Keeping inventory of your homebrew

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mgr_stl

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
464
Reaction score
26
I've been brewing for 6.5 months and am actually beginning to build a pretty solid pipeline for my needs. I bottle all of my 5 gallon batches and brew every three weeks or so.

Just curious if any of you keep inventory of your beer. I don't have tons of bottles, but would like to have an updated list anytime someone comes by so I know what I can offer them. Care to share your system?
 
I don't have an answer for you but am currently working on the same thing. I'll be interested to hear the responses.

To keep track of what's what I do use a color coding system using the colored dots you can buy at OfficeMax and such stores.
 
I use a number system. My first was a Newcastle clone so... 1-Newcastle clone, etc. I got a sharpie and wrote a "1" on the bottle caps after bottling. A quick look in the storage spot and I knew what I had. I've moved on to kegging, but I keep the numbers for batches for keeping straight in Beersmith, etc. I only assign the number after it's actually brewed and everything stays straight that way and I won't lose a recipe if I want to repeat.
 
When I get a lot of boxes built up,I use sticky notes on each stack denoting what it is,OG/FG,bottling date. I then put a letter or letters on the cap when it goes in the fridge naming it.
 
I do a couple things -

For my own organization I Label kegs with duct tape, and I label six packs/cases of bottles with duct tape labels as well. I will also write on the caps if I am getting "stray" bottles - just something that I can recognize (Pils, IPA, Eng-Br, etc.).

For guests/letting them know what is available, I have a smaller dry-erase board on my fridge/bar area like the pic. below.

*I also use a dry erase board in my brewroom to keep a list of "things I need to buy" - as I always remember what I am out of while brewing, and then forget later when I am shopping.

beer menu.jpg
 
I do a couple things -

For my own organization I Label kegs with duct tape, and I label six packs/cases of bottles with duct tape labels as well. I will also write on the caps if I am getting "stray" bottles - just something that I can recognize (Pils, IPA, Eng-Br, etc.).

For guests/letting them know what is available, I have a smaller dry-erase board on my fridge/bar area like the pic. below.

*I also use a dry erase board in my brewroom to keep a list of "things I need to buy" - as I always remember what I am out of while brewing, and then forget later when I am shopping.

Love your beer names.
 
Braufessor said:
I do a couple things -

For my own organization I Label kegs with duct tape, and I label six packs/cases of bottles with duct tape labels as well. I will also write on the caps if I am getting "stray" bottles - just something that I can recognize (Pils, IPA, Eng-Br, etc.).

For guests/letting them know what is available, I have a smaller dry-erase board on my fridge/bar area like the pic. below.

*I also use a dry erase board in my brewroom to keep a list of "things I need to buy" - as I always remember what I am out of while brewing, and then forget later when I am shopping.

If I saw that beer list at a pub I would probably be the happiest I've ever been.

I made these stickers that have Uncle Sam pointing and it says "I Want You To Drink This ____________." And I fill in the beer style, put it on the keg, any bottles I fill from keg, and boxes. I haven't settled on a brewery name (it's like a tattoo--lifetime decision.) And I rarely have cool names like Braufessor.

I might make a spreadsheet too, but for now, it's good enough!

PS: Sour Cherry Stout: is this recipe available?
 
Libeerty..... Maybe that is why I am always so happy in my basement:)

I can get the cherry stout recipe together and send it to you...... No idea if it is any good, or if it worked the way I want it to (want a tart/sour/cherry flavored stout in the realm of New Glarus Cherry Stout) - but I will outline what I did/am doing. I brewed it up 3 months ago, and plan on it taking a year+. I will PM you with it.
 
Like others, I write on the bottle caps with a Sharpie. I don't use the batch number though, I find that too crypic. I just use an abbreviation. Things like "IPA" are self-explanatory, but others are pretty easy to decode since I know what I've recently brewed. "S" is a Stout, "BIPA" is a Black IPA, "BP" is a Bohemian Pilsener, and so forth.

