Who keeps a brew log? Here's mine.

[Yuri_Rage]

I tried keeping Orfy's thread updated...and failed. I do make an effort to keep my own personal log updated, particularly when I try something new and/or interesting. I wish I'd done a better job. Here's a dump of one line edits from my log (the order is chronological, and it's a spreadsheet dump, which makes it hard to read - the score is an average of 5 scores on a 0-10 scale - Appearance, Aroma, Flavor, Mouthfeel, and Overall):

Name ... Brewery ... Location ... Score ... Comments (the comments are more like notes to myself - may make more sense to me than you)

Milk Stout...Left Hand...US...7...A nice offering from Left Hand. Slightly sweet, very silky
Triple Bock...Sam Adams...US...2.2...Maple yuck. Brewed only a few times until 1997. Utopias predecessor.
IPA...Stone...US...9...One of the best commercial IPAs available!
Koningshoeven Dubbel...Brouwerij de Koningshoeven...Holland...7.8...Decent Belgian style beer. Sweet caramel with minimal esters.
HopDevil...Victory...US...7...Nice IPA. Slightly malty. Not as “in your face” as the name suggests.
Old Chub...Oskar Blues...US...6.8...Another pleasant surprise from Oskar Blues
Dale's Pale Ale...Oskar Blues...US...7.2...Good American pale
Saison Dupont Vieille Provision...Brasserie Dupont...Belgium...8.4...THE definitive saison. Very refreshing and not unlike Hoegaarden.
Red Stripe Lager...Red Stripe...Jamaica...4.8...Not so good. American macro-lager with a funky “import” flavor.
Hobgoblin...Wychwood...UK...7.4...Great Brit beer. Sweet esters on top of a very malty brown ale.
Maredsous 8 Dubbel...Duvel Moortgat...Belgium...7.2...Esters and alcohol very evident. Metallic twang. Nice, peppery finish.
Gordon...Oskar Blues...US...9...AWESOME. Amarillo hops rock. Billed as a sort of red almost IIPA.
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout...Great Divide...US...9...Bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee...wonderful.
Chipotle Ale...Rogue...US...7...Not bad. Nice pour. Flavor is a little rough, but interesting.
Curieux...Allagash...US...7...Good beer. Saison-ish. Slight sour note (brett?). Holds your interest.
Mocha Porter...Rogue...US...6.4...Good, not great. Metallic twang in the background.
Delirium Nocturnum...Huyghe...Belgium...8...Good Belgian double. Very nice pour. Brett evident in aroma and flavor.
Hop Rod Rye...Bear Republic...US...8.4...Fantastic rye IPA. Really showcases the rye against big hop presence.
Maredsous 10 Tripel...Duvel Moortgat...Belgium...7.8...Nice tripel. Surprisingly mild. The dubbel was a bit more flavorful.
Delirium Tremens...Huyghe...Belgium...6.8...Reminded me a lot of Leffe Blonde
Anniversary 2008...Sierra Nevada...US...6.8...Pleasant IPA. Rich but not unsessionable.
Porter...Michelob...US...6...Well, it's good beer. It's just not great. Get out of the “craft” biz, AB!
Curve Ball...Pyramid...US...5...A Kölsch with “herbal notes?” That's not herbal...it's DMS.
Kingfisher...Kingfisher?...India/US...7...Very nice import lager. Very malty and full of flavor. Much like Crumer's.
Mephistopheles Stout...Avery...US...8.4...Over 15% ABV – huge, rich, awesome! Almost a style of its own.
Drop Top Amber...Widmer...US...7...Fairly balanced, easy drinking amber. A bit light in color, body, and hops.
Three Philosophers...Ommegang...US...7...Tart; quite refreshing given the ABV. Dark fruit, caramel, slight roast notes.
Stella Artois...Stella Artois...Belgium...6.6...If it's been properly stored, it's a decent, refreshing lager.
Bigfoot 2009...Sierra Nevada...US...8.6...Fantastic barleywine. Probably the best year yet. Really floral, mild malt.
Old Rasputin...North Coast...US...7.6...Great imperial stout. Very, very rich and malty.
Pine Belt Pale Ale...Southern Star...US...6.2...Another canned micro. Brewed in TX. Not too shabby!
Hoegaarden...Hoegaarden...Belgium...9.4...My favorite wit. Blue Moon severely pales in comparison.
Trippel...New Belgium...US...7.2...Not too shabby. Hints of banana and clove.
Strongbow...Bulmers...UK...7.4...Good cider.
Chicken Killer...Santa Fe...US...6.2...Alright barleywine. A little medicinal in aroma, quite cloudy. Nice flavor.
Winter Stout (09)...St George...US...7.2...A nice RIS. Not as bold as others in the same category.
Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale...Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V....Belgium...6.8...Very interesting fruity/caramel/sour blend. Mild. Likely a good “intro” sour beer.
Old English Porter Unplugged...New Glarus...US...6.6...Aroma is thin, malty, slightly sour. Flavor is roasty with classic Belgian sour notes. Tasty!
Banana Bread Beer...Wells & Young's...UK...7.4...Excellent fruit beer. Thin head, very subtle aroma, but BIG banana bread flavor...really.
Wisconsin Belgian Red...New Glarus...US...7.4...Holy CHERRY! I loved it, but only for one glass. The cloying, sweet cherry flavor is very prominent.
Gubna...Oskar Blues...US...5.8...Hmm. At first blush it was really good. Don't think about onions...it gets weird. Focus on the citrus.
La Folie (Lips of Faith)...New Belgium...US...7.2...Best beer New Belgium Brews. Very intense, quite sour, really interesting. Want more!
Bashah...Stone/Brew Dog...Scotland/US...6.6...Good beer, but not really a “black Belgian double IPA” - little hop flavor/aroma, balanced bitterness
Censored (The Kronic)...Lagunitas...US...6.8...Good, clean, crisp amber. Would be good with dinner.
Paradox Isle of Arran...Brew Dog...Scotland...5.8...Decent imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels. Almost like my 888 (including the lack of carbonation)
Theobroma...Dogfish Head...US...5.2...A letdown. Thin to no head, weak aroma, tastes like a weak Belgian blonde with some honey. Very slight heat from the chile.
Double Bock...Sam Adams...US...6.6...Would be GREAT without the metallic aftertaste. Malty and delicious otherwise.
Hopus...Lefebvre...Belgium...5.8...Weird. Bitter Belgian blonde ale. Not terrible. Just not great.
Dogma...Brew Dog...Scotland...6.2...Not bad for a strange brew. Reminiscent of Raison de'Etre. Funky aftertaste almost like Asian food with fish sauce.
Hardcore IPA...Brew Dog...Scotland...8...Great IIPA. 8's across the board. What a double IPA should be!
Brother Thelonious...North Coast...US...7...Good beer. Need more.
Hefe-Weizen...Paulaner...Germany...8.8...Great hefe. Lots of banana as long as it's fresh.
Self Righteous Ale...Stone...US...7.4...Stone Cascadian Dark Ale??? Good...too expensive. Classic Stone dry biting finish.

