profile with improved data, make sure the existing global entry is selected as the item to be replaced.

• The item or profile you are requesting to be added must be of general interest to users of the app (i.e. not "Tony's mash tun")

• More guidelines will come as needed.

Next Steps

• Creating a New Recipe — Use your newly added ingredients in a recipe

• Inventory — Learn more about managing your ingredient inventory

• Adding New Malts — Detailed guide for adding fermentable data with accurate specifications

• Profiles — Learn more about equipment, water, mash, and fermentation profiles