Do you guys "code" your beer-caps to know what is inside months later?

Greetings All!

First things first. I am brand-new to home brewing and I'm already obsessed. My lovely and/or talented wife gave me a brew-kit for my birthday this past August and I am preparing to brew my first extract batch (maybe a Red Ale). I have learned more from these threads than many books combined. Even though I have not yet brewed batch #1, I already feel like I am armed with better-than-average knowlege just because of the info and tips I have found here. This has to be the best forum available!

Now for my question/inquiry. I am planning to brew more than one batch...different days but I'm not planning to fully consume the first 50 bottles before starting another type. So I would like to write some sort of code onto my caps that will help me later to identify things like the date it was bottled, what type of beer is inside, etc... Do any of you "pros" do anything like that? If so, could you recommend a coding system that can pack good info onto the tiny space of a bottle cap?

I suppose I could use a label but then I am constantly cleaning off labels. Would rather just code the cap so I can quickly ID the beer from above. I plan to purposely pull 4-6 bottles aside to age a while and I could easily forget what is inside and how long it was there. Any thoughts?

-Tripod

I use different colored caps. Then I just label the case with a small piece of paper and tape. No need to mark the bottles. I found them at homebrewheaven.com

Sharpie to write on the beer caps.

I use a colored sharpie and use a code. Pomegranate Wheat = PW Hard Lemonade = HL Belgian Pale = BP my up coming Amber Ale will be AA.

Another option is some small round labels that fit on the bottle cap. You could handwrite or use software to print the beer name, code, or whatever else you wanted to label the beer.

Little circular stickers, like you'd use to price items for a garage sale. 1,000 of them for like 3 bucks.

When I bottled I would Sharpie the name on the cap.

Sharpie on the caps with the initials of the beer or whatever.

Vanilla Mead = VM, etc.....

Over time you should get "in tune" with your beer. I've gotten to the point where I can run my hand over a blank bottle and by the way my fingers oscillate I can tell exactly what type of beer is in the bottle. It's a hard skill to develop, but not impossible.








j/k Welcome to Homebrewtalk.

I sharpie a letter on the bottle cap. Sometimes even that can get a bit confusing. I labeled my recent amber ale with an "M" ("A" is for Apfelwien). I didn't stop to think that I had a couple sixers of winter warmer labeled "W". An upside down "W" looks remarkably like an "M", but luckily they're both pretty darn tasty.

I used to do that, but now I just keep the batches in different places while they carbonate and then I drink them too fast for them to get mixed up - mostly

but there are some bottles at the back of my fridge that I'm not sure exactly what they are

its "surpirse" beer

bluefoxicy said:

Sharpie to write on the beer caps.

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+1 thats the way i've always done it. tried and true. Now I just put a sign on the outside of the kegerator though!

eschatz said:

+1 thats the way i've always done it. tried and true. Now I just put a sign on the outside of the kegerator though!

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If it involves a sharpie, duct tape, or JB Weld, it's totally obvious to me.

+1 on the sharpies. The mark also won't wash off if the bottles are in a cooler of ice. Helps to use two letters (PA for pale), so you don't have the M/W confusion.

Since you're starting out, I'd highly recommend keeping a binder to put each of your batches in. I print out the recipe, then as I go along, scribble in dates, gravities, things I changed, etc so that I can look back later and see what worked, what didn't, what I liked.

I'm working on that vibrations from the beer thing - I get better at it the longer the session goes.

bluefoxicy said:

Sharpie to write on the beer caps.

Click to expand...

+1
No code...just write what it is and a date bottled.

Holy Cow!

You guys are really fast to reply with great ideas! I really like McKBrew's technique of "tuning in" to your beer. I may have to brew and consume a batch or two before I can develope that talent...but you'd better believe I'm gonna try!

I was planning on using a sharpie and doing something like many of you mentioned (like Pale Ale = PA) and then adding a date like 9/12/08. The idea of using the little round labels is a good one two. Not just convenient but I can print them with a computer and put what ever i'd like to see...even pictures!

