One of the most important aspects in brewing is repeatability and improvement. I've been brewing for four years now, started with extract and went to all grain as many do. Recently when going over recipes I realized I hadn't taken notes to their fullest extent. When I switched to all grain the first mistake was making recipes, ordering ingredients, and not recording exactly what grains I used in a recipe. I'd often formulate recipes and use the generic grain in Beersmith like Maris Otter and neglect to update the recipe with which brand of grain I'd ordered. One such recipe, my English Ale came out perfect the first time. Second time I brewed it when I ordered the Maris Otter they didn't have Crisp so I took the substitute and the result wasn't nearly as good as the first. Everything was done exactly the same - brand of grains makes a difference! Upon realizing that after trying to repeat that recipe I started taking those notes and ensuring I ordered the same grains for a recipe I loved and was repeating. I'd also found in some recipes I hadn't noted mash temperatures. Been doing that for awhile now but I also realized recently I hadn't really ever taken tasting notes. I did however note recipes that came out perfect... but what about my recipes I'm still trying to perfect? I'd taken mental notes but we all tend to forget things. Now I'm taking those tasting notes.
So, I just wanted to take a quick moment to stress the importance of taking notes of EVERYTHING. Take notes on what exact grains or extracts you used. Take notes on whether or not you created a yeast starter and even the creation(liquid)/expiration(dry) date of the yeast used. Take notes on the mash temp, the pH levels and any adjustments to the pH and quantities used (and what you used to adjust the pH), any water adjustments, the hop alpha acids in the hops you used. Take notes on what temperature the beer fermented at and if there were temp swings and what they were, etc. And of supreme importance... take down those tasting notes! Without doing so you will forget exactly what needs to be tweaked to improve the batch next time you brew it.
Anyhow, just wanted to post this to help any beginning brewers to just remember to take as many and as detailed notes as you can possibly think of. You probably won't get them all at first and add to the list over time, but start now because repeatability and improvement toward perfection toward your desired result are probably the most importance aspects of brewing and the only true way to ensure that is to take notes.
Rev.
So, I just wanted to take a quick moment to stress the importance of taking notes of EVERYTHING. Take notes on what exact grains or extracts you used. Take notes on whether or not you created a yeast starter and even the creation(liquid)/expiration(dry) date of the yeast used. Take notes on the mash temp, the pH levels and any adjustments to the pH and quantities used (and what you used to adjust the pH), any water adjustments, the hop alpha acids in the hops you used. Take notes on what temperature the beer fermented at and if there were temp swings and what they were, etc. And of supreme importance... take down those tasting notes! Without doing so you will forget exactly what needs to be tweaked to improve the batch next time you brew it.
Anyhow, just wanted to post this to help any beginning brewers to just remember to take as many and as detailed notes as you can possibly think of. You probably won't get them all at first and add to the list over time, but start now because repeatability and improvement toward perfection toward your desired result are probably the most importance aspects of brewing and the only true way to ensure that is to take notes.
Rev.
