what notes do you take and do you have a standard form that you take them on?

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2ellas

2ellas

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Happy new year everyone! I'm wondering what information you track from beer to beer and how. I've been taking notes such as pitching temp, dates, things I feel I should do differently next time etc on the recipe sheet. What does everyone else do?

thank you!
 
I use an excel spread sheet for each beer with ingredients, process, notes and color tabs for ones I like the most.
 
All my notes are copious so I know exactly what I did later. I'm sort of on the anal side so I write out each step in the process then document any deviation I made from my initial process. I'm a believer that getting your process worked out on your initial beers is very important. Do you have to be as detailed? No. It's entirely up to you. But what I did has always worked for me for my 5 gallon batches. If you want a copy of one of my recipes with all my steps and what I document let me know. Whether it's an extract with grains, a partial mash or all grain recipe, I've got examples I can share with you. I just write it all in Word or OpenOffice.
 
I design and printout my recipes on Brewtoad. Add Brunwater changes. Then take detailed notes on my mashing, brewing and fermentation. I also add tasting notes, and anything I think I should change next time. All go in a 3-hole binder. Now that I'm getting enough brewdays to become cumbersome, I put a summary of each brew on an Excel spreadsheet.
 
buzzerj said:
All my notes are copious so I know exactly what I did later. I'm sort of on the anal side so I write out each step in the process then document any deviation I made from my initial process. I'm a believer that getting your process worked out on your initial beers is very important. Do you have to be as detailed? No. It's entirely up to you. But what I did has always worked for me for my 5 gallon batches. If you want a copy of one of my recipes with all my steps and what I document let me know. Whether it's an extract with grains, a partial mash or all grain recipe, I've got examples I can share with you. I just write it all in Word or OpenOffice.
Click to expand...

I would love to see them! I'll pm you my email address? Thank you!
 
I print out my recipes in beersmith, then fill in the blanks and write notes all over the page.

Any place that something doesn't follow the exact recipe, I write a note (ex, mash in, mash out temps, etc). If anything strange happens, I note that as well. Basically, anything that does not go according to the set plan on my printout, I note. I keep the recipes printouts in a binder. I find its easier to do that then have a computer or tablet handy when I'm in the middle of the process.
 
I print out Beersmith recipes and Bru N Water sheets before brew day. Then I scribble notes in the margins while brewing. After I'm done brewing and everything is put away I enter the info into a few paragraphs in a Word doc I have for keeping notes.
 
stansoid said:
I print out my recipes in beersmith, then fill in the blanks and write notes all over the page.

Any place that something doesn't follow the exact recipe, I write a note (ex, mash in, mash out temps, etc). If anything strange happens, I note that as well. Basically, anything that does not go according to the set plan on my printout, I note. I keep the recipes printouts in a binder. I find its easier to do that then have a computer or tablet handy when I'm in the middle of the process.
Click to expand...


^^^this
 
Thanks all for the great info and buzzerj for the examples!
 
I user Evernote to record everything. Recipe, brew steps, time, water, tasting notes, daily observations, etc. I can access it via the web while I'm at work and add recipes I want to try. Also, I can upload brewday pics of whatever I took with my phone.
 
I print out each recipe and take notes as I go. I have a binder specifically for these print outs. I find i get better notes on paper than whatever makes it into the computer.

I mostly record the process variables of interest.... time and temperature of everything, actual vs desired.
 
buzzerj said:
All my notes are copious so I know exactly what I did later. I'm sort of on the anal side so I write out each step in the process then document any deviation I made from my initial process. I'm a believer that getting your process worked out on your initial beers is very important. Do you have to be as detailed? No. It's entirely up to you. But what I did has always worked for me for my 5 gallon batches. If you want a copy of one of my recipes with all my steps and what I document let me know. Whether it's an extract with grains, a partial mash or all grain recipe, I've got examples I can share with you. I just write it all in Word or OpenOffice.
Click to expand...


Would you mind if I snagged a couple ale extract recipes from your notes? Brewed my first batch today and can't wait to do a second
 
buzzerj said:
All my notes are copious so I know exactly what I did later. I'm sort of on the anal side so I write out each step in the process then document any deviation I made from my initial process. I'm a believer that getting your process worked out on your initial beers is very important. Do you have to be as detailed? No. It's entirely up to you. But what I did has always worked for me for my 5 gallon batches. If you want a copy of one of my recipes with all my steps and what I document let me know. Whether it's an extract with grains, a partial mash or all grain recipe, I've got examples I can share with you. I just write it all in Word or OpenOffice.
Click to expand...


Would you mind if I snagged a few ale extract recipes from you? Brewed my first batch today and can't wait to start my second.
 

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