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Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:14 pm
by Carbonator
Not sure if this is the right category, but here seems the most relevant.

Anyways, I used to have a diary on what I did and the results. Moved house and lost it, but I wasn't brewing anyway. SO now it's 7 years later and I am going to sell the old house and now it's Unconditional", the buyer wants all my shit all gone. So starts a journey of discovery and I find my old notes - been soggy and damp as they were placed into a pile with no care by the tenant whilst I was gone.

How lucky it was I was only able to salvage the most important page - the one marked as "Good" (it was the best)!

IMAG0883.jpg

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:35 pm
by bluc
Bugger did you save anything worthwile? I dont keep anywhere enough notes but what i do is digital..

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 2:32 am
by warramungas
I have a similar book which started as my beer brewing notes and transformed into my beer/mead/distilling book.
Lots of notes but not a huge amount of success with my experimentals. I keep it safe next to the wine rack and away from my brew gear cause I know it'll get destroyed if I don't.
Bugger about yours. Hope it didn't have too much stuff to lose in it.

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 6:34 am
by Zak Griffin
I've got a little black book that I record all of my washes/runs in...

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 6:40 am
by Bumper
Zak Griffin wrote:I've got a little black book that I record all of my washes/runs in...


I have a big black book and aspirations! ;-)

Has my beer recipes etc as well. Just a back up in case I lose everything digitally. More risk of this than mold these days.

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:21 pm
by TasSpirits
I had a expensive laptop that was only a few months old, thought sweet Ill put everything in digital format and back it up :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: F&^kin thing died before I could, only lost 3 months of notes. Lesson learned, black book works best.

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:30 pm
by bluc
I use an android tablet hoping for a new model with a stylus soon.. I copy everything onto my pc end of each brew session.. As with everything digital continuous current backup is a must :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:17 pm
by Carbonator
I love this "digital age" - I been digitising everything I do recently.

Just gotta remember to give my passwords to my descendants before I die, or it will all be for nothing. lol

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:12 am
by Ripas
Anyone got an electronic template of what info they document and would like to share ?

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:24 am
by EziTasting
Not looking to start an argument, but we have had Apple Mas for the past 10 -11 years as home computers and they have a system called 'Time machine' which backs-up everything you do automatically... Not only the finished product but all variants along the way.

So our video card [oo[ed itself and made the Mac useless, we took the "Time Machine" to a friends home that also runs Mac and were able to open and modify all of our docs ... Not sure I MS does anything like that (they own ~ 50% of Apple anyway) so that was a saving grace!

Further to that, most systems now offer an "iCloud" systems that are so ridiculously cheap and allow you to transfer and work off your docs from a variety of implements (android smart phone, iPhone and computers) any where were you have internet access ... Worth looking in to!


Oh, my brains hurts ...

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:50 am
by beardrinkshomebrew
I write it up & put it on this site :techie-typing:

it never gets lost & fellow brewers get to read it :happy-partydance:

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 6:27 pm
by warramungas
EziTasting wrote:Not looking to start an argument, but we have had Apple Mas for the past 10 -11 years as home computers and they have a system called 'Time machine' which backs-up everything you do automatically... Not only the finished product but all variants along the way.

So our video card [oo[ed itself and made the Mac useless, we took the "Time Machine" to a friends home that also runs Mac and were able to open and modify all of our docs ... Not sure I MS does anything like that (they own ~ 50% of Apple anyway) so that was a saving grace!

Further to that, most systems now offer an "iCloud" systems that are so ridiculously cheap and allow you to transfer and work off your docs from a variety of implements (android smart phone, iPhone and computers) any where were you have internet access ... Worth looking in to!


Oh, my brains hurts ...


My brain hurts too. I'm old school. I think I'll stick to my notebook. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 5:55 am
by Aussiedownunder01
I know exactly what you are on about recently I made a beer from a can with extras its bloody good BUT I have no idea what went into it :oops:

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:49 am
by sp0rk
bluc wrote:I use an android tablet hoping for a new model with a stylus soon.. I copy everything onto my pc end of each brew session.. As with everything digital continuous current backup is a must :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Get a Microsoft Surface Pro
We have them at work and use the styluses, I'm a big fan and seriously considering getting one when I save up a few shekels

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:11 pm
by Whiskey Baron
Good to see I'm not the only 1 with a little black book / notes about each run.

I've taken notes from day 1 that includes recipes, tweaks to recipes, notes taken during every run, what jar #s smell good/ keep & their abv, oaking procedures etc.

I do it so I can easily go back & see what tweak I did to make a recipe better or if a run tastes like shit I can see where/ what was done out of the norm. With several different brews & runs going from time to time I can't remember all the elements to each recipe - so the lil black book helps a lot! :D

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 1:18 pm
by CH3CH2OH
Here is what I use

WASH AND RUN.xlsx


Sheet 1 is the ferment
Sheet 2 is the run
I print the ferment on one side and the run on the other so I can keep track of the ferment and run on one piece of paper and keep it all in a binder

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 7:58 pm
by Doubleuj
CH3CH2OH wrote:Here is what I use

WASH AND RUN.xlsx


Sheet 1 is the ferment
Sheet 2 is the run
I print the ferment on one side and the run on the other so I can keep track of the ferment and run on one piece of paper and keep it all in a binder

Holy crap CH3CH2OH, that should be in the calculators page or something. When I finally upgrade to all grain I'm pinching this.. Cheers :handgestures-thumbupleft: btw, your username is the best!

Re: Keeping notes of what we brew.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 3:35 am
by CH3CH2OH
Thanks Doubleuj

It is a work in progress and being an excel spreadsheet you can modify it change it or whatever to meet your needs