First AG and things to record for future reference.

Hey guys, about to use my new AG set up and just need to know what I should be recording through out the process.

I guess the obvious to me would be

pre boil sg and temp of sample
post boil sg and temp of sample
dead space in mash tun
Temp loss over the mash time
mash out temp
grain absorption

Looking to dial in my system so I can adjust it based on the efficiency I get from it and the batch sparge I plan on doing.

Anything else I should record to make subsequent batches easier?

Cheers guys.

Strike Temps, Mash in Temps, Sparge temps and anything you recorded before you did all-grain. (Boil Volumes, Boil Time, etc.)

Along with strike temps and mash in temps I suggest volumes of hot liquor (dough in, and first/second sparges) as well.

Also anything else you can think of to write down. The better your notes are on this brew the better your next brew will be.

Ahh yeah and of course the amount of wort boiled off lost.

I must admit I'm not real great at keeping notes but I will be from now on.

Hey jaja,

I recommend the Brewer's Logbook from the Basic Brewing website. Here I was horrible at record keeping but this has everything you need. Ah heck, it looks like he is sold out of the 2009 logbooks but I am sure he will be getting the 2010 books out sooner rather than later.

There are a lot of online spreadsheets/checklists that you can print out.

Or use brewing software.

You missed the most important thing from your notes:
The recipe
I'm not being facetious. I made a phenomenal brew using a bunch of leftover ingredients without writing down exactly what I put into it, and spent many months trying to reproduce it without success.

-a.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/images/brewersfriend_allgrainsheet.pdf

This is a great free spreadsheet.

ajf said:

You missed the most important thing from your notes:
The recipe
I'm not being facetious. I made a phenomenal brew using a bunch of leftover ingredients without writing down exactly what I put into it, and spent many months trying to reproduce it without success.

-a.

Click to expand...

Wow, good to know. Kind of like when I cook. Not always sure what I am putting in and often times wish I wrote it down.

I try to take as many notes as possible. I also keep a fermentation log of sorts.