About BrewForge
The homebrewer behind BrewForge.
Hi, I'm Bernd. Most people in the German homebrewing scene know me as Lagerbernd. I've been brewing since 2018, have over 200 batches under my belt, and I built BrewForge because I wanted brewing software that thinks the way I do.
The brewing journey
It started with a Pale Ale starter kit on a friend's stove. I got hooked immediately, bought a Grainfather, and started brewing everything: Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, Hefeweizen. Then came a serious NEIPA phase.
But then I fell in love with Franconian beer culture. The clean, malty lagers from that region changed how I think about brewing. Gradually I shifted to brewing almost exclusively lagers: Helles, Märzen, Kellerbier. That's how I earned the nickname Lagerbernd.
My go-to style today is Kellerbier with a golden-amber color and assertive bitterness. I brew on a 2-vessel setup at home specialized for lager brewing and ferment in Brewtools Miniunis.
Beyond the home brewery
The lager obsession opened unexpected doors. A small craft brewery in Hamburg called Billbrew wanted to focus on lagers and asked me to create their recipes and brew there. Since then the brewery has grown, brought on a brew master, and I still do the occasional brew day.
1st place, Helles
2023 competition, 300 participants
2nd place, Märzen
German Heimbrauconvention 2024
Public competition winner
Heimbrauconvention 2025, Hamburg team
Why I built BrewForge
I used Brewfather for 5–6 years and logged over 200 batches there. I genuinely love it. The detail depth is exactly what a homebrew nerd like me appreciates. I'm still a fan.
But over time, things started to nag. I wanted better stock management: knowing what I need to order, what I already have, which ingredients to use up before they go stale. The split between recipe and batch became more and more troublesome. And there were features I kept wishing existed.
I'm a software engineer with about 15 years of experience building web applications, mostly at smaller startups where I led product engineering. I always dreamed of making a living off my own software, especially something related to brewing. When AI tools reached the point where they could genuinely scale a solo developer's output, I finally had the missing piece.
BrewForge isn't born from frustration. It's born from wanting to take what already works and push it further.
The vision
I want BrewForge to cover as many aspects of the hobby as possible. Every homebrewer has their own nerdy corner: water chemistry, yeast propagation, inventory planning, lager fermentation schedules. And I want the software to support all of it.
More than anything, I want to listen to my users. Good feature ideas and honest bug reports are what drive this forward. If you have thoughts on what brewing software should do, I want to hear them.
Come brew with me.
Start free and shape BrewForge with your feedback.