Keeping a homebrewing log for each beer that you brew is critical to improving your process and ultimately, your beers. Your notes and metrics will highlight what worked well, the impact of a process or recipe change, and what adjustments to make the next time you brew. Many homebrewers keep a log but quite a few don’t. Perhaps they don’t because they don’t know what to track, their software is too complicated, or they lack the focus, interest, or structure for tracking important metrics and taking notes for each of their beers. That’s unfortunate and I hope to shed some light on things you should consider tracking and a method for doing so.
Ultimately, what to track is determined by your brewing methodology (e.g. three vessel, BIAB, extract) and your personal preference. Some homebrewers who are more data-inclined enjoy filling in every field of their brewing software and tracking all of the super-detailed metrics. Others track volumes, gravities, and a few other details and call it a day. Of course there’s a group in-between which is where I fall. In the sections that follow, I’ll share what I track and why. I’ll also provide you a link to my personal homebrewing log template so you can save it, revise it, and use it to meet your own customized tracking needs.
NOTE: I am not suggesting that the comments below are the final word on what is or is not important to track in your homebrewing log. Each of us has to define our own needs. You may finish this post and say, “what about X?” or “I don’t care about Y.” That’s fine. This is what works for me. My intention here, as is the case with all of the Homebrew Notes, is to hit the high points so you can be successful implementing this into your home brewery. I would always encourage you to explore this topic further if it is of interest.
Homebrewing Software
Before I get further into this, let me state that keeping detailed records of your past brewing sessions is one of the key functions of homebrewing software. Whether you’re using BeerSmith, Brewer’s Friend, or some other homebrewing application, it’s almost certain that anything I describe below can be tracked in one of those tools. I’ve tried both BeerSmith and Brewer’s Friend and would say that both apps would meet the needs of 99.9% of homebrewers. I’m not here to endorse any particular solution. That said, I’ll admit that my use of homebrewing software is very limited.
Currently, I use BeerSmith to get my core targets along with a few other data points and to make sure my recipe is to style. I transfer those pieces of info into my own custom-created homebrewing log and then I don’t touch BS again until I’m setting up my next batch. Why don’t I use the software to its fullest capability? I’ve chosen my approach for three primary reasons:
- Homebrewing software tries to meet the needs of 99.9% of homebrewers – “That’s a good thing!”, you say. For you perhaps it is, but for me, it’s cluttered and I find it frustrating that I don’t even know what some of the fields mean. I find the documentation and training for homebrewing software to be lacking and the presence of all these “what the hell does that mean” fields makes me feel as if I’m not doing something that I should be. Ultimately, I’ve found that many of those fields don’t even apply to my brewing system (I do eBIAB for the record). There are others that do apply but I just don’t care enough to drop into that level of detail. More to the point, I like my data to be hand-selected and I prefer to see them in as simple a form as possible. As I continue to build my brewing skill set, perhaps one day I’ll move away from my custom log and use software exclusively filling in every field. I’m open to that idea but I doubt it will happen.
- Customization is important to me – For the reasons noted in #1, I like to track my data in a form that I can customize to meet my particular needs. I can modify my homebrewing log to have fields I want to track and remove those that I find I don’t really need. Software doesn’t allow me to add or hide fields in this way. As I continue brewing and adjusting my processes with experience, I learn additional metrics that are important and why they are important. At that point, I add them to my homebrewing log template. Until that time, they aren’t in the way. It’s nice that I don’t have to sort through the clutter to find the important data points.
- Subscription fees – Reasons #1 and 2 are enough for me to use the approach I’ve chosen but the fact that homebrewing software providers have now gone to subscription models is the final deterrent for me. Yes, I realize the cost is relatively low but I’m not a fan. I want a price for your software and I can determine whether it’s worth that amount or not. This is not Spotify or Netflix where content is being added every month to provide additional value – it’s software. If you want to charge me for a new version fine, but a perpetual cost to have access to my past homebrew notes? No thanks. It’s for this reason that I’m using BS’s most basic application and saving everything locally without their cloud-based subscription model. If my drive crashes, I don’t really need those files anyway.
[…steps down from soapbox…]
Homebrewing Data to Track
At this point, it’s probably helpful for me to provide you my personal homebrewing log so you can follow along. The sample linked here is a completed log so you can see an example of what kind of info goes in each field. Here you are: Completed Homebrew Log. Here is a link to my blank Homebrew Log template.
Begin by Outlining What You Want to Brew
I begin my process by completing Section 2 of my homebrewing log template, Description of Recipe Design (i.e. Intended Beer). After all, I need to know what I’m trying to accomplish. If I’m brewing a recipe that I found somewhere else, I’ll link or reference the original source and give an overview of the expected flavors and why I chose it. If I’m brewing my own recipe, I’ll give details about the results I’m hoping to achieve. In this example, I’m making modifications to my Irish Red that I enjoy and I also enter into competitions. It’s won 2nd place but I want to keep making improvements to take a blue ribbon.
