BREW NINJA VS. BEER30 BY 5TH INGREDIENT

As you can see in the chart above, there are a lot of similarities between the two software programs. From a “Big Picture” perspective, Beer30 by 5th Ingredient calls their software Craft Brewery Data Management Software. Brew Ninja is Brewery Management Software. Is it that different? Who would notice?

From what our customers have told us, Beer30 is more focused on the brewing process, while Brew Ninja holistically looks at the whole business including brewing. 

On the Beer30 website, you can see a list of the individual upgrades you can add to their software for a fee. They do have additional depth in their brewing process and have the capacity to manage Barrel Aging, and a Hardware API that Brew Ninja doesn’t offer. They also integrate with other brewing softwares such as Precision Fermentation, Firmly, OFS and Fermecraft. Brew Ninja allows importing from BeerXML files created from Beer Tools, Beer Smith and Brewer’s Friend.

In contrast, Brew Ninja offers almost all features in every package. This is why we are a Full-Featured Brewery Management System. We believe that every brewery should have access to the tools they need to grow their business. For instance, all of the features in Beer30’s Base System, PLUS their recommended upgrades, PLUS their Specialty Upgrades are included in our tiered packages. The only feature that requires an additional fee from Brew Ninja is Keg Tracking. 

This means that with Brew Ninja, you can run your brewery’s whole business, at any scale, from brewing to sales and distribution all in one place. 

One of the notable items that we feel is important is the Square POS integration with Brew Ninja. This allows your taproom and retail sales to be directly linked to the Brewery Management system. This is important both for regulation and taxation, but also allows brewery owners to understand their profits at every point of sale in their business - not just retail or distribution customers.

When we made Brew Ninja software we really wanted to address the gap in the market - full featured software that is affordable for breweries that are new, have just graduated from spreadsheets or are looking for tools that make growth possible.

For most breweries, user access and a mobile platform are essential. They allow your entire team to contribute to your brewery's success. 

It goes without saying that Breweries require production management and inventory control - however a feature that most new breweries want is Lot Tracking. It isn't a glamorous feature - but neither is an audit. Federal Governments in Canada and USA audit brewery compliance with EVERY brewery within the first two years of operation. Seems essential now - doesn't it?

How Much Does Beer30 by 5th Ingredient Software Cost?

Beer30 pricing isn’t transparent on their website, however they do show how the cost of their system escalates as you add features onto their base system.

The Beer30 Base System is really just for the Brew Process. It includes scheduling & tasks, raw materials, yeast and process. Beyond the Base System you need to pay more for each set of additional features.

5th Ingredient recommends the following upgrades:

• Lot Traceability (Which you would need to meet regulatory requirements)
• Batch Costs (Which you should have to know what your brewery’s profits will be)
• Packaging Materials tracking (If you don’t have this, you’ll have to count manually and keep track in some other system)
• Purchase orders 
• Sales and Distribution
• Material Resource Planning
• Sensory Panels
• Accouting Sync (Xero and Quickbooks)

Finally, Beer30 by 5th Ingredient offers Specialty Upgrades, for more add on costs:

• Sales Traceability
• Keg Tracking
• Quality Control
• Ferment testing
• Barrel Aging
• Packaging Downtime
• Hardware API

In summary, Beer30 offers a complete brewery software solution only once you’ve paid for all of the upgrades past their brewing base package.  

The truly valuable features of Brewery management software are having ALL of the features.

TTB reporting saves breweries 10+ hours per month.

Keg Tracking saves most  breweries thousands of dollars per year. 

Brew Ninja includes these features into each of our plans and you can see our pricing here.