Brewing Notes/logs/sagas

[seatazzz]

So I think this has been asked before, but it's fun to ask the general population here random questions. How do you keep your notes? Handwritten log? Computer? Dedicated brewing software? Etching on stone? I, personally, have my personal laptop in the garage/brewery (mainly because I smoke as well, and it's my she-shack). I keep notes on MS word, for not only brewing but other projects; and I have a long-running thing that I guess would be called a personal journal. I type much better than I handwrite; if I kept a handwritten brew journal, here's a sample of what it would look like:

4am Started water heating
4:05am Checked temperature
4:25am Mashed in
5:25am Pulled and drained bag, started burner for boil
4:15pm Everything went fine, SG 1.061, cleaning all done, I took a nap.

So?

 

[Lampy]

Notes app on my phone.

 

[day_trippr]

I use Beersmith3, which provides a Session section to record statistical data, and a Notes section for whatever the user desires to record. Between those I've been able to tune each recipe so the outcome is highly deterministic at this point

Cheers!

 

[Sammy86]

I use brewers friend logs and a hand written journal just in case of a total server meltdown

 

[mac_1103]

Etching on stone?

Wax tablet and stylus. And I do my calculations on an abacus. Guess I'm kinda old school.

Seriously though, I use the Brewer's Friend recipe builder, type up my brew day schedule in MS word, print it out and scribble notes in the margins during the brew. Eventually everything gets transcribed by hand to a leather-bound brew journal. 'Cause I really am kinda old school.

 

[schmurf]

Brewfather's batch notes. Perfect for the job, only complaint I have is the small popup editing area for enter the notes.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I put John Palmers mash and IBU math into excel. Print a sheet with all the information and keep notes on that.

 

[Dland]

I use those 100 sheet "composition books", currently on book #5.

Here is one of my more legible batches, good thing I'm the only one who will likely ever want to read it.

 

[Cameronl]

I've twice been gifted leather bound (or pleather, I suppose) brewers journals.
But I use Beersmith's sessions and notes. I'm already using it to build and tweak recipes, I'm not about to duplicate efforts and hand write the recipes in a book. If I want a hard copy, I'll print it out from BS.

 

[kevin58]

Beersmith sessions. It lists all steps with check boxes... gives estimated volumes, gravities, etc. then a place to record the actual numbers which helps you tweak your recipe and/or your system profile to more accurately hit those numbers next time.

 

[Airborneguy]

Brewer’s Friend for my recipes and an excel sheet to log my batches and numbers.

 

[Velnerj]

I made my own recipe calculator on excel. There's a tab for notes for brew day, packaging day and tasting notes.

 

[hottpeper13]

I use the formulas in How to Brew,a binder,a pencil ,a calculator and the original back button.This is the start of creating a brew and in the evening I totally enjoy having a smoke and a beer while creating. By taking the time to figure everything out,I can almost taste it.

 

[TheCache]

I use Beersmith to develop and record recipes and for specific brew info: starters, session details, mash temps and times, etc. If I do another brew from the same recipe with minor changes I make a new brew "SameName #2" etc.

And I also make a page in Obsidian for each brew day (grouped in folders by year. Some of the info overlaps with beer smith, but I keep a lot of process notes and ideas for improvement in Obisidian. I find it easier to go back and review previous brew days here than in Beersmith, but Beersmith is better for recipes and session details.

 

[JAReeves]

Brewer's Friend with lots and lots of notes, a journal that sometimes gets written in.

 

[cmac62]

Notes? But, I do use Brewer's Friend for my recipes.

 

[jdauria]

I use Beersmith, make all my notes on the recipe I print off from it. However, I do use the Beer Journal books to write all the info in as a paper backup just in case my laptop shits the bed. Just cracked open my 3rd Beer Journal for my last recipe. Maybe some day when I am gone, my son will try to read my chicken scratch and get the itch to give brewing a try!

 

[sibelman]

I type much better than I handwrite

Me too. I learned cursive in 2nd grade but my writing went to hell soon thereafter. I learned some typing in 4th grade, and got much faster when using a computer terminal to write code in my late 20s.

Nowadays, I record each brew in a LibreOffice spreadsheet that has evolved over the years. It's a bit more detailed than @seatazzz's log entries, and includes very simple calculations for OG, lauter efficiency, and ABV. Mostly, it lists ingredients and quantities, and basic process info like mash temperature.

But, like @seatazz, I don't use brewing software (exception: the Brewer's Friend calculator for strike temperature). Unlike her I don't start my brew day at 4am. 6 it 7 is early enough for me!

The only practical use I make of these logs is to remind myself of earlier brews when duplicating/modifying them down the road.

 

[MaxStout]

I made some forms to print out, and have used those the last few years. One side of the sheet is the checklist of stuff to have ready for brew day. The other side has blanks to fill in data from brewing, from crush through fermentation. Then I just scan them to PDF. Not the most modern method, but it works.

Before I did the forms thing, I just scribbled notes onto a pad of paper and entered it into a Word file later. Even less modern.

 

[eric19312]

Beersmith sessions and notes
I wish it had ability to store photos.

 

[day_trippr]

You could push your pics to a cloud server then drop links in Notes as plain text...

Cheers!

 

[Ninoid]

Word document with recipe, daily timeline, fermentation temperature, comments and observations, my and friends drinking notice and picture in glasses.
From first brew.
I read this information when creating a recipe, ordering ingredients and making any changes in the process. It helps a lot.

I work during the week, so it's mostly my weekend hobby.

 

[Conehead]

I still use Promash for recipe formulation. There is a note section in there. I also keep a blog on the internet incase my computer crashes. On brew day, I just hand write everything thing I do from mashing in and up to the boil.

 

[StevoTosh]

Here's what I do.

I wrote my own calculator on excel.

This is one brew. There are 5 brews per sheet (tab).
Yellow cells are where I input info. All ingredients cells are drop down boxes. All white cells are either calculation results or info from other cells.

I need only enter the brew number in the "Brewing Procedure Checklist tab" (yellow cell).

All info is then automatically entered for that particular brew.
I then print a copy, check off each step as I brew, enter relevant values and write notes.

 

[BrewZer]

I'm apparently the last person alive still using Brewtarget, and I use the "extras" notes page to keep notes. Not as detailed as yours, but major highlights. Sample below:

28 Dec - 1.5 liter starter for yeast. some kreusen.
30 Dec - Heated 8 gals tap water to 160 with 1/2 campden tablet. Added ground grains in bag, covered and let mash for 1 hr @ 150. Starch check at 45 minutes showed complete conversion. OG via refractometer read 1.072. pH ~ 6.5

Removed and squeezed bag to final volume of 5.5 gals. Boiled IAW hop/additive schedule for 1 hr. Removed heat and strained thru sanitized colander into sanitized fermenter. Lots of foam and trub noted.

Removed to garage (ambient temp 62). Attached temp probe to front and will innoculate when wort drops to 60.
Pitched at 68 degrees, 1750.
Slight leak in input line on wort cooler.

24 hours in -- 3/4 inch kreusen, good flocculation, some sulfur in the blowoff, temps running about 60
48 hours in -- 3/4 inch kreusen, flocculation light, sulfur mostly gone, temps in the mid-50's
6 Jan 23 -- SG sample read 1.042 by refractometer - 3.94% ABV. Hydrometer reading 1.016 - 7.35%! Taste is grainy/bready and slightly sweet. Very cloudy, yeast blanket on surface in fermenter.
20 Jan -- Bottled in 51 12 oz bottles with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Aged at room temp for 2 weeks prior to refrigerating. Taste is bready sweet, alcohol warmth