Record Keeping Questions.

I'm about to start my first brew tomorrow and I have been reading up on the process. One process that I can't seem to find in-depth information on is record keeping.

Is there a spreadsheet template that I should use?

Is it easier to write things down in a notebook? If so, what should I be writing down?

I've also read about software available for home brewing. Is this something I should invest in sooner rather than later?


How do you guys/gals keep your records?

Thanks!

dbriggs10 said:

I'm about to start my first brew tomorrow and I have been reading up on the process. One process that I can't seem to find in-depth information on is record keeping.

Is there a spreadsheet template that I should use?

Is it easier to write things down in a notebook? If so, what should I be writing down?

I've also read about software available for home brewing. Is this something I should invest in sooner rather than later?


How do you guys/gals keep your records?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

See my signature. That's my record-keeping. Sad, isn't it? I can design and manipulate elegant databases, but I'm too lazy to make one for brewing. I really need to build my beer recipe DB. I was waiting for Tx, but he probably won't get around to it.

I don't think software is necessary unless you want to piece together your own recipes and you don't feel like doing the calcs "the old fashioned way". That being said, I find that notekeeping is absolutely essential <for me>. I like to be able to go back and look at a recipe, grain bill, boil times, mistakes made, things observed, temperatures, yeast strain, etc. and make certain rear-view mirrow judgements about what went right, what went wrong and what ingredients do what to my beer. phhhheww that was a mouthful.

I find that I go back to notes a lot of times for yeast specificaly. Some are fast, some are slow, some are cleaner than others, etc. If I didn't write all this stuff down I couldn't build upon it.

I just go by notebook and paper, though I am making an effore to create a personalized spreadsheet so I can easily access all the info. IMHO, collecting data is how I become a better brewer.

I use scrap paper then input the info into Recipator (to give it a format and for calculations). Once I type in all the info I think I can I'll VIEW, COPY, and PASTE into a WORD.DOC to save the format.

Fiery Sword said:

I find that I go back to notes a lot of times for yeast specificaly. Some are fast, some are slow, some are cleaner than others, etc. If I didn't write all this stuff down I couldn't build upon it.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea. I'm pretty good about keeping notes (I do it all in BeerSmith), but I never thought to document lag times and whether I used starters and such. I went back and added that info to my last four batches, which I still remember pretty well, but I'm sure down the line they'll all start to blend together. Thanks for the tip.

Fiery Sword said:

I just go by notebook and paper...IMHO, collecting data is how I become a better brewer.

Click to expand...

Works for me. Just record the information you feel is relative to your brew:
Pitch date
Ingredients
temp
yeast
OG
Secondary date
temp
Bottle Date
SG

Notes

Sounds like the old pen & paper method will work for at least my first few batches.

Torchiest, what do you enter into BeerSmith for each brew? I figure I might as well keep track in case I want to go that route in the future.

Well, you put the recipe together in BeerSmith, so it has all your ingredients already entered, as well as the boil times and such for hops, as well as anything else like spices or other flavorings. You can specify if you put them in primary or secondary, and for how long, as well.

It also lets you keep track of how long your brew is in primary, secondary, and/or tertiary, and at what temperature. It estimates your starting and final gravities, and also lets you enter your actual values for the two. It'll use those numbers to calculate estimated and actualy ABV. It also estimates the color and bitterness of the beer.

In the notes section, I enter exactly how the brew session went, and what (if anything) went wrong or differently than I planned. I also keep a seperate list of what day I brewed, transfered, and bottled, as well as how many and what types of bottles I used.

Finally, I write notes for the first couple tastings I do on the beer, whether or not it tastes right, whether it's carbonated yet, etc. And of course now I'm adding whether I used a starter, how far in advance I made it, and what the lag times were for the various yeasts.

Thanks!!!

It doesn&#8217;t sound nearly as complicated as I thought it would be.

I started using BeerSmith and one thing I noticed, that I never really realized before was that when I changed the boil volume from say 2 to 3 gallons, the bitterness change significantly. I could have done the same recipe with that one difference and not figured that out on my own.

Part of my record keeping.
It's also an exercise in the understanding of the math involved so I can formulate as well as copy recipes/procedures.

Nice spreadsheet orfy... (Ha, That's what she said)

That seems very helpful but also kind confusing with all the all-grain brewing steps in there. I may have to design one. What calculations do you include?

Nice orfy! now thats organized!

One thing don't forgot to put in your note's and I feel is essential is taste notes. describe in detail the mouth feel, color, body,aroma, flavor, head and finish to your beers. If you get serious or addicted (to the hobbie that is.. you'll want these notes to compare from batch to batch. Especially if you brew the same batch over and over again.

:rockin:

I use Promash and i write down everything in a notebook. that way i always have a backup and its easyer for me to grab the notebook and write down a quick note.

autoferret said:

I use Promash and i write down everything in a notebook. that way i always have a backup and its easyer for me to grab the notebook and write down a quick note.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I do this also. I keep mash temps, times, water profiles and my whole ptocess so I can repeat at least close to the origional recipie as I can.

Although I work all day on the computer with databases, I prefer the old fashion pen & paper approach to logging my brewing efforts. I have a composition notebook and leave a couple pages per batch. I write down pretty much what g0dolphins suggests. Every time I do something with that batch (rack, bottle, taste, move, etc) I write down notes along with the date. If something went wrong during the process, or I discover later that I did something wrong, I note that too.

cpbergie said:

I started using BeerSmith and one thing I noticed, that I never really realized before was that when I changed the boil volume from say 2 to 3 gallons, the bitterness change significantly. I could have done the same recipe with that one difference and not figured that out on my own.

Click to expand...

does boiling 2 gal make it more bitter or visa versa???

If your boil volume is lower, and you've added all your malts, the gravity is higher, and hop absortion is less, so the beer will not be as bitter/hoppy as it would be with a full boil. To counteract this, you can add the malt extract later in the boil, but I don't like the idea. I've had good results with the way I do it, and I think it would be difficult to accurately account for the late addition. I've heard people say they get ridiculously bitter beers.