Brew notes

[Andyhull]

Hi all,

Could someone post their formats for brew notes please.
Im going to be doing mine in a book, hand written and begin keeping yearly journals.
I would like to see what things you put in your brewing notes so as to start without having to keep changing the format. (prety much Plagiarize all your formats and make my own format from them)

I aim to brew alot more in the near future and go AG (i have the AG equipment but not the time) once our little one has arived and settled in and SWMBO has calmed down a little
I want to put everything in place that i can that doesn't take much time that i can keep under the radar of a very pregnant SWMBO so as to get off to a flying start when the time is right :thumb:

Thanks in advance

Andy

 

[PD]

I keep my records both on my computer ( easily added to and updated ) and print them off and keep in a loose leaf folder. Now I've started All Grain brewing I also print out the BeerMate recipe and brewday page to add to each brew.
All Grain


Name :- Piddles Dribble

Type :- English Pale Ale

Started :- 12 September 2012

Grain Bill :- Maris Otter
:- Wheat Malt
:- Biscuit Malt
:- Crystal Malt
:-
:-
:-

Hops :- Challenger
:- East kent Golding
:- Fuggles
:-





Extras :-

Mash Length :- 90 mins

Boil Length :- 60 mins

SG pre boil :- 1.066

SG

FG :- 1.010

% abv :- 4.5 %


Racking :- 2nd Fv 19 September 2012


Bottled :- 23 09 2012


Notes :-


Probably OTT but I enjoy this type of thing and like to look back. I had my wine ferments for many years, but they eventually got lost in house moves etc.

 

[VSat]

once our little one has arived and settled in and SWMBO has calmed down a little

Good luck with the impending! As for SWMBO calming down, that will never happen! :grin:

 

[Andyhull]

Good luck with the impending! As for SWMBO calming down, that will never happen! :grin:

Ha, your probably right there although saying that our lass is usually pretty laid back.

Thanks for the post PD, gives me something to work to :
Tis very comprehensive!
I want to keep my notes in 6"x4" little books and will write the year on the binder.
Soooooooo sad i know but all part of the fun of home brewing for me)

 

[fbsf]

I use a free Wordpress blog to keep all my notes - it's almost impossible for me to mislay it! I keep a running blog of what I've been doing, and put the recipies in the recipe section.

Mine is http://sadleybroke.wordpress.com

Once it's set up, "blogging" can be as simple as sending an email to a predetermined address, and it magically appears on the site, and to add new pages takes a couple of mouse clicks.

If that's something that interests you, I can probably provide pointers in how to set one up, just PM me.

 

[Andyhull]

Thanks fsb but i like the look of lined up books (wierd), we have a traditional style library at home and i want to keep a library of notes in that way.
Also if im honest, im not really that good on computers, we don't have a facebook account follow twitter or even have an online photo account :shock:
I don't mind gaming but not online and i can navigate my way round emails, word and exell as i need these for work but thats about all i want to do.

Thank you for the kind offer though :

 

[fbsf]

No worries - I can see the attraction of a nice book shelf too! :

 

[graysalchemy]

I keep a hardbacked hand written book which like PD I put in the recipe I also note temps times gravities etc. I also give an account of what happened and problems. I keep notes during fermentation and tasting notes. On bottling again I keep notes of how many bottles carbonation rates and temps again. Finally I leave two pages blank to write tasting notes.

 

[Andyhull]

Finally I leave two pages blank to write tasting notes.

I think i need a bigger book :lol:

Just added my last 3 brews and my 4th IPA in progress brew to my 4"x6" book and definately need a bigger book.
The comments take up most the space and have had to cut them right back so a 6"x8" or 8"x10" book is needed.
I shall go and raid the stationary cupboard again and see what we have. :grin:

 

[alanywiseman.]

I need to start taking notes but want to be able to alphabetise it so that i can easily find the brews I like easily rather than have to flick through brew log books to try and find a recipe. I was thinking of useing a combination of Excel and word or use excel that has the recipes in alphbetical order with the book and page number of the recipe then look at the brewing books :hmm:

I see a plan forming

 

[PD]

The taking and making of notes in home brewing is besides enjoyable, a necessity both when your learning and when fully experienced. They help you see things you did that was wrong or beneficial to your brews, and they are a record for future brews either of the same or similar type.
The soft-wear for all grain brewing makes it possible to keep a record of all the ingredients you use on one single sheet of paper , nice and neat.
My hand written notes are not a sight to behold and I found that jotting things down I couldn't understand what they were for, a month later !
But having a basic sheet with all the essential details on, I can for each brew just call it up from Office, and fill it in with the details knowing that I will not forget some important point.... Like my Starting Gravity and pitching temps which for some reason I always seemed to forget.
Tasting notes can be hand wrote later as time goes on if you wish.
Don't exclude little comments you think of that have occurred during the brew.. Sometimes they make interesting and comical points several months later.

