If Promash were to be updated for this century I would definitely recommend it. I still would for how great is has been. Beersmith has a ton of issues/bugs that I keep raising and are still not being fixed. Some are very bad. Brewersfriend is slowly getting most of my time used on it (both the app and the desktop version), and I'm slowly phasing Beersmith out of my routine. I especially don't like his "cloud" solution and pricing. It's a straight up money grab. But it depends on what you are after? A lot of free stuff out there is decent for most anything. I wish one would incorporate more water control into it like the spreadsheets I use. Beersmith is really bad for this aspect.
The overcharging of it. It's way too expensive for it storing tiny, tiny text files. I use Google, or Dropbox, but he has severely crippled the ability to use those free services in order to try and get you to pay him an exorbitant amount to host tiny text files. It is a decent program, but there are a lot of bugs that I have to constantly remind myself about when using it. Water volume issues being the biggest one; if changing any variable that would make your water volume change, it often doesn't revert or will keep changing - I'll print out the recipe when done and the water volume is all of a sudden different on the paper than it was in the program. The other issue that isn't so much a bug as it is a "feature" is the crude calculations for mineral/chemical additions to the brew water. I just do that in a spreadsheet though so don't worry much about it.What is it that you don't like about the beersmith cloud situation?
The overcharging of it. It's way too expensive for it storing tiny, tiny text files. I use Google, or Dropbox, but he has severely crippled the ability to use those free services in order to try and get you to pay him an exorbitant amount to host tiny text files. It is a decent program, but there are a lot of bugs that I have to constantly remind myself about when using it. Water volume issues being the biggest one; if changing any variable that would make your water volume change, it often doesn't revert or will keep changing - I'll print out the recipe when done and the water volume is all of a sudden different on the paper than it was in the program. The other issue that isn't so much a bug as it is a "feature" is the crude calculations for mineral/chemical additions to the brew water. I just do that in a spreadsheet though so don't worry much about it.
The charge for the Android version is shady as well. Way too little functionality to use it as advertised, and it doesn't sync unless you are using the "cloud" "Dr." Smith is schilling.
With that said, Brewersfriend is probably a step up. Just my opinion from having used Beersmith for about 6 years or so now. And Promash for almost 20.
There are a ton out there though; Brewcipher, Strangebrew (I think it's also been forgotten about), some for Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, etc. Try them all, if they have a free trial. You might find one you like that others don't. But...if it works well for you, that's all that matters. I'm just saying that if I had to do it again, I'd just stick with Promash, and definitely would not pay for Beersmith. But that's me. If he'd fix issues that folks are complaining about, which one would expect for software you pay for, then it would be better.
Just my 2 cents.
There are a ton out there though; Brewcipher, Strangebrew (I think it's also been forgotten about), some for Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, etc. Try them all, if they have a free trial.
FWIW, BrewCipher's free trial lasts forever.