Keep a Brew-Log

How long ago did you brew that last batch?  What was the starting gravity?

What about 2, 3 or 4 batches ago, can you remember all of the details from those?  It starts to get a little fuzzy after awhile – especially when you’ve got 2 or 3 different beers fermenting at the same time.

But who cares about any of that?  Gravity-schmavity!  When it’s done it’s done – then we drink it!

Any pro-brewer will tell you that having a consistent and repeatable process is a key to great brewing.  Keeping detailed notes will help you develop that process.

If you start entering your beer into competitions -  having a record of everything you did on brew day will then help you make the minor adjustments you need to get that recipe dialed-in.

So we should try to keep track of everything we brew – but what’s the best (or easiest) way to do that?  And how much information is enough?  This is one of those parts of brewing that can seem a little too much like work.  Here are a couple of simple ways to get you started.

A basic 99 cent composition book is a good start.  In it record your recipe, starting and finishing gravities, fermentation temperature and the dates when you brewed, racked and bottled or kegged each batch.

James and Steve over at BasicBrewing.com (audio and video podcasters extraordinaire!) have come up with a simple logbook that you can order from them for a few dollars.  The pre-printed forms will help to make sure you don’t forget any information and it includes a few other features as well.

But what if you want something more than a simple logbook – or you’re like me and have awful handwriting.  Then its time for an electronic solution.

If you’re a spreadsheet maven then making your own brewlog could be a fun project.  For the computer programmers out there – check out the BeerXML standard.

Finally, if none of that suits you – try one of the existing software solutions.  As I’ve mentioned numerous times – I personally use Beersmith.  I start by entering a master recipe.  When brew day rolls around I just copy the recipe to the brew log section to keep a permanent record of  that batch.  Then I can make tweaks to the master recipe without losing my brew history. There are lots of sorting options so that I can easily see how many times I’ve brewed a recipe and the dates.

Whichever method you choose to document your brew sessions the key is to do it consistently.  Do that and you’ll be well on your way to brewing great beer!

Tagged as: basic brewin, beer software, beersmith, brew session, brewlog, record keeping, recording brewday