It is currently Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:26 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 24 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:15 pm 
Global Moderator
User avatar
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:09 pm
Posts: 3944
Location: Ohio
Medals: 2
Drunk of the Week (2)
Yeah, I have a hard bound journal book that I use for all my brewing and breadmaking notes... keep track of dates, gravity readings, etc.

_________________
Spiderwrangler
PFC, Arachnid Deployment Division

In the cellar: Galaxy Pale, Citra Pale, Honey Common, Cat Yakk Saison
In the fermentor: Brew Class IPA, Belgiany Thing
In the works: Wooden Cider


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:49 pm 
 Profile

Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:01 am
Posts: 187
Location: Richland, WA
I print out 2 pages from beersmith. One is the brewsheet and the other is just the recipe display. I use the recipe sheet when I mill my grain and if I'm doing something complicated I'll check off grains as I mill them. On the back of the recipe sheet I write my times, temps, etc. I don't really use the brew sheet much anymore but I still print it out to be consistent.

These sheets get hole punched and stuck in binders. If I enter a beer in a competition, I'll punch those sheets and put them in the binder with the recipe.


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:26 pm 
 Profile

Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:19 am
Posts: 391
I went the opposite route. Used to do the paper and binder thing, works fine. Bought an older laptop for really cheap, installed Linux on it and run Beer Tools Pro. Put the laptop out in the brewery section of the garage, use wifi. Sync the recipes to my home PCs and elsewhere easily with dropbox. make notes on the laptop while I'm brewing, no paper.

_________________
PFC BN Army - 43rd Battalion Mashing Squadron


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:48 am 
 Profile

Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 9:18 am
Posts: 1383
I have an Excel spreadsheet which lets me design the beer, record the grain and hops bills, figure out how much extract to expect, what the ABV of the beer is likely to be, what salt additions will do to water, what the hops bitterness might be expected to be and a rough estimate of the color. During the brew I can plug in gravity readings at various points and predict gravity in the fermenter as a function of makeup water additions, dilutions etc. There are slots to enter apparent gravity, temperature and pH as the ferment progresses and spaces to enter apparent extract, true extract, actual ABV and amount of beer that winds up in the keg. From these it calculates ADF, RDF and estimates OG from which it calculates the overall efficiency - from grain sack to keg. It also record complete color data (SRM and three additional color coefficients). Printed it fits on one 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper that is the major record of the beer. It goes into a looseleaf notebook along with printouts of temperature recordings from the mash and fermentation and printouts from the instruments used during color, extract, ABV and bitterness analyses.

I also have a bound brewing log in which I record step by step what I do during the brew day, pH readings at various points, volumes of decoctions, start and stop times of various steps, how much dilution water was used, chiller temperatures (coolant inlet, outlet and beer), DO level in the fermenter and anything else I think was important. This turns out to be the source I consult most.


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:57 am 
User avatar
 Profile

Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:07 pm
Posts: 1529
Location: Ingleside Illinois
I've been using the Brewer's Logbook for a few years now to record recipe info and notes.
The website is basicbrewingshop.com

_________________
Keep on Brewin'
Captain Carrot


"Beer makes everything more fun!" (me)


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:31 am 
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:20 pm
Posts: 158
Oh Man! Kai's log sheets are absolute overkill. A waste of paper.

I use a bound log book and just write everything down as it happens. Everything is keyed to its time and date. Everything action, every addition, every measurement, every reading, every problem, every correction, every result. Of course, I write down the recipe to document the beer.

I find that these notes are only about 2 pages for most beer batches and they are not that cumbersome to document during the brewday. My wife is a very talented cook, but she never keeps any notes. She can't really reproduce her dishes and I can tell you that is a shame since some are fantastic. My notes enable me to decipher a brewing session and either correct or reproduce the same beer. Good notes are a great way to improve your brewing craft.

_________________
Martin Brungard
Carmel, IN
BJCP National
Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI)

Download Bru'n Water here:
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:48 pm 
 Profile

Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 9:18 am
Posts: 1383
mabrungard wrote:
My wife is a very talented cook, but she never keeps any notes. She can't really reproduce her dishes and I can tell you that is a shame since some are fantastic.


Exactly the same story here!


Last edited by ajdelange on Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 

 Post subject: Re: What are your methods to keep good brewing records?
PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:27 am 
 Profile

Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:10 pm
Posts: 731
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Thanks everyone. I have settled on a paper notebook for now and possibly buying the Brewers Logbook in the future.

And for your wives, my wife prints recipes and then makes notes on them. Now that she (and all married women in the US) use pinterest, she adds notes there like "next time add more salt".

_________________
Colonel Fischer
10th Mountain Division


Top
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 24 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 8 hours



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  

Powered by phpBB © 2009 phpBB Group