That said, I keg my beers, so I only do the bottle-cap labeling for a few bottles from each batch when I want to finish off a keg or bring some bottles to share with co-workers. With the keg itself, I have a little tag on a recipe card, attached with simple string, that specifies the batch number, style, brew date, and original gravity. This tag goes on the carboy during fermentation and conditioning, and gets moved to the keg when it's kegged. I also update it with the ABV once final gravity has been reached.
 
I do a couple things -

For my own organization I Label kegs with duct tape, and I label six packs/cases of bottles with duct tape labels as well. I will also write on the caps if I am getting "stray" bottles - just something that I can recognize (Pils, IPA, Eng-Br, etc.).

For guests/letting them know what is available, I have a smaller dry-erase board on my fridge/bar area like the pic. below.

*I also use a dry erase board in my brewroom to keep a list of "things I need to buy" - as I always remember what I am out of while brewing, and then forget later when I am shopping.

I'll have a pint of sour cherry stout please.

Oh man... it's only 7:25am, and that sounds GREAT.
 
I bottle everything. I'm up to my 60th batch. Here's how I do it;
On brewday I write the ingredients and hop schedule on a recipe card. I also enter this into a spreadsheet that helps me keep track of when the beer is ready for the next step in the process. Every batch has a number that is written on the card, on the carboy and on the bottle cap. I have two small cork boards that I tack the recipe card to depending on where they are in the pipeline. So right nowthere are 5 carboys with something in them and tacked to the wall above each is the recipe card with the instructions for that batch. Right now there are 3 batches conditioning in the bottle. The cards for those are on one of the cork boards and the bottles are in crates. There are 6 batches ready to drink. Those cards are on the second cork board. When I drink the last bottle the card comes down and goes into a drawer in case I want to duplicate it later.
Writing it down on brewday helps me get my mind right and makes certain I have all the ingredients. Moving a card from board to board is easier than moving cases around and provides a quick visual cue as to pipeline status.
 
I made a tracking spreadsheet in Google docs... here's a screencapture of part of it. I have tabs that keep track of inventory, BIAB water volume calculations, weight conversions from LME/DME/grain, and other misc brewing info.

BrewingTracker_zps6cb7f276.jpeg
 
I use a spreadsheet also.. not as indepth as everose's but helps keep track of the stages, and by using conditional formatting i know at a glance when an activity is coming up. I'll also occasionally use the calendar option in beersmith.

spreadsheet.jpg
 
I keep a layered spreadsheet as well in Excel.

One layer tracks what beer is in what location and a graph type representation of expected run out date which is updated every week. Brew projection is as follows: divide consumption by number of days since last read, current available quantity divided by per day consumption which equals projected number of days until out. Keeps the pipeline full.

I have another that has the following:

Beer name
Brew date
Fermenter number
Yeast strain or generation
Primary date
Secondary date
Transfer date
Tap date
Tap location

This keeps my tracking straight

Then I have an inventory list that tracks on hand grain and I copy and paste the recipe in to see where each brew leaves me with the inventory so I can order ASAP any grains/hops etc. I may need for future brews, this also allows me to plan out my brews much further in advance.
 
I bottle everything. I'm up to my 60th batch. Here's how I do it;
On brewday I write the ingredients and hop schedule on a recipe card. I also enter this into a spreadsheet that helps me keep track of when the beer is ready for the next step in the process. Every batch has a number that is written on the card, on the carboy and on the bottle cap. I have two small cork boards that I tack the recipe card to depending on where they are in the pipeline. So right nowthere are 5 carboys with something in them and tacked to the wall above each is the recipe card with the instructions for that batch. Right now there are 3 batches conditioning in the bottle. The cards for those are on one of the cork boards and the bottles are in crates. There are 6 batches ready to drink. Those cards are on the second cork board. When I drink the last bottle the card comes down and goes into a drawer in case I want to duplicate it later.
Writing it down on brewday helps me get my mind right and makes certain I have all the ingredients. Moving a card from board to board is easier than moving cases around and provides a quick visual cue as to pipeline status.

You would absolutely love Trello. Not sure if you use it or not, but Google it. You just described it.
 
