Equipment: Notebooks

[anuran]

I've gotten past the "I'm not sure if this is right for me" stage and am interested in being being systematic so that I can get repeatable results and learn from each experiment. That means record keeping. And that means keeping a log or notebook.

What does that mean?
What should go into each entry?
What information is important to record?
A lot of times the way things are arranged provides useful information when you take different views and slices through the records. What is a productive way to arrange things?

There are brewing and winemaking templates, and a lot of those seem like to much information in some ways and too little in others. And then there's the stuff distillation-specific stuff - still setup, length of run, how many cuts and how much of each, ABV at the parrot, cask specifics if appropriate, aging techniques (likewise), dilution, etc.

What have you folks found to be useful?

[NZChris]

Everything.

As a beginner, if you ever decide that something isn't important, you will find out later that it was.

One if the best wines I ever made and would like to make again, I didn't bother to keep a single record for.

[seabass]

What he said. Everything.

This is why I like beersmith. I take detailed notes for every recipe from mash to glass. Mineral additions, mash temp, SG, FG, fermentation temp, when it hits FG, mash pH, finished pH, yeast starter size, wash flavor notes.

For distillation, power level throughout stripping and spirit run, abv of beginning and end of hearts cut as reference for the next time you make the same thing, flavor notes throughout run, flavor of final cuts going into barrel, abv going into barrel.

For more broad notes, I keep a notebook with good power settings for different things and simple notes so I don't have to reinvent the wheel each time.

[still_stirrin]

Also, take good notes of your process and observations when making cuts.

Try to be very descriptive of your senses, ie - visual appearance, smell, and of course taste. I always recommend sampling “down”, from the middle jar towards the tails (last collected jar) first because the heads and early heads will spoil your taste buds. After sampling downward, return to the middle jar and sample “upward”, toward the heads and early heads.

Make notes of what you taste by descriptors you can associate with the taste, such as “wet cardboard” for the oily and alkaloid perceptions identifiable in the tails. Sometimes a descriptor is “sweat socks”...if that’s your perception. But try to log an appropriate sensation. Notes will help you discern where to make the cuts. And they’ll also help you with the blending, “a little of this with that” flavor to create the spirit specific to your taste.

Note, as you sample upwards and approach the heads, you’ll begin to detect the esters and ketones (solventy) smells. Again, be descriptive with your senses. Diligence with this will reward you with a superior product, and notes will help you hone the skills so you can replicate this in the future.

Best news is that the notes will become your “feedback tool” for improvement in addition to a “troubleshooting guide” when something goes arry.
ss

[StillerBoy]

Best news is that the notes will become your “feedback tool” for improvement in addition to a “troubleshooting guide” when something goes arry.

The results of making / taking note, which represent two different process, is what is quoted above by ss..

Plus what has been stated and recommended by the other posters..

Plus structure your notes into four segments.. fermentation with sub title on different washes and mashing process.. distillation.. cuts.. ageing.. all the sections have their own requirements and learning curve..

Mars

[jonnys_spirit]

I record all kinds of notes in my stillers notebook. I find spirit run data particularly useful especially when I make another of the same batch.

Spirit Run -
Fraction # - Time (in minutes for that fraction) - Volume in ml - ABV - Vapor temp @ start and end of fraction if it changes - power setting for that fraction - Initial Notes (aroma, flavor, anything noteworthy)

I'll go back and make notes of how I decide to blend the fractions into my cuts for say white cut, barrel cut, feints cut because it could be some amount of time before I do another of that batch and tasting it 12-18months down the road when I'm doing another batch may encourage different cut points..

Sketches and incomplete notes are fun too!

Cheers!
-jonny

[anuran]

What he said. Everything.

This is why I like beersmith. I take detailed notes for every recipe from mash to glass. Mineral additions, mash temp, SG, FG, fermentation temp, when it hits FG, mash pH, finished pH, yeast starter size, wash flavor notes.

I picked up a copy of Beersmith. Nice that it works on Linux, MacOS and Windows. It seems to be pretty complete for the brewing end. It even has the water pH and characteristics for the city I live in I wish there were a distilling section as an add-on, but you can't have everything.

