Surely I'm not the only one who keeps a Lab notebook regarding my homebrew process. Am I?
I know a number of brewers who treat their hobby like cooking: follow a recipe, use the ingredients as specified, boil for the required time, then do whatever else the recipe calls for during the ferment. But like a cookbook, it's simply read and followed; there's no note-taking, no new or original results being created.
I've been using 'Composition' style notebooks (the kind with the mottled black-n-white cardboard covers) for a few years. I prep recipes, write comments, note problems, highlight bits for reference later, brew-day checklists and whatnot goes in there too.
A couple of people keep notes for the day or make a checklist -- but then once it's done, it's discarded.
Is anyone else keeping their notes? Are you using a particular style or format for the notes? What do yo record -- or what do you keep out? Do you see changes in the way your brewing over time? Are you finding your old notes to be of any value?
Or am I just taking my brewing way too seriously?
I know a number of brewers who treat their hobby like cooking: follow a recipe, use the ingredients as specified, boil for the required time, then do whatever else the recipe calls for during the ferment. But like a cookbook, it's simply read and followed; there's no note-taking, no new or original results being created.
I've been using 'Composition' style notebooks (the kind with the mottled black-n-white cardboard covers) for a few years. I prep recipes, write comments, note problems, highlight bits for reference later, brew-day checklists and whatnot goes in there too.
A couple of people keep notes for the day or make a checklist -- but then once it's done, it's discarded.
Is anyone else keeping their notes? Are you using a particular style or format for the notes? What do yo record -- or what do you keep out? Do you see changes in the way your brewing over time? Are you finding your old notes to be of any value?
Or am I just taking my brewing way too seriously?