Do you guys "code" your beer-caps to know what is inside months later?

[batches_brew]

Question: what is cuneiform? Could you pst an example?

-Tripod

The cuneiform script (pronounced /kjuːˈniːəfɔrm/) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Created by the Sumerians about 3000 BCE (with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium or about the period.

Cuneiform script - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Tweaker]

Cuneiform; I am definitely among my people: Zealots and Nerdz! Too funny!

You are welcome for the obvious help. For anything more teckinkal, look elsewhere.

 

[zacster]

I just use a sharpie, and a single letter code. I = IPA, E=ESB, L = Lager. B=Nut Brown. That's all I have at the moment, and that's more than I've ever had at once.

 

[Tripod]

Thanks, Batches.

I remember that now from waaaaaay back High School! My head has been in science ever since so I didn't the joke at first....but good one.

I suppose I could learn Katakana...

Seriously, thank all for the fantastic ideas and welcoming responses!

-Tripod

 

[Sager Brewing Co.]

I haven't been able to brew as often as I like so I have not had to do this yet, but my plan is to use a fine point sharpy and do something along the lines of Month/Year(09/08) and a short abbreviation of the style, like APA for American Pale Ale or EPA for English pale. You could also keep a log and give them a code, like make your first brew 1001, second brew 1002 and have a log of that brew with the corresponding code and any special notes and recipe for it.

 

[ChewUrBrew]

Sharpie ftw.

 

[Bytor1100]

This is what I do

 

[batches_brew]

Thanks, Batches.

I remember that now from waaaaaay back High School! My head has been in science ever since so I didn't the joke at first....but good one.

I suppose I could learn Katakana...

Seriously, thank all for the fantastic ideas and welcoming responses!

-Tripod

I actually do the sharpie thing as well. I have my dates logged but I'll probably start marking that as well. Never know when that computer could go.

 

[malkore]

Another option is some small round labels that fit on the bottle cap. You could handwrite or use software to print the beer name, code, or whatever else you wanted to label the beer.

this is what I do, but i have SWMBO write the brew name on the labels...I don't have enough need for a printer at home anymore.

Most of my beer gets kegged anymore, and i put a chalkboard on my kegs.

 

[Tripod]

This is what I do

Nice...

Where do you pick up the card-board boxes for your bottles? Or do you buy a case to begin with and then drink/recycle the bottles? The later sounds like a lot more fun!

-Tripod

 

[Bytor1100]

Nice...

Where do you pick up the card-board boxes for your bottles? Or do you buy a case to begin with and then drink/recycle the bottles? The later sounds like a lot more fun!

-Tripod

Those are AHS bottles and they come with those boxes. It's a much better deal for me to buy the bottle than to buy beer to reuse the bottles where I live. Unless I can get them from friends.

 

[jgohean]

I was thinking of making a custom stencil (w/ a design, the contents, and maybe the date) and then spray painting the cap - has anyone tried that?

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

I too number. I also keep a cork board by the fridge with the number and a little description of each beer. That way, guests are not constantly asking me:

"Whats number 12?"
"Its an Imperial pale"
"Whats that?"
"A really hoppy pale ale"
"Oh,.....Whats number 21?"
"Its a hefe."
"Whats that?"
Second guest interrupts, "Whats in the 28 bottles?"

It can be annoying.

 

[Conan]

A simple number: 1,2,3,4... representing which batch I'm on written with a Sharpie on the cap. Then I keep a detailed description of the recipe, brew dates, everything relating to each beer in an Excel document on both my computer and flash drive. These are labeled "Brew Name Here" (Brew #). Since at this time I'm the only one who has to know what's in each bottle (well, my roommate/ brewing partner does too) it works out okay. Keep all my beer files in a seperate folder- any pictures I take go into a folder with the brew's name and number along with the recipe. Kyle

 

[fratermus]

I get beer boxes with inserts like that behind the local liquor store. They put boxes out for people who are moving.