 

[Baldbrewer]

If I had beautfiul copperplate handwriting then I would have a nice leather bound book for brew notes.
Sadly I'm lefthanded, write like I'm wearing a boxing glove and smudge everything!

computers/ipad are a god send for a scruffy writer like me.

I use iBrewmaster and print out the recipe schedules then scribble notes on the sheet during brewdays then edit the recipe "online" file.

My writing is so bad I should have been a doctor!
:

 

[Craven Brewer]

Took the words right out of my mouth :thumb:

Us 'lefties' should stick together.

 

[brizleciderarmy]

I am another scruffy handwriting merchant so i use trusty old notepad for my notes. I keep one folder for each brew, which contains the notepad document and any pictures etc.

Below is the notes for the wherry i have on the go at the moment.

Name:  Woodfordes Wherry.
 
Ingredients: Standard Woodfordes Wherry 2 Can Kit.

Priming: Light DME 6g/l.

OG: 1.042.

Brewlength:  23l/5gal/40pts.

Pitching Date: 12-09-2012 - Early Evening.

Pitching Process: Sprinkled onto wort.

Planned Storage:  Bottles.

Ferment Temp: In Shed. Est 16c.

Condition Temp:



Fermentation: (target 10 days)   
   12-09-2012  -  (evening)Fermentation bucket situated in shed.

   13-09-2012  -  (morning)Krausen Forming nicely.

   20-09-2012  -  Not lifted bucket lid yet. Just Periodically checked
                  up to this date if the airlock has dryed out. Fermentation
                  most likely stopped. Letting yeast clean up all the crap.

   22-09-2012  -  Gravity 1.020 (1.020 temp corrected).

   24-09-2012  -  Gravity still 1.020. Bought indoors as i think shed is too
                  cold. After all this time youde think ide own a thermometer.
                  Lesson learnt.


Conditioning: (for christmas 2012)

Final Notes:

Final quantity:

Label/Lid:

Simple but effective. Only flaw in the process is me forgetting to write stuff in :drunk:

 

[PD]

:thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

As others do, I've an A4 hardback book with all brews logged pretty much the same as everyone else :thumb:

The other thing I do is use 'Brewmate' software and screenshot the recipe as well

I know duplication and unneccesary, but what the hell, it's just one of my things and neater than my writing

 

[Andyhull]

Would any of the AG brewers like to put the format of your notes on screen for us all to peruse?

Maybe your mash, boil notes (etc) :grin:

 

[PD]

quote from Balbrewer

If I had beautfiul copperplate handwriting then I would have a nice leather bound book for brew notes.

You can always use fancy scripts in a word processor.....

 

[Dieseljockey]

As others do, I've an A4 hardback book with all brews logged pretty much the same as everyone else :thumb:

The other thing I do is use 'Brewmate' software and screenshot the recipe as well

I know duplication and unneccesary, but what the hell, it's just one of my things and neater than my writing

Line 1....Did this from when I started brewing...(years back) lost the smegging lot when we moved to France 10 years back. :evil:
Line 2....Also use Brewmate, and that's a bloody good idea to print off a screen shot and pop into a folder. :thumb:

 

[TheMumbler]

I generally just print off the recipe from qbrew. This info is on most of the brewday threads I post. tbh I find brewday threads quite a good way of looking back to see what I brewed. I then add handwritten notes to record and hope that I'll be able to interpret my scrawl if I brew it again.

Actual OG
Gravity as it drops towards the end of fermentation until stable (usually after a week, 2 days later than that, if stable stop otherwise wait another 2 days)
FG
I record the actual weights of grain and hops as they are usually a little different
the volume of water used for each batch
Any gypsum etc added to the mash and/or boil
Mash temp at start and end
preboil gravity (sometimes)
Yeast used
Fermentation temp (external temp in the brew-fridge, so not all that accurate)
Amount of priming sugar if bottling

All the sheets go loose in a box file. If I enter the beer in any kind of competition I put any feedback sheets in there too.

Randy Mosher has a sheet that you can download which might be of interest, I've never used it though.

The thing that I should do and never bother with is tasting notes. So far I haven't tried to really perfect any recipe, so that is less important. I'm still more interested in doing something different than really nailing a consistent process.