Behind every great beer is a large amount of time dedicated to the perfection of the recipe. Many brewers use their gut, intuition, and memory to try to make consistently good beer. There are others that are at our stage in the game that spend $100’s of dollars of software to track and produce their recipes. Here at Eventide we live with the idea that Great Doesn’t Have to be Complicated. To aid in that philosophy, we custom built our own brewing spread sheet which has allowed us to tailor it to our exact needs and improve upon it as needed. We understand that one day we will out grow our brew sheet but we intend to keep a version in operation in the R&D lab. After all, the brew sheet is the heart of our brewing operation so shouldn’t it remain a major component in the R&D process? It helps to be flexible with the design of recipe and allows our variables to be almost limitless. In short our brew sheet has worked very well for us and in the interest of brewing fellowship, we would like to share a user friendly version with you.
First, a little background on what the sheet is used for:
Brewing is a complex science incorporating Chemistry, Biology, Thermodynamics, and Materials. The use of each has spawned a new list of variables and units which are specific to the brewing industry, yet all have their roots in the classic sciences. Some of the variables which are frequently used, and should be accounted for in projecting a beer recipe, are SRM, IBU, SG, FG, AA (Alpha Acids), Attenuation, pH, and Temperature, just to name a few. Our intention has been (and is) to integrate our process with the base sciences and account for as many variables as possible.
This sheet is built for our HERMS system so you may have to make some adjustments for your system. It utilizes excel and was made using standard functions, so feel free to modify it in whatever was you see fit. Most of the ingredients options have to be selected from a drop down list so it pulls the correct variables from the tables, but if you do not see the item you want to use you can simply add it to the list.
The sheet allows for documentation of all aspects of the recipe from inception to the finished product, and one of the most important rules of brewing is to precisely document everything. Be it a success or failure, make sure it is all on paper.
If you find any critical errors with the sheet or just have a general improvement that you would like to share with up please send us an email.