Since my weizen-style bottles are too tall, I cut off the top flaps and invert a beer flat on them. Looks like the ones stacked against the wall there during my cleanup this weekend.

As part of my later-summer cleaning I boxed up all my empties. Turns out I had 30 cases of cleaned and delabeled bottles, plus the odds/ends/clears/greens/oversized/twistoffs you see unboxed on the shelf. I guess I got a bit carried away with the bottle collecting.

 

[zoebisch01]

I just use a Sharpie and make a letter according to the recipe name. In the case of redundancy I simply add another letter.

"Tennenbaum" is a "T"

for the sake of argument if I made a brew and called it "Tiberius", it would probably be "Ti".

 

[Ecnerwal]

Date. Notebook tells me what a particular date was. If bottling two batches on the same date, add a letter or something.

Numbering by batch would be essentially the same - the point is the long drawn out info is stored elsewhere and referenced.

I do put an M on meads and a C on ciders as well as the date. Everything else is some type of beah.

 

[Apollo]

Ecnerwal does your abbreviation for your city perhaps stand for Williamstown?

 

[Ecnerwal]

Ecnerwal does your abbreviation for your city perhaps stand for Williamstown?

I give up. Yes, Wmnstn == Williamstown, but since it seems to attract repeated questioning I'll just change my profile. Absolute NW corner of Mass. As Zork might say, "there is a small college here", which I worked for a for a few years, but I don't anymore. My hops came from a guy that didn't get tenure in Chemistry - Chemistry - beer, what's not to like? Heck, there's even trendy biochemistry going on there. One gathers that the small college has sent a few folks that became homebrewers out into the world.

 

[fratermus]

I too number. I also keep a cork board by the fridge with the number and a little description of each beer. That way, guests are not constantly asking me:

"Whats number 12?"
"Its an Imperial pale"

I do the same thing, but keep it on a website. So I can post a printout on the fridge, or give a copy to anyone who I give a sample to. It also has basic info on it (how to pour without stirring yeast, rinsing and returning bottles).

 

[Apollo]

I give up. Yes, Wmnstn == Williamstown, but since it seems to attract repeated questioning I'll just change my profile.

I only asked because I graduated from Mt. Greylock HS. A bunch of my HS friends still live in the area. (I still have to ask the question... What the f is an Eph?

 

[hopsalot]

Tape and a pen

 

[Medo]

Ahoy hoy,
My method is pretty full proof, but its not for the faint of heart, or wallet.
I went out on ebay and bought 16,000 (yes Virginia, that's sixteen thousand) over run caps. They came from a Pepsi Co bottling company. Im set for life. The best part is that I have over a dozen different brands of caps, from Citrus Cola, to Diet Tab (egad). I can usually just use the different caps, as by the time I come around to a cap again, Ive usually drank the last batch using the same cap.
And, yes, I still use the mighty sharpie on the caps at times, as I have more barqs peach soda caps then any of the others, so Ill just write on them. The main thing, as many have stressed, is the little book that months down the road reminds you what # or something abbreviated like it, means on a cap
Since my situation is almost unique, i recommend sharpies or the little white stickers the others have mentioned. Ive used them all.
I bid you all a great day!

 

[Tripod]

I too number. I also keep a cork board by the fridge with the number and a little description of each beer. That way, guests are not constantly asking me:

"Whats number 12?"
"Its an Imperial pale"

I am planning to share my brews as much as possible because it's one of the best ways to get feedback (IMHO). I realize a lot of brewers don't feel like they need to code because it's a solo hobby with few consumers (I mean drinkers, not buyers). But I'm betting there is an equal number of brewers (on the grand scale of things) that are interested in gathering feedback from others of various levels of beer-knowledge.

I was thinking I can code for my quick ID but also so I don't get a million inquiries. If someone is interested in the details then I can direct them to the notebook...besides, I might just turn someone else onto the wild and wonderful world of home-brewing!

