BREW NINJA VS. BEER30 BREWERY SOFTWARE BY 5TH INGREDIENT

There are a lot of similarities between the Brew Ninja and Beer30 software programs.

From a “Big Picture” perspective, the team at Beer30 by 5th Ingredient calls their software Craft Brewery Data Management Software and on their Instagram feed they also celebrated that their software is different in that they claim to be a #premium brewery software.

Conversely, Brew Ninja is Brewery Management Software. We pride ourselves on an affordable product that provides all of the features that work best for a brewery to make quality beer and run a successful, growing brewery specifically designed to be a game changer. #humble

Feature vs. Feature Comparison

From what our customers have told us, we realised very quickly that Beer30 is focused on brewing in general, 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 alongside their existing erp system for a fee. For instance, to have access to all of the features in Beer30, you would need to pay for Beer30’s Base System, PLUS their recommended upgrades, PLUS their Specialty Upgrades.

In contrast, Brew Ninja offers a complete grain-to-glass solution including almost all features in every package. This is why we are a Full-Featured Brewery Management Software designed so that every business would have access to the tools they need to grow their business. The only feature that requires an additional fee from Brew Ninja is Keg Tracking. 

This means that with Brew Ninja, you can run your whole business, affordably, at any scale, from brewing to sales and distribution all in one place, in a way that work best for your brewery. 

Accounting

Both software packages integrate with popular accounting software packages. Brew Ninja integrates with Quickbooks, while Beer30 works with Quickbooks and Xero - if you've upgraded to their premium package.

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 easily navigable 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. This integration works really well for brewpubs! Sadly, the Square POS integration isn't available from the guys at Beer30.

When we made Brew Ninja software we really wanted to address the gap in the market - full featured software that's right for breweries that are new, have just graduated from spreadsheets or are looking for tools that make growth possible affordably AND get excellent support.

Mobility & Users

For most breweries, user access and a mobile platform are essential. They allow your entire team to contribute to your brewery's success. Both Brew Ninja and Beer30 can be used on desktops and mobile devices. Beer30 allows unlimited user accounts but has fewer predefined user roles. Brew Ninja limits the number of users based on your price tier and has 6+ fully customizable user roles.

Brewery Taxes, Reporting & Compliance

Both software packages offer comprehensive support for USA tax and TTB reporting. Only Brew Ninja offers comprehensive support for Canadian tax reporting.

One feature that most new qualifying breweries want is Lot Tracking. This feature is included in all Brew Ninja tiers, and included in the Beer30 Premium upgrade. 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?

Brew Process Management

True to their moniker, Beer30 has additional depth in their brewing process 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 - which isn't offered in Beer30.

Perhaps this is why Beer30 is a craft brewery data management software, while Brew Ninja is simply brewery management software. Brew Ninja manages the business of brewing, Beer30 worries about the data. Regardless, either software help businesses provide real-time data and make real-time decisions to brew quality beer.

How much does Beer30 by 5th Ingredient Cost?

Beer30 pricing isn’t transparent on their website, however they do show how the cost of their system escalates as you pick and choose the features that work to add 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 track real-time data and make changes in some other system)
• Purchase orders 
• Sales and Distribution
• Material Resource Planning
• Sensory Panels
• Accounting 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 is a brewery management software that provides a fully customizable modular solution that helps breweries, BUT you only get access to every feature once you’ve paid for all of the upgrades past their brewing base package. They don't post their pricing, so you'll have to call them and find out what it is. 

Brew Ninja is a brewery management software solution that helps breweries track all of the things brewers need to manage a brewery, and we include all those features into our tiered price plans that are affordable.  You can see our pricing here.

Final Notes on Beer30 and Brew Ninja

This review has been compiled based on publicly available information shown on each company's website, and testimonials of users of both brewery management system.  This review has last been updated on March 15, 2023. Please reach out to us via our contact form if you find inaccuracies or would like to contribute.