With the beer goal defined, I’ll fill in my initial thoughts as to the malts, hops, and yeast that will get me there. (Recipe design is a topic for another time.) I may enter a water addition if I think it will help achieve my flavor profile. Note that I don’t worry about quantities for any of these things at this point. I’ll also enter the target mash temp that I’ve chosen based on how it will impact body, sweetness, and mouthfeel.
With a sketch of my goal, my ingredients, and my mash, I open BeerSmith and enter this information using an equipment profile matching my gear. I modify that recipe until it’s within the ranges for the style (if that’s what I want) while still emphasizing the malt, hops, and yeast characteristics that I’m pursuing. Now, my recipe is set and I am finished tinkering with BS for this recipe.
Section 1: Recipe Information
For each recipe, I give it a name just because, well, it’s fun! I name all my beers after songs I like which have some applicability to the beer style. In the example, “The Three Sunrises” is a little known song by U2 (Irish band) that I really enjoy. I also give my beer a version number. The first batch for a beer is version 1.1. If I make relatively minor adjustments to the next version, it becomes v 1.2. If I make major changes, it becomes v 2.1.
I enter my brew date and I track my brew times. I then transfer the remainder of the information in this section directly from BeerSmith.
Section 2: Description of Recipe Design (i.e. Intended Beer)
I’ve already explained why I do this but it’s also nice to have that summary on my homebrew log for reference. When I taste the beer, I’ll judge whether I accomplished what I set out to do. When I start planning the next iteration of this beer, I’ll know what got me to the current state.
Section 3: Brewing Ingredients
This section is pretty straightforward – I’m tracking the ingredients that I’m using (hops, grains, and adjuncts). The quantities for each come out of BS. A few things to note here:
- For hops, it’s convenient to have the alpha acid percentages and the addition times. Alpha acid levels change from crop to crop and your bittering hop quantities may need to be adjusted in future versions as a result. I could just notate the AAUs instead but I prefer weight and alpha acid percentages. Having a quick schedule of the addition times is convenient too.
- For grains, I’m a stickler for noting the maltster as flavor results do vary from maltster to maltster even for the same grain type. While Muntons and Crisp are both perfectly good UK maltsters, if Muntons created the flavor I wanted (or vice versa), I want to know the specific malt that got me there.
Section 4: Yeast and Cost
You’ll note that I like to keep the details of my yeast on the sheet. I might be able to get by without some of it but for now I like having it handy. The good news is that I can change it if I choose to.
I begin by calculating how much yeast to pitch. Once I’ve done that, I include the number of yeast packs I used and the size of the yeast starter I made on my log along with the specs of the yeast strain. Having the specs available can help me evaluate my yeast performance – fermentation temp and attenuation are particularly helpful.
I also like to track the cost of my homebrews. This is really personal preference. In a future post, I’ll share how I track my inventory and cost at the ingredient level. At a minimum, this is handy to know my per beer cost. If we assume that I get one keg per 5.5 gallon batch, that’s roughly 50 12 ounce beers. The cost of my Irish Red recipe was $39.70 or $0.80 per 12 ounce craft beer, not bad.
Section 5: Water Adjustments
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. In the event of a sale, I will be awarded a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Don’t worry, I’ll just use the commission to buy more brewing stuff anyway.
I’ve only been using water salts and lactic acid to improve the taste of my beers for about 18 months now but I do think they’ve made a significant improvement. Thus far, I’ve not gotten too far into the weeds on water adjustments and typically limit myself to three possible additions:
- Lactic Acid – I add lactic acid to most batches in order to reach an appropriate mash pH level. Later in this Homebrew Note, I’ll talk about why this is important. You’ll see in my notes that I’m still struggling with dialing in this issue.
- Gypsum – Provides sulfate in the beer to give a dryer, sharper, fuller edge to hopped beers. (FYI, one pound of gypsum will last years.)
- Calcium Chloride – Provides chloride to accentuate fullness and sweetness.
(FYI, one pound of calcium chloride will also last years.)
I use Bru N’ Water to determine how much of each addition I want to use. It seems to work well enough but there are other water adjustment calculators out there as well. There are even water adjustment calculators built into most of the homebrewing software platforms. How they compare, I can’t say.
NOTE: If you plan to add water adjustments (AKA watering salts) like gypsum and calcium chloride, you’ll need a higher precision scale than your typical kitchen food scale. This is the scale I use. For measuring small volumes of liquid, like lactic acid, I use these measuring cylinders.
