What's your beersmith process when you brew the same recipe again?

Just curious how people handle brewing the same recipe over again and using beersmith. I'm kind of torn between creating a whole new file and modifying an existing file with notes from my latest version of a particular beer.Sometimes I will modify a recipe, but the problem is not being able to go back and look at past mistakes.
So what's your process? do you modify an existing recipe and not look back, or do you create a whole new file and label it "batch 2" or "batch 3" etc.....or do you just keep adding to your notes within an existing file to see changes in the process or recipe?
Just looking for the easiest way to retain my data so I can improve my process for a given recipe

On beersmith 2 there's a button that you can click called versions that you can assign a number too. Then I just save it as a separate recipe. I usually also indicate what changes I made in the note section, making sure that the original recipe info is there, in case I over write the original file or something.

Revvy said:

On beersmith 2 there's a button that you can click called versions that you can assign a number too. Then I just save it as a separate recipe. I usually also indicate what changes I made in the note section, making sure that the original recipe info is there, in case I over write the original file or something.

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Does bs 2 pre populate the fields with the malt / hops / yeast from the original recipe? Or do you just start with a clean slate and add in everything manually?

bctdi said:

Does bs 2 pre populate the fields with the malt / hops / yeast from the original recipe? Or do you just start with a clean slate and add in everything manually?

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Everything stays exactly the same except for the version number you assign. Just make sure to save it under a different name than the original.

klnosaj said:

Everything stays exactly the same except for the version number you assign. Just make sure to save it under a different name than the original.

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A classic example of why BS2 is about the most user-belligerent software I've ever used - and being computer literate since the 70s (BS/EE in 74 and in systems design ever since) that covers a heck of a lot of ground.

"Versions" should be meta data that is part of the original. It shouldn't require renaming...

Cheers!

klnosaj said:

Everything stays exactly the same except for the version number you assign. Just make sure to save it under a different name than the original.

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That may be reason enough to upgrade to BS 2. I don't know if there is a way to do that with bs 1 or not.

So what's the advantage of using versions instead of just naming the second version "Pale Ale 2", since it sounds like you need to rename anyway?

You don't have to rebuild the recipe. You just save it as Pale Ale Ver2 and fill in the gravity fields. Unless you have your system dialed in to perfection, there will be slight differences in the way you brew the second batch. For instance, your 30 minute hop addition got added at 20 because you had one too many homebrews and couldn't find your timer...or your hops...or the brew kettle. You just update it in BeerSmith on that Ver2 recipe and see what you get.

CollinsBrew said:

You don't have to rebuild the recipe. You just save it as Pale Ale Ver2 and fill in the gravity fields. Unless you have your system dialed in to perfection, there will be slight differences in the way you brew the second batch. For instance, your 30 minute hop addition got added at 20 because you had one too many homebrews and couldn't find your timer...or your hops...or the brew kettle. You just update it in BeerSmith on that Ver2 recipe and see what you get.

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Right, but if i just copy and paste the original recipe and call it Pale Ale 2, the exact same thing happens, from what it sounds. And I don't have go into the recipe to do it.

I use the Brew Log feature. Just select a recipe from your list and click "Copy to Log" on the Home tab. It will make an exact copy and save it to your Brew Log folder, then make whatever changes you want, change date, select version and brew. If you've changed the version it will automatically save it as Beer Name Xyz (1.1) or whatever version you choose.

BrewKnurd said:

So what's the advantage of using versions instead of just naming the second version "Pale Ale 2", since it sounds like you need to rename anyway?

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Maybe I'm doing something wrong with BS2 but that is my experience. Lost the original recipe of a batch because I changed the version option and clicked OK.

If I'd had known this step was meaningless, would have just named the second version "Pale Ale 2".

pickles said:

I use the Brew Log feature. Just select a recipe from your list and click "Copy to Log" on the Home tab. It will make an exact copy and save it to your Brew Log folder, then make whatever changes you want, change date, select version and brew. If you've changed the version it will automatically save it as Beer Name Xyz (1.1) or whatever version you choose.

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Thanks, will give that a try.