Ever 'forget' what you have brewing or on tap?

[VegasJ]

Thought this was funny... well, at least my friends did when they asked what beer I had going now.

I know, I know... there's chalk boards or note pads one could use to jot down the flavors as you go. But see, I brew 1 or 2 a month as needed... I have 3 beers on tap & try to keep 1 fermenting or at the ready.

I know I have a British Bitter, Milk Stout, & American Light w/orange peel in the Keezer... but then remembered about the 5 gal. batch downstairs in the carboy.


And for the life of me... I cannot remember WTF it is. :/

 

[vbwolpert]

Had family over for dinner the other night, of course they asked what beers are up. I had to taste each one and make an educated guess.

 

[Teromous]

Most of the time when people catch me off-guard I will forget. I was at a brewery and one of the guys working there asked me what I had going. I thought for a second and just said "nothing right now." I took it as a sign that I should be brewing more. Later on I was thinking about it...why didn't I have something in the works? Then it hit me that I had just finished up a strawberry lager I completely forgot about. If it weren't for BeerSmith I'd probably forget about half the stuff I do or the ingredients I use.

 

[sieglere]

I usually write the abbreviation for my beer on the bottle cap. One day I discoverer a bonus beer in the back of my fridge unlabeled. Beer roulette is s a spectacular game. It turned out to be a beer I thought was all gone. Score!

 

[wickman6]

Yep, it happens to me. Luckily I have 2 coworkers that I got into brewing and I talk their ears off about it. They usually remind me what I have.

 

[landshark]

I just kegged 2 batches I have no clue what they were. I have 2 others sitting in the fermenting room that I don't know what they are either. Happens all the time.

 

[beerclone]

I decided to keep a lab book (so to speak) of all my brews and even have a labeling code so I don't lose track of what's what. Pretty anal and dorky I know : )

 

[VegasJ]

HA! LoL

looks like it happens all the time.

Next time my friends give me **** about it I'll just say, "hey... not the only one"!

 

[Transamguy77]

I have started using the blue painters tape on my fermenters and kegs so I don't forget what's in them.

 

[Crito]

I use the labels with the string on them. So I can write down the date and the name of my beer. Easy to remove too. (For my kegs. I do not bottle)

 

[Homercidal]

ALL THE TIME!

I started using tape and writing on them, but then I forgot to do that too!

 

[daksin]

ALL THE TIME!

I started using tape and writing on them, but then I forgot to do that too!

Pretty much this, although the 4 kegs we have on now have been around so long I remember this particular batch.

 

[steveoc]

I use labels with strings too. I put the name of the beer, the brew date, and the OG on it. The label moves from the fermenters to the kegs.

 

[Clonefan94]

I have never forgot what was fermenting or what was on tap. I have tap handles that hold a printed paper insert and I have hanging tags for my fermentors.

I did however figure out this past weekend that I need to start adding the "Brew Date" to these tags though. I have my notes filed, but it would be nice to have the quick glance. I am on a bit of a brew stoppage right now. We have been out of town this past weekend, family came to visit during another weekend and we are going to be out of town the next two weekends.

I had only taken two weeks off at the time, but that is such a rarity for me, I guess I got the itches. I was at work one day freaking out becaus I was sure I had to move the beer in the fermenter to kegs. Turns out it had only been two weeks, but taking even that amount of time off seemed like an eternity to me.

Not that going a month in primary would have ruined anything, but I usually like to move beer after about 3 weeks of primary into kegs to condition there. I think this is a true sign that I'm addicted to brewing. If you'd have asked me, without me looking, I'd swear it's been a month since I last brewed.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I just write on the keg lid with a sharpie marker (I keep 16 kegs in the keezer) The wife tracks what beer has been made and in which fermenter number on Ibeer and Beersmith apps on phone so always up to date.

 

[huhwha]

Sitting at home the other night think about the double brew I have planned. Let's see, brew the cream ale first, then the ??? No idea. Had to go find the box of ingredients to remember it's raspberry porter. In my defense, I'm old.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

It is easy now because I need to fill the pipeline. I have one about to be kegged now....and a brew weekend this Saturday. I am so behind the eight-ball right now.

In the old days when I would occasionally do 3 12 gal batches in a day I would occasionally forget what was in which fermentor (15 gal plastic drums), but the FG hydrometer sample would solve that just before kegging. Kegs have always been religeously marked with painters tape and sharpie.

 

[bwomp313]

I have started using the blue painters tape on my fermenters and kegs so I don't forget what's in them.

i use the blue painter's tape for that too!!

 

[bwomp313]

I just write on the keg lid with a sharpie marker (I keep 16 kegs in the keezer) The wife tracks what beer has been made and in which fermenter number on Ibeer and Beersmith apps on phone so always up to date.

...16 kegs?!?!?!?!....how big is your chest freezer???? i'm jealous

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

I label everything with blue painters tape, or else I'd forget, my tap list on the chalk board though... well there's an oktoberfest from last year on there...

 

[mysteryshrimp]

I found an American Rye on my calender from a couple of months before that I had forgotten that I brewed, mainly because it was a forgettable batch in between two of the best beers I've ever made. I still had about 12 in a box.

 

[kylemryan]

I have started using the blue painters tape on my fermenters and kegs so I don't forget what's in them.

Yep, that's the way to go.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Did that the other day. I wanted to try my Zombie Dust Clone, so I pulled the Oktoberfest off one of the taps. Wasn't sure which of the two other unattached kegs in my keezer it was so I picked one and hooked it up. When I poured a sample the next day it turned out to be the Centennial Blonde. Definitely was confused when I tried it as it was the least hoppy IPA I have ever had. Took me two pints to discover why it turned out so mild with 9 oz of hops in it.

 

[Homercidal]

I should get some stickers from the office store and pre-print them with the important information, such as:

Name of beer
Style
O.G.
Brew Date
Keg date

I think if I had those laying around I'd use them all the time. Just need to make sure the sticky isn't so sticky it's hard to remove when the keg is being cleaned.

 

[mtyquinn]

You might consider the dry erase keg labels from grogtag. Pretty sure they would would work well on a carboy too. I just got a couple and they work pretty good. Nice and durable.

 

[beaksnbeer]

You might consider the dry erase keg labels from grogtag. Pretty sure they would would work well on a carboy too. I just got a couple and they work pretty good. Nice and durable.

They don't do so well in the keezer moisture