Section 6: Process Plan / Notes
In this section, I create a checklist for myself to follow. I do this because I’m often distracted while I’m brewing. I’m either chatting with my friend, tinkering with my gear, or having homebrews and watching a game. I can’t tell you how many times this check list has saved me from forgetting a step. The example that you see here is similar to what I use every time. I just modify the steps to reflect any additional mash steps, hop additions, etc.
Section 7: Brew Day Data
These are the brew day metrics that I have deemed important to this point. As noted previously, this list (as well as other fields on this log) is subject to revision as I see fit. For example, my homebrew log a year ago would not have included Mash pH. Now it does. It used to include Evaporation Rate. It no longer does.
NOTE: When I’m tracking my brew day data, I highlight any results that I consider significantly off target. You’ll see in the sample log that I do this by making that abnormal result red in color.
Here are the data points I’m tracking in this section:
- Starting Water Volume – I do full volume, eBIAB mashes so how much water did I mash into? This information comes from BS.
- Pre-Boil Gravity – I compare my target pre-boil gravity to my actual pre-boil gravity so I can make adjustments as needed. The target value comes from BS. See my Homebrew Note on Simple Steps for Correcting Your Homebrew’s Gravity and/or Volume After Mash to understand why this is important.
- Pre-Boil Volume – I compare my target pre-boil volume to my actual pre-boil volume so I can make adjustments as needed. The target value comes from BS. Again, see my Homebrew Note on Simple Steps for Correcting Your Homebrew’s Gravity and/or Volume After Mash to understand why this is important.
- Mash Temp – I note my mash temp. Since I do eBIAB, my system holds my mash temp steady so I don’t have to note the target mash temp and actual mash temp. Before I had the eBIAB set up, I did have both values so I could see if my kettle didn’t hold temp as planned. My mash temp is also one of the steps in Section 6: Process Plan/Notes as well but I like having it more visible.
- Mash pH – I compare my target mash pH to my actual mash pH. The target value comes from Bru N’ Water. Mash pH is important in improving conversion of malt to sugars, improving yeast health during fermentation, inhibiting bacteria growth, improving hop extraction rates, improving beer clarity, and improving flavor stability as the beer ages. My pH in this example brew was off pretty significantly and I had been having issues with hitting target. After doing some more research, I found I was measuring my pH too early (@ 10 minutes) before the mash has fully converted. My pH readings were always 0.3-0.4 points high but since I tracked that data point and identified the problem, I’ve now found the solution. This is an excellent example of how my logs are helping me see trends and improve my processes.
Section 8: Brew Day Notes
This is the area where I talk to myself. I outline what went well and what didn’t. I note steps I took that differed from my plan. It’s a way of reminding myself what to do better in the future and what might have been the cause of any unintended flavors or outcomes.
Section 9: Fermentation
In this section, similar to my brew day plan, I give myself a fermentation schedule/plan that notes any temperature changes and the dates those should occur. I keep a second column in this section for Actual since things don’t always go exactly as planned. It’s common for me to adjust the fermentation schedule along the way based on personal circumstances (e.g. travel).
Section 10: Packaging Data
This section tells me when I packaged (kegged in my case), what the final gravity was, my kegged volume(s), and my target carbonation level for that beer. In the notes section, I’ll make comments if I did something unusual at kegging like splitting the beer into two kegs for different flavor additions.
Section 11: Tasting Notes
Using the BJCP Beer Score Sheet, I’ll see how the beer turned out. Did I meet my expectations as outlined in Section 2? How would this beer score if I was the judge? Even if you never plan to enter a competition, it’s important to get into the habit of evaluating your results to a greater extent than “it’s good.” Taking tasting notes helps you pay attention to the details on your palate and the flavors that resulted from your recipe and your process. It also let’s you savor you work. I mean really, it’s drinking beer and giving your opinion. Why wouldn’t you do this?
I’ll also mention that I used to have two or three of these tasting sections. Since the flavor of beer changes over time, the idea was that I’d taste it after carbonation and give my thoughts. I’d taste it again another 2-4 weeks later and note how it changed. I’d taste it a third time when I was nearing the end of the keg and give some final notes on how it changed. While I still think that’s a good idea, I got rid of the other two sections because I just never did the follow-up notes.
Section 12: Notes for Next Batch
This final section requiring input is where you tell yourself what to do differently next time. If you want to modify your malt bill, change a hop, or figure out some process issue, here is where you make that note. When I’m planning my next batch of this beer style, this is the section where I begin.
Section 13: Formulas / Links
In the final section, I keep a list of the formulas and links that I use regularly during some stage of the brewing process. It’s just a handy reference.
Downloads
In case you missed them:
Sample Completed Homebrew Log
My Blank Homebrew Log Template
Now that you’ve read this Homebrew Note, let me know if you have a question, recommended improvement, or other thoughts in the comments below. As I mention in About Homebrew Notes, these are living documents and your feedback is appreciated!