Thanks all for excellent input! Nobody beats homebrewtalk! :rockin:

-Tripod

 

[neuron555]

(I still have to ask the question... What the f is an Eph?

Ephraim Williams, Colonel, killed in the Battle of Lake George in the French and Indian Wars. Left money in his will to start a school - Williams College.

 

[camiller]

Sharpie to write on the beer caps.

+1 on this, although I've considered switching to printed 3/4" round labels on the caps.

 

[Bytor1100]

+1 on this, although I've considered switching to printed 3/4" round labels on the caps.

I used to do the sharpie thing. I got real sick of writing on 2 cases of beer at a time. Now a simple copy and paste from one label and hit print. Plus my handwriting sucks and I can get more info on the cap.

 

[Schwind]

I would number the caps with a sharpie. Before kegging I got to batch #5. I hated bottling. Now its blue painters tape around the keg handle.

 

[IowaStateFan]

I used to do the sharpie thing. I got real sick of writing on 2 cases of beer at a time. Now a simple copy and paste from one label and hit print. Plus my handwriting sucks and I can get more info on the cap.

Amen to that. I can't write wort a darn, especially with that damn sharpie. Printable labels it is for me.

 

[mkquinn]

The easy way is to give each batch a number. Using your recipe just put the brew lot in the number comments. Mark ea bottle or print up round stikers.

Go up to 99 and then start over at 1. I doubt you will make 100 brews in a year.

I have always done it this way. I just write the number on the cap. It's fun to keep track of how may you have done over time, and my friends seem to enjoy it as well. "What number are you up to" is always the first thing they'll say when they stop by. It's also easy to refer to the appropriate recipe if you keep track of them in a notebook.

 

[Soulshine2]

I always use colored labels to identify the beer.
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I see you dont peel your bottles original labels.

 

[Soulshine2]

I just put a different color cap on my bottled batches. My Oatmeal stout got black caps, my Hef got gold , and my American Brown Ale will have silver. BUT I also have red ,white and orange in storage. My last order I bought 144 silver caps so after I bottle my Brown ,I'll have to resort to a sharpie or colored dot stickers if I happen to have plain silver capped bottles left in the fridge. I'm cheap.

 

[kh54s10]

I see you dont peel your bottles original labels.

I wonder if that poster still has labels on his bottles from 10 years ago??

 

[Soulshine2]

I wonder if that poster still has labels on his bottles from 10 years ago??

I caught that AFTER I posted.

 

[Soulshine2]

I guess I like to revive old threads ...for "newbies" like me looking for the same info .

 

[BalloonGuy]

I buy and print small labels for the caps. I do not put anything on the bottles because I don't want to clean them.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I just put a different color cap on my bottled batches. My Oatmeal stout got black caps, my Hef got gold , and my American Brown Ale will have silver. BUT I also have red ,white and orange in storage. My last order I bought 144 silver caps so after I bottle my Brown ,I'll have to resort to a sharpie or colored dot stickers if I happen to have plain silver capped bottles left in the fridge. I'm cheap.

This is what I do (when I bottle).
I keep 5 or 6 different caps on hand, and each beer or cider gets its own. Worst case, I write on a plain silver or gold cap with a sharpie.

 

[Tribe Fan]

I use the 3/4" round Avery labels and print them off for the caps. I actually design labels for mine now that I do this.

I use Kolsch bottles and do this. They stick until they are washed and then come right off with a wipe of the thumb. My wife has some internet program she uses to print them and I pick a different background for each one so they contrast well. I got tired of trying to decipher my own sharpie codes.

 

[toddo97]

I have a dozen or so different colors/styles of caps that I use. In the case of split batches, I'll either do the sharpie thing to differentiate or if it's a dark colored cap, I'll borrow some nail polish from my wife and put a blop on each cap

 

[shoengine]

RFID all the way.