I didn't see any point in adding things like OG or FG or ABV because that info would cover the whole batch so I could just label the case. But I know myself well enough to know that I'll end up stashing and forgetting...and labelling the individual bottles would help me remember and learn. Also, I could put together a sampler for friends and have the bottles ID-ed for them. I didn't want to rely on tasting the "mystery brew" because I realize that the taste will mature with time and not be the same as I remember...

Thanks All for exellent info/tips/ideas!

-Tripod

I'd suggest you (1) use the Sharpie and (2) use a notebook. Each beer has a page in my notebook with a big number at the top right. I put an 8 on the cap of brew No. 8 and can look in the book (in the unlikely event I forgot) and see that's an Amarillo Ale. I can also see in my notes that I didn't secondary it and how much of what kind of hops I added when and so on.

In other words, it's good to know not just what kind of beer it is but how is was made in case you run across a spare beer a year later and realize it was damn good and want more.

The little round stickers are awesome if you get the ones that are printer-friendly. Designing and printing takes just minutes. You can get a lot of info onto a 3/4" or 1" label, too. I usually put the name and bottled date, and it's big enough to be easily readable, though you could fit a lot more if you went to smaller font sizes.

I'm not a pro, but I use Avery 5444 labels. They are the kind that peel off without leaving any residue. I date code the caps (today would be 91208)

I use the Avery 1" circle labels. The printer will allow for 4 (short) lines to print on them.

Use a sharpie and mark a simple IPA or DS for dry stout.

Although on two of my batches bottled with gold tops i have:
HW - hefeweizen
MH - Munich Helles

So you can see the confusion right there when either is read upside down

Colored caps is my solution

Sharpie and the initials of the name of the beer, and which batch or version it is...

Sharpie is all you need. Since tonight I brewed batches 10 and 11, and now have repeated and improved styles, I began a "Homebrewed Beer List." I plan to display it in my study closet/cellar.

I will post it here, but it is a word document and prolly will look like hell. Feel free to PM me and I will e-mail it to ya! Welcome to HBing, mate!

Homebrewed Beer ListStyle Cap ID Alc. % OG/FG Bottled Notes
Bock B ? ?/25 7/25/8 Yummy, increase ABV a lot
Amber A 1.8% 32/18 8/5/8 Very Hoppy
Porter P 2.18% 38/21 8/15/8 Yummy, 1 bottle bomb
Oktoberfest (Amber+) O 3.9% 40/11 8/23/8 Yummy
Wheat (Hefeweizen) W 3.87% 8/23/8 Yummy
Bock B1 3.2% 9/12/8
Brown Ale BA 3.36% 9/12/8
Black Cherry Wheat (1) CW 5.05% Munton’s Gold yeast + ½ lb. dark DME + 1.5 c. c. syrup
Porter P1 4.52% Munton’s Gold yeast + black patent grain + ½ c. c. syrup
YEAST STARTER MADE WITH WORT FROM THIS POINT FORWARD
Raspberry Wheat (2?) RW + 1 BrewVint, Windsor yeast
Sweet Orange Peel Whea OW + 1 BrewVint, Safale #6 yeast

I label my beers with 3" Avery labels. Part of the fun is naming your batch and creating the labels. I give a lot of bottles of my beer away to friends and they get a kick out of the labels. I use Photoshop and a PDF Avery template. They labels come 6 to a sheet and I stick them into the printer a run off about 50 or so, enough for that batch.

Funkenjaeger said:

The little round stickers are awesome if you get the ones that are printer-friendly.

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+1 I use the inkjet to print the name and date:
Dunkel
8/16/2008
Weizen

Then stick on the bottle cap. 3/4 inch works for me.
I look up the date in my brew log if I can't remember the recipe.

The easy way is to give each batch a number. Using your recipe just put the brew lot in the number comments. Mark ea bottle or print up round stikers.

Go up to 99 and then start over at 1. I doubt you will make 100 brews in a year.

I code mine in cuneiform like the early brewers did.

