Brewday log in beersmith

How does everyone handle your brewday notes in beersmith?

I currently have been taking notes by hand on a notepad, usualy a page or two per AG brew.

What is the best way to put this information into BeerSmith so that i can refer back to in for future brews? I know that there is a note section for each recipe, but is there a way to have a journal?

I do up my recipe (usually just copying it from HBT) and then on brewday I click the "Copy to Brew Log" button (on the second row of buttons, just below the dropdown that chooses the display style) and keep my notes in the Brew Log copy.

GeorgeH said:

I do up my recipe (usually just copying it from HBT) and then on brewday I click the "Copy to Brew Log" button (on the second row of buttons, just below the dropdown that chooses the display style) and keep my notes in the Brew Log copy.

Click to expand...

I had noticed that feature, but hadn't looked at it yet. I will give that a try. do you do this for every time you brew that recipe, or just once and then keep adding to it?

Every time I brew the recipe it gets a new copy, so I can record variations in ingredients, gravities, fermentation, etc.

I think of the recipes as sort of a Platonic ideal, and the Brew Log recipe a record of what I actually did.

I keep a three ring binder for my brew log. I print out my brewday sheet on BeerSmith, print out Kaiser's brew log pages, and get out my computer with Kaiser's efficiency sheet.

I then keep all my actual notes in the printed brew log and use the BeerSmith brewday list as a check list. I also do all the efficiency analysis using the spread sheet.

At the end of the brewday,
1. Print out a label page with the beers label and add a date tab for easy reference
2. I move my Beersmith file into the brewlog to save exactly what I added
3. Punch the Beersmith checklist and add it to my binder
4. I print my efficiency analysis and add it to the binder
5. Then I finish taking my notes in Kaiser's brewlog throughout fermentation and conditioning
6. Once I have tasting notes and everything, I scan Kaiser's brewlog and save it. I then consolidate all the electronic files in a folder to save as an electronic backup.

It sounds like a lot written out like that, but it really isn't. Fill in a spreadsheet, take notes, put them in a binder and save them electronically. I have found my brewing has been much more consistent and confident since taking detailed notes.

GeorgeH said:

Every time I brew the recipe it gets a new copy, so I can record variations in ingredients, gravities, fermentation, etc.

I think of the recipes as sort of a Platonic ideal, and the Brew Log recipe a record of what I actually did.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. it would allow me to view the evolutions of a recipe from batch to batch.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

I keep a three ring binder for my brew log. I print out my brewday sheet on BeerSmith, print out Kaiser's brew log pages, and get out my computer with Kaiser's efficiency sheet.

I then keep all my actual notes in the printed brew log and use the BeerSmith brewday list as a check list. I also do all the efficiency analysis using the spread sheet.

At the end of the brewday,
1. Print out a label page with the beers label and add a date tab for easy reference
2. I move my Beersmith file into the brewlog to save exactly what I added
3. Punch the Beersmith checklist and add it to my binder
4. I print my efficiency analysis and add it to the binder
5. Then I finish taking my notes in Kaiser's brewlog throughout fermentation and conditioning
6. Once I have tasting notes and everything, I scan Kaiser's brewlog and save it. I then consolidate all the electronic files in a folder to save as an electronic backup.

It sounds like a lot written out like that, but it really isn't. Fill in a spreadsheet, take notes, put them in a binder and save them electronically. I have found my brewing has been much more consistent and confident since taking detailed notes.

Click to expand...

that process also sounds like it would work very well. I currently just use beersmith to calculate my efficiencies. I like the idea of keeping everything in beersmith, but also keeping a writen log would give me a nice permanent back up in case of PC crashes.

SNB said:

I currently just use beersmith to calculate my efficiencies. I like the idea of keeping everything in beersmith, but also keeping a writen log would give me a nice permanent back up in case of PC crashes.

Click to expand...

Take a look at my post about putting Beersmith on Dropbox. I can access Beersmith from any computer with an internet connection and it's always backed up in case my computer takes a dive.

+1 to at least printing out your brewlogs and keeping them somewhere. I had my computer die recently and was only saved because I keep a hard copy of my log.

GeorgeH said:

Take a look at my post about putting Beersmith on Dropbox. I can access Beersmith from any computer with an internet connection and it's always backed up in case my computer takes a dive.

Click to expand...

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

+1 to at least printing out your brewlogs and keeping them somewhere. I had my computer die recently and was only saved because I keep a hard copy of my log.