 

[BennyN]

oh man. I don't keep a brew log, but this makes me want to start. I'm a big fan of the 1-10 scale.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

Just to confirm these are all small local craft beers you have bought? Like a sixer, perhaps? Thanks for sharing.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Mine has a few problems:

I'm bad at updating it.

I tend to score things around a 7 a lot. I need to be less afraid of low scores so that the results are more distinct. There are some 7 point beers that I loved and some 7 point beers that are simply average. I need to differentiate better.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

These are beers from all over the US and around the world. They are mostly craft beers. There are a few big names (Michelob Porter, for example). Almost none of them are brewed within 300 miles of me. Many of them were single bottle purchases.

 

[Flywheel]

I just started on here.

www.wdesignstudios.com/blog

I haven't entered much info yet....

 

[riored4v]

i keep a written log and then transfer over everything to beeradvocate. although i'm REALLY wishing i would have created my own log instead of theirs just to have it more easily accessible.

 

[edie]

i use "I Beer" on my phone. lets you rate and make notes. works for me.

 

[jtkratzer]

I keep a spreadsheet log of what I've brewed and put in a calendar of typically 4 weeks in the primary, 3 weeks in the bottle. It keeps me on a schedule to know when I need to bottle and when I should be able to drink. I'll keep notes on how things turn once I get to that point as I have tasted a couple of hefeweizen, but it needs more time in the bottle to better carbonate.

Never having paid attention to anything other than do I like the beer or not, I don't really know what I'm looking for to evaluate the characteristics or how to grade them.

 

[snowveil]

The GF's mom bought me a beer log from Ikea last year and I've been using that. Before that I never really cared to keep detailed notes of the beers I've tried, but it's actually a pretty cool thing to look back on. Since I've been saving bottles during the process, I've also been keeping the labels of most of the beers in the log.

It's amazing how quickly you can accumulate entries into a book like that if you buy different beer all of the time

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Reading title I thought it was a homebrew log but I think most of us do that already. This is a great idea and something I need to do. I like the idea of keeping it on my phone so it's always with me.

I was on the fence about staying home or going to a beer pub tonight and this idea tipped the scales.

 

[Frank99]

Great idea! I'm starting a brew log tonight.

 

[PearlJamNoCode]

I've begun to use one of these....

http://www.33beers.com/

 

[cedar_lake]

I keep a log of everything I brew, how much I have spent, what it works out to per pint, etc. I log brew days, any time something was racked from one vessel to another, and tasting notes when I first try a brew and whenever further tasting after some aging warrants comment.

I don't keep a log of stuff I have tried but probably should.

Most of my entries end up on my blog, under the "homebrewing" tag:

www.re-turn.blogspot.com

 

[Houblon]

I just take gravity pics, started this a yr or two ago. I do keep all recipes-notes of course.


BrewPics

< edit to add a few of the bottle beers sampled >
BottleBeer

.

 

[flowerysong]

http://blog.flowerysong.com/category/beer/

Not everything I drink makes it in there, but most of it does. Eventually.