Wow..... Feeling inadequate about my duct tape labels after seeing the detail many folks go into:) Always amazed to see what other people think up. I guess I have most of that info/recipe stuff stored in iBrewmaster software..... But you guys keep some great records. I have always wanted to be a little more detailed in my record keeping, so maybe I will steal some of your ideas:)
 
I keep a journal where I've logged every batch of beer I've done. General stuff like recipes, dates, mash temps, starter volumes, hopping schedule, etc. Anyways, each beer gets a two letter code based on either the style (if it's something I don't make often) or a name that I've given that particular beer. I write that two letter code in the journal, then on each cap with a sharpie. If I ever run across a mystery bottle, I can just reference my book. Once a batch is all gone, I go into the book and scratch out the bottle cap code for that batch. No tape, no labeling cases...easy peasy.
 
I use the colored dot (Avery 5472) system. There's a sticker on each six-pack and the recipe page. Each batch has a color, a pitch date and a bottling date. The batch in the picture is 6-26 pitch and 7-09 bottle, so the sticker says 626 on the first line and 709 on the second. Mostly that’s all I ever need to know.

If I ever need the recipe, It’s on file in a notebook, color coded and with a unique identifier. It’s easy, and sorted by date and color for future reference, no thought required.
 
Wow..... Feeling inadequate about my duct tape labels after seeing the detail many folks go into:) Always amazed to see what other people think up. I guess I have most of that info/recipe stuff stored in iBrewmaster software..... But you guys keep some great records. I have always wanted to be a little more detailed in my record keeping, so maybe I will steal some of your ideas:)

If you want I can send you a blank Excel file with examples of the record keeping I use then you can adapt it for your use. Mine is for work so I keep track of barrels of beer as opposed to bottles and gallons and if I run out it looks bad for me and effects business negatively.

Let me know and I will prep one up this week if anyone is interested in it.
 
I use beersmith but before that used excel. All batches get a number and it goes on the bottles. For kegs I just put a sticky with the name and number. If I get too much fermenting at one time to keep track of a sticky goes on the fermenter
 
If you want I can send you a blank Excel file with examples of the record keeping I use then you can adapt it for your use. Mine is for work so I keep track of barrels of beer as opposed to bottles and gallons and if I run out it looks bad for me and effects business negatively.

Let me know and I will prep one up this week if anyone is interested in it.

I would sure be interested if it is something easy for you to do - I don't want you to have to take a bunch of time to do it. But, yeah, that would be much appreciated. Thanks
 
Wow. I use the duct tape method, only using a leftover roll of blue painters tape. Put the name on the tape with the date brewed, and transfer to the keg when I transfer the beer into it. I keep the recipes in BS for future rebrewing. Attempted to keep track of ingredients in BS as well, but got waaay behind. I think I may adopt the whiteboard method for that.
 
I would sure be interested if it is something easy for you to do - I don't want you to have to take a bunch of time to do it. But, yeah, that would be much appreciated. Thanks

Drop me your email address in a PM and I will try to get it to you in the next day or two. Just have to create a blank out of the existing file.
 
just came across http://www.thebeerstash.com on reddit and wondered if anyone here has tried it yet.
 
I use colored bottle caps. Each color being a different style. I glued a magnet to each color of cap and attach them to the fridge with a white board next to it with a short description of the beer for visitors. It also makes it easy whem making beer runs. "Grab three oranges, a yellow and an American flag"
 
I use 4 line Avery mailing Labels which include the name of my brew(Wine-down Brewing and Winemaking) Type/style of beer or wine, Pitch date and bottle date.

They peel off very easy when wet.
 
I use masking tape, and a note book in-case I make something good, I'll know what's in it. If you want to know what I have, you read the keg, if you want to know how much I have, you pick the keg up. What I'm brewing next, I don't even know?
 
I tweeted the guy. He said it wasn't his plan to do that because they just draw beers from Untappd. But in the future he might add it. So you can add homebrew to Untappd as a workaround I guess.
 
I've added my homebrew to untapped before (its an official homebrewery on there) and when I search for it it doesn't come up?
 
Back
Top