Tripod said:

So I would like to write some sort of code onto my caps that will help me later to identify things like the date it was bottled, what type of beer is inside, etc... Do any of you "pros" do anything like that? If so, could you recommend a coding system that can pack good info onto the tiny space of a bottle cap?

Click to expand...

I assign a number to the batch and sharpie the number onto the bottlecap after capping.

Low-tech, cheap, and workable.

You guys are fantastic!

I like the numbering idea for each beer. I have already begun a nookbook so it would be very easy to keep a detailed recipe section with all of the SG readings, whether I used a secondary, etc. As more than one of you mentioned, I do plan to try and recreate the recipes I like which is what sparked the idea of being able to ID...but the additional idea of referencing to the notebook a really good plan!

I am not so concerned about upside-down lettering because I'm planning to include dates. "91208" plus "PA" are pretty hard to misread when placed together. But I guess that is only true if I label consistently (like always putting the date BENEATH the beer name or number).

Maybe I could combine them into a single line like "PA91208". I would RDWHAHB but I don't have any ready yet. Soon, my pretties, soon...

Thanks again for all of the input and welcomes! I've barely begun and I'm thoroghly addicted.

-Tripod

I use the 3/4" round Avery labels and print them off for the caps. I actually design labels for mine now that I do this.

gimmebeer said:

I'd suggest you (1) use the Sharpie and (2) use a notebook. Each beer has a page in my notebook with a big number at the top right. I put an 8 on the cap of brew No. 8 and can look in the book (in the unlikely event I forgot) and see that's an Amarillo Ale. I can also see in my notes that I didn't secondary it and how much of what kind of hops I added when and so on.

In other words, it's good to know not just what kind of beer it is but how is was made in case you run across a spare beer a year later and realize it was damn good and want more.

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+1,283. Each gyle I brew is assigned a number, and that number goes on the bottlecap. Then again, I'm really, really anal about record-keeping, right down to room temperature on brew day.

Cheers,

Bob

I catalogue every single brew in beertoolspro and label it with a batch number so that I only have to write a number on the cap. However, I've also been using the mnemonic two letter code so I don't always have to run back to the brewlog. It hasn't been that much of a bother because I only bottle 6-8 bottles per batch and keg the rest.

By using only numbers you must decode them with a logbook. Funk dat!

If you underline your 2 letter cap code you cannot mistake them upside down. Haven't ya'll seen that for 6's and 9's?

Funkenjaeger said:

The little round stickers are awesome if you get the ones that are printer-friendly. Designing and printing takes just minutes. You can get a lot of info onto a 3/4" or 1" label, too. I usually put the name and bottled date, and it's big enough to be easily readable, though you could fit a lot more if you went to smaller font sizes.

Click to expand...

+1 to this... I still write some by hand too as I have a bunch of non-printer friendly ones left. Just enough room for a simple name or abbreviation and a date.

I use paint pens (better than sharpies). I get them at the local art supply store. I'll write the name and date bottled on the bottle and give a color dot on the cap so I know what I'm reaching for in the fridge. The paint comes off when I soak them in oxy clean. done and done.

batches_brew said:

I code mine in cuneiform like the early brewers did.

Click to expand...

Question: what is cuneiform? Could you pst an example?

-Tripod

elkdog said:

Little circular stickers, like you'd use to price items for a garage sale. 1,000 of them for like 3 bucks.

Click to expand...

+1

All I write on the label is the style of beverage and the date I bottled it. I can always cross-check my "notes" later to see the particular details.

Cheers,
Michael

Tenchiro said:

I always use colored labels to identify the beer.
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First: The photo really helps! Thanks for that.

Second: I noticed that a lot of those bottles have the original labels on them so I would imagine you would have to ID what is really inside. I originally didn't even think about an old label mis-leading me since I've been using blank bottles so far.

Someone mentioned underling the letter and numbers. DUH!! I think that one was to simple and obvious for me to come up with on my own! GREAT TIP Tweaker!

-Tripod