keeping things organized on brew day

Still consider myself a noob here . . . it is interesting, the number of times I have read in this forum about people forgetting to sanitize, or mixing up water and hop additions and timing it all (especially for those who drink homebrew while homebrewing). So, I thought I would share a couple of organizing ideas that I use to keep everything straight. First picture is my "sanitzation counter" where everything used post-boil is cleaned and either sprayed and covered or soaking in starsan, all on aluminum foil that has been sprayed with starsan. The second picture, of my session today, of a Pliny clone that had a 90 minute boil with multiple hop additions. Blue painter's tape, marked with both the total time and timer settings for each addition which was pre-measured, kept it all on track for what hopefully will be a delicious brew. Double-vision proof !

What are some of the other tips and tricks do you use to keep things organized on brew day?

I just check off BeerSmith's BrewSheet as I go through my brew day.

That's enough to keep me on track.

Having all your tools in the right place is important.

I live in a loft and have very little storage. Plus I take my gear out a lot to do brew demos anf group brews. So I needed a way to store all those odd bits that I need in the course of a brew day, PLUS be able to work out of it, and get to everything when I'm brewing in some pretty rudimentry conditions, plus protect stuff from the elements.

I started with an under the bed storage bit, that seals up. I measured my auto siphon and made sure that it is long enough to fit. (Yes it says Revvy's brewing box on it.)



Then I got a bunch of different containers and played with the setup. When I got what I liked I used velcro to connect them to the bin. I can re configure it in any way I want, as long as I make sure the new internal bin has velcro in the center. The little dots work perfectly.



The blue one in the bottom, holding the mash paddle, refractometer, auto siphon, aeration wand and other longish stuff is simply a wall paper tray that had seen better days, so I cut it in half and slid the pieces together until I got the size I wanted and then taped them together.



The box on the left holds my scale, airlocks, a timer, and can hold a bottle of starsan. (There is also a "tasting cup" on a lanyard for group brew days like AHC's teach a friend to brew, where I know there's going to be a TON of beer to sample, and I want to limit my intake, at least while I'm brewing. So I keep my portions small)



The center section is actually two boxes that stack and lock together. In the bottom is a basic "tool" kit...a multi tool, small pliers, flashlight, pair of scissors for openning hop and yeast packets. You know all the little things that you find you wish you had in the field. Even a small first aid kit.

The box above is actually pre-measured test tubes of starsan (I usually don't take a bottle with me in the field, I just pre measure a bunch of tubes, so whether I'm making a gallon or 5 I have enough. There's also the stir bar, and some little metal clips I use to hang one of my glass lab thermometers inside the boil kettle when heating strike water.



The last box is where I stick "ingredients" and stuff in, hops, a baggie of 5-2 buffer, corn sugar, lactose, whatever else I might need.

Also looking back in the main picture, in the space above the blue tray and the box my red oxygen bottle, and hydrometer test jar fits nicely in.

And what you don't see is that on top of everything I keep a pair of silicone gloves to use to lift my boil kettle;



And a couple HBT signs for representing at various events. You can see those in the first two pictures.

When travelling I keep the box closed with a couple of bungy cords.

It's nice because it fits under my bed and in the back seat of my car.

We've been winging it. I'm grateful for my phone's ability to check things online, and take notes. I usually put together a check list of things that need to be done, and we just work through the list.

I can't wait for it to get a bit warmer. It'll be easier to put everything out on the table and organized. Now its a lot of running inside, then outside, then inside, and outside. Repeat until the end of the brew day.

My biggest challenge in LIFE is keeping myself organized...

I actually write myself a checklist before each brew day. This is especially important when I'm brewing out at someone else's house. I just have to sequester myself away from the_Wife and the_Kids and visualize myself going through the whole brewing process. I literally will close my eyes and think through each step, what I'm doing, what I need. "OK, I'm adding the sparge water to the grain, so I need my thermometer, and my pH buffer, and the measuring spoons..."

At some point, I'll just type up a checklist for brew days.

I've got two checklists. One for the gear, one for the process.

I use an app on my old iPhone called Brewpal. It has timers and calcs built in; its really cool for 99 cents. I keep all my brew info and recipes in it as well. The rest of my organization/sanitation is much like yours.

I use my brewing log sheet to list the steps and ingredients and check them off as I go along with the times. Equipment and ingredients I spread out on the counter in the order that I need them. For storage, all the gadgets and tools are in a few boxes in the storage room of the basement. When I made wine I had a kit like Revvy's which I just kind of drifted away from when I moved into this house. Time to return to my organized Rubbermaid kit, methinks.

B