Click to expand...

My pc has 4 storage drives in a RAID 5 configuration, and i also run full backups to two external HD's. (I am a semi pro photog so i need the data security) But you can never be to safe, so i think keeping the brew logs in written form is a good idea.

GeorgeH said:

I do up my recipe (usually just copying it from HBT) and then on brewday I click the "Copy to Brew Log" button (on the second row of buttons, just below the dropdown that chooses the display style) and keep my notes in the Brew Log copy.

Click to expand...

But it doesn't work if you open your recipe from the Cloud. The "Copy to Brew Log" button is only there if you open the recipe on your local device.

TechyDork said:

My pc has 4 storage drives in a RAID 5 configuration, and i also run full backups to two external HD's. (I am a semi pro photog so i need the data security) But you can never be to safe, so i think keeping the brew logs in written form is a good idea.

Click to expand...

Just a note, RAID5 is not a very secure solution. Sure, you have a redundant drive, but given drive sizes these days, the odds of you having a read error on a sector containing the stripe set on a drive is very high which, should a drive fail, will result in a failure of the entire array.

RAID6, though it requires an extra drive, is far safer. RAID6 with at least one hot spare is better.

WaltStarr said:

Just a note, RAID5 is not a very secure solution. Sure, you have a redundant drive, but given drive sizes these days, the odds of you having a read error on a sector containing the stripe set on a drive is very high which, should a drive fail, will result in a failure of the entire array.

RAID6, though it requires an extra drive, is far safer. RAID6 with at least one hot spare is better.

Click to expand...

Correct, but when i posted that, 7 years ago, we weren't talking about an array of 1TB plus drives. It think i was using 250 GB drives maybe 500.

I agree that now I would recommend RAID6, or more likely a cloud backup solution depending on storage needs.

TechyDork said:

Correct, but when i posted that, 7 years ago, we weren't talking about an array of 1TB plus drives. It think i was using 250 GB drives maybe 500.

I agree that now I would recommend RAID6, or more likely a cloud backup solution depending on storage needs.

Click to expand...

I recommend RIAD7.


Just getting a prediction in for the next 7 years.

Gnomebrewer said:

I recommend RIAD7.


Just getting a prediction in for the next 7 years.

Click to expand...

RAID 7 is a trademarked solution that uses a parity disk instead of striping and includes caching as well as an embedded operating system. It requires proprietary hardware and all intellectual property related to this technology is held by a company that no longer exists.

In other words, RAID 7 is obsolete and has been for quite some time.

WaltStarr said:

RAID 7 is a trademarked solution that uses a parity disk instead of striping and includes caching as well as an embedded operating system. It requires proprietary hardware and all intellectual property related to this technology is held by a company that no longer exists.

In other words, RAID 7 is obsolete and has been for quite some time.

Click to expand...

Bloody computer nerds.
I'm taking my ball and going home

lmao!

I use Beersmith to design my recipes and then print out the instructions for brew day. I write down my notes and leave it attacked to the clipboard near my fermenters in my basement. This way I can make any notes or observations while I'm down there and not have to bring down my laptop or phone.

Once the brew is kegged and I consider the brew complete, I make my final notes. I'll file the hard copy away in a binder. But I will type all my notes/observations into the "notes" section of BeerSmith and enter in my numbers (i.e. Gravity readings) and copy it to my "brew log" directory like others do.

Then on top of all of this, I export the recipe into PDF format and create an entry in OneNote and copy any photos I've taken from the entire process. I use to use EverNote but I made the switch after their changes and now I have an Office 365 subscription.

This may all seem like overkill but having an IT background I feel that having a backup of your backups isn't a bad thing. LOL [emoji23]

Anyhow this works for me and it allows me to have all my photos and notes in one place to share any info with the brew club members or friends and family's questions and curiosity.

I regards to RAID - you'd better have at least one copy on an external drive that is not always connected in case of Ransomware. Otherwise be prepared to kiss hundreds of dollars goodbye to get your data back. Cloud backup can work as long as it doesn't act as a local/network drive. Personally I use multiple backup solutions - cloud, network and external USB drives that are plugged in only during backups. Does it show that I'm an Information Security and Disaster Recovery person?

I regards to brew days notes, I customized the Beer Smith brew worksheet and use that for keeping track of what to do when. I also print out a Word template I made for keeping track of all measurements and jot down any general notes/thoughts as they occur. Seems to be working well so far.