There's a point in every craft where you say "I can make a pretty thing. Now can I make a dozen identical pretty things in a row?"

[NZChris]

There's a point in every craft where you say "I can make a pretty thing. Now can I make a dozen identical pretty things in a row?"

I haven't reached that point for most of the products I make. I've reached a point where I don't make many mistakes, but most things I make are still tweaked for improvement using my past records and better ingredients.

[psf]

I'm bumping this thread only because I went looking for the answer. Found it. Everything!

[Twisted Brick]

I record all kinds of notes in my stillers notebook. I find spirit run data particularly useful especially when I make another of the same batch.

Sketches and incomplete notes are fun too!

-jonny

Not to mention any names but those of us who are always thinking of ways to improve our stills for added performance it is handy to have a benchmark for a number of factors to measure against.

[Salt Must Flow]

I use Microsoft Excel to keep track of everything. Recipe calculators, batches, fermentation conditions & progress, distillation progress (power levels & takeoff rates), material sources, parts, prices etc... I keep notes on testing such as what packing I was using, how much packing, power level, takeoff speed reflux ratio, and ABV. Different packing performs differently.

[NormandieStill]

I started Bullet Journalling a few years ago and have a simplified version (Index and Page Numbers) that I use for note keeping for specific projects. The advantage is that instead of having to allocate enough space when you start a project, you just flow onto the next available page and put a reference in the index (and next to the page number). That way you can easily find the recipe and anything you wrote about it. All my alcohol production is in one book, including wines and beers not destined for distilling.

My blending notes are currently on a separate A4 sheets in a folder. One of my missions soon is to reference them back to the appropriate pages in the "Journal".

[psf]

I started Bullet Journalling a few years ago and have a simplified version (Index and Page Numbers) that I use for note keeping for specific projects. The advantage is that instead of having to allocate enough space when you start a project, you just flow onto the next available page and put a reference in the index (and next to the page number). That way you can easily find the recipe and anything you wrote about it. All my alcohol production is in one book, including wines and beers not destined for distilling.

My blending notes are currently on a separate A4 sheets in a folder. One of my missions soon is to reference them back to the appropriate pages in the "Journal".

Thank you for that nugget. Just goggle boxed this and will definitely incorporate into my notes.

[Demy]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=82099

[psf]

Thank you. I should have searched for synonyms.

[Deplorable]

I keep mash notes in a recipe folder using MS Word, when I make it more than once, I note any differences in ferment time, yeast used, if I dry pitched or made a starter, etc. Notes from my runs are in a MS Excel document. a new tab for each run. volumes, times, temperatures, ABV, cut selections...
I wish Id have started doing it from the first run in the beginning, but I didnt. Ive got my processes pretty dialed in now, but I'll continue to take notes.
Its interesting to see the coorelation between cuts and how the well cared for the ferments were, and yeast used.

[cob]

This is old school, but back up anything you can't afford to lose.

It's amazing how much text fits on a $20 128gb. thumb drive.

[NZChris]

All of mine is backed up on the cloud and can be accessed from several devices. If the cloud disappeared, it is also on several hard drives. If they got wiped, it wouldn't be a problem as long as I could still obtain suitable ingredients.

[TwoSheds]

In case it's helpful to anyone, here's what my spreadsheet looks like. The darker fields are either calculated or brought over from elsewhere in the sheet.

The SG/temp calculation is great though I only consider that and the 'generated ABV' a WAG.

The notes at the top right are meant to be overall, and notes that I would change for the next run (I make a copy into a new sheet for each change) and the notes at the bottom may be detailed, sparse, or even absent depending on how I'm feeling and how much has changed form previous attempts.

Screen Shot 2022-03-25 at 10.35.07 AM.png

It's always evolving.

TwoSheds

[squigglefunk]

is it wise to have spreadsheets of felonious operations?

[TwoSheds]

is it wise to have spreadsheets of felonious operations?

Is it wise to post on a public forum about felonious operations?

[Deplorable]

is it wise to have spreadsheets of felonious operations?

If you're already under investigation for making untaxed liquor, the mash recipes, and log books are hardly the least of your worries.

[MiddleOfTheWorld]

Get geeky with it .
I got a nice calculator sheet I found and make copies of it to then modify per batch