What's In Your Brew Log?

[DrumForHire]

I'm trying to come up with a layout for my brew log (I like to keep a paper nearby to take notes, but want to be consistant and organized). So and I thought it might be fun - if a little self-serving - to start a thread of what everyone notes in their own brew logs! So, feel free to post what you keep track of with each batch. Any photos or layouts are welcome as well. Get as detailed as you want.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Date, grains, times, yeast, Hops and schedules and tempatures . I also keep records of additive for yeast and water. and the name of the beer.

 

[Jwin]

I consider beer smith my brew log. I utilize the notes section as well as version number. I do a full printout and notate actual Temps and any changes on there. I then edit the noyes section as needed
I export recipes and bsm files periodically and email them to myself, just in case.

Note:to me, this is the laziest way of keeping a brew log/backup , which fits me fine.

 

[Sadu]

I do the same as jwin, fill out the notes in beersmith. Good for comparing the recipe to what actually happened, also I mqke use of the pricing fields.

Any gravity samples get recorded in tbe notes, also if I change anything like rack to secondary I note that also. I note all dates as 'day 11' or 'day 15' as it makes it more readable later on than a regular date.

 

[atom]

I record on paper:

Brew number
Beer name (style)
Date of brew
Mash length & temp
Boil length
Post boil Vol
Post boil gravity
yeast type and estimated cell count
pitch temp
fermentation temp
date kegged
FG
ABV

recipe information is stored in beersmith (but i should probably put all of the above in there too.)

 

[chudsonvt]

I keep a list of my recipes on a doc on Google Drive. Then I use Windows Journal as my actual brew log which includes the date, a reference to the recipe brewed, notes on my gravities, ie. pre-boil, final runnings, post boil. Then I note any hiccups where I may have deviated from target temps or other anomalies. Or if I have not followed my standard mash times and temps (unless recorded in my recipe) I also note my water profile here rather than in my recipe document. Then I try to go back and make notes on the outcome and any suggestions to the future me. Or at least the final gravity. It is fairly informal but it contains enough for my purposes. You can make it as formal as you desire. I personally just have a mental check list of what I want to record. But others like to have an actual form with fields for everything.

 

[csurowiec]

I'm pretty old school with my documentation. It is all handwritten in a spiral notebook. Each batch is a separate page and each page contains the following:
batch number
date
style and/or name
ingredients with quantities
temp of mash and duration in minutes
temp of dunk sparge and duration in minutes (I do BIAB)
hop schedule with varieties, quantities, and timing
duration of boil
variety of yeast
specific gravity and temp at time of pitch
temperature setting for fermenter
date when temp is changed up to let yeast clean up
date when temp is changed down to cold crash
final specific gravity
kegging date
tasting notes if I think I should change something next time

 

[jonny24]

My girlfriend made me a binder with brew log sheets that she found on the internet somewhere. I've since changed a few things on a pdf of it and print it out when I need new ones

Name, style, brew, bottling and ready to drink dates.
Sugars
Hops
Yeast
Other
Small chart for mash temp
A chart for volumes, measured SG, temp and corrected SG for mash in, mash exit, sparge volume, preboil, post boil, in fermenter, and packaged.
Fermentation time/temp log.

The back has three section of tasting notes, broken into flavour, aroma, mouthfeel, appearance, and overall.

 

[catdaddy66]

I use apps that are available free on the app store. 'Fermenticus Brew Log' was on my iphone and since switching to android I use 'Wort'.

Have to play with them a bit but they have slots for all the measurables and times/temps/etc, but also a notes section for any and every scrap of info you may desire. Plus they are great to reference at any time.

 

[Ciclamino]

I use a copy of the brewing log sheet from Randy Mosher's book The Brewer's Companion. There are several nice ones in that book. A 1 page version, 2 page version, etc. I use the 2 page version. Although I usually find the mash chart on the back not worthwhile -- I just make a note of the mash schedule.

 

[Nomofett]

I am a details guy so I made a brewlog, this is an older version and I've tweaked it a little since (like adding water chemistry and ph measurements) but my computer is down so I only have this at the moment.

Basically I make the recipe on beersmith and then print it to a pdf, then I use photoshop to add it to this, (it only takes a minute) then I print it on cheap sticker paper and cut it in half and put it in a moleskine on brewday. So now I have all my brews in one easy to read notebook. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1466858648.115928.jpg

 

[gotraut]

Here's the brew log that I use that's in Excel format: