Suggest a 'Fermentation' display panel

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billvelek
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Suggest a 'Fermentation' display panel

Post by billvelek »

Since one of the features of BTP is the sharing of recipes, and since information about fermentation is useful and the creator might not think to add such info in the notes section, I suggest that a 'display' be added between 'Schedule' and 'Volume Adjustments'. There a user might enter things like 'pitching rate', 'pitching temp', 'average ambient temp', 'time before racking', 'use of any secondary', 'whether krauesen was removed' (skimmed or apparently blown-off), any dry-hopping, and other information/notes of possible interest. While BTP might be incapable of utilizing any of that info in calculations for style comparisions, etc., I think it would still be useful for organized record keeping for myself, and possibly useful to others planning to follow a recipe or understand why their final results might be different from the creator of the recipe.

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Re: Suggest a 'Fermentation' display panel

Post by etbandit »

billvelek wrote:Since one of the features of BTP is the sharing of recipes, and since information about fermentation is useful and the creator might not think to add such info in the notes section, I suggest that a 'display' be added between 'Schedule' and 'Volume Adjustments'. There a user might enter things like 'pitching rate', 'pitching temp', 'average ambient temp', 'time before racking', 'use of any secondary', 'whether krauesen was removed' (skimmed or apparently blown-off), any dry-hopping, and other information/notes of possible interest. While BTP might be incapable of utilizing any of that info in calculations for style comparisions, etc., I think it would still be useful for organized record keeping for myself, and possibly useful to others planning to follow a recipe or understand why their final results might be different from the creator of the recipe.Bill Velek
That sounds really handy!

For each brew, I take SG and Alcohol vs. Time readings each day and graph them using excel to keep track of my fermentation. This allows me to visualise both SG and alcohol readings as a function of time throughout the fermentation (ie: as SG decreases, alcohol increases overtime). Something similar in BTP would be great for those who keep meticulous records and wants to ensure consistency from brew to brew! All it would require are Columns for SG, Alcohol, Time, Temperature and visual graph.

I can then cross check different batches from the same recipe for consistency.

Jeff and Lathe, I would be happy to send you my current excel file as an example of this.
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Post by splashmike »

Actually, I realized last night that fermentation data is one of the things missing from this program and which I liked in others. It's especially handy to know how many days I primaried, secondaried, force carbonated, etc. when looking back to compare a session to a proposed new one. This feature should definately be added. Hopefully, the developers will consider this in the next version.
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Fermentation log

Post by jeff »

We have discussed logging of the brewing session in this forum. This is a planned feature that will facilitate documentation of the brewing process. Do you feel that there should be a separate area for logging the fermentation? Perhaps this makes the most sense because unlike the session log, a fermentation log could have a graph connected with it. Please express your thoughts, thanks.
Last edited by jeff on Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by splashmike »

I'm glad to hear that these concepts are part of planned updates. As far as how they are incorporated into the program, as separate screens or in some other fashion, I express no opinion as I'm not really sure how either set up would look like/functions at this point. Thanks.
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Post by slothrob »

Are you proposing the use of an area to log fermentation information as a substitute for an organizational method for different sessions making the same recipe? I might not be envisioning what you are, but I suspect this wouldn't satisfy users who wanted "session" style file organization.

For my purposes, I could use a dedicated area for entering Fermentation info like temps, times, and s.g.'s. I currently type them into the Notes section.
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Post by Brant »

I don't think I understand what Jeff means, either. I was just thinking of another tab on the bottom of the screen full of fields for this type of info. But I guess another type of multi-list could be a different option, which might be appropriate in a date-linear arrangement. For example, maybe have a Yeast Starter Info line (date/times, sizes, step-ups, procedures/notes), followed by a Pitching Info line (date/time, pitching temp, decanted or pitched entire starter volume, lag time, etc.), then Primary Fermentation Info line(s) (possibly repeated lines with date/times, SG, average temperature, notes, etc.), then a Racking Info (date/time, SG, procedures/notes), and Secondary Fermentation Info line(s) (ditto Primary, I guess), and so on. I guess this approach would provide a way to log as much data as you want, while simplifying the interface for this much information. Just brainstorming.... (And if this is what Jeff had in mind, then I shamelessly steal his idea and claim it as my own! :lol:)
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Totally agree

Post by notbob »

I really think this is a great idea. Any way you want to incorporate it would great with me. It's such a big part of creating a beer, it would make sense to be able to document this information and be able to graph it for easier understanding.
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Post by slothrob »

I'm not too excited by graphing capability, at this point.
I've yet to find much utility in the existing graphs, as they are a bit cryptic as to what they are representing and the values of points on the graphs are difficult to determine (particularly if you use any of the combined graphs).

A streamlined section for fermentation data seems practical, however.
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Post by bzwrxbz »

slothrob wrote:I'm not too excited by graphing capability, at this point.
I've yet to find much utility in the existing graphs, as they are a bit cryptic as to what they are representing and the values of points on the graphs are difficult to determine (particularly if you use any of the combined graphs).

A streamlined section for fermentation data seems practical, however.
I believe that a fermentation tab is needed. But, I do not see any utility that a fermentation graph would have unless.... you could hook up your serial temperature logger, and it would graph it for you and keep the data for that session. Oh, I am dreaming again.

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