Planning

Review water volumes, grain bill, and hop schedule before brew day and check off inventory.

The first steps on the way to brewing your next batch

Batch Details

The Batch planning screen starts by filling in the main details of the batch, such as the batch name, number, and the brewer. You can choose your brew date here as well. This becomes particularly useful in the commercial environment due to the ability to plan brews and inventory requirements. Still, it can also benefit homebrewers because it means you can start planning your batch and ensure you have everything you need in advance.

Immediately under the Batch information is the Batch Recipe name and information. The recipe and any modifications made at this point are saved just in the batch, so you can maintain a master recipe and then adjust each batch recipe for the ingredients you have on hand without changing the overall master recipe. This is ideal for brewing in a commercial setting with ever-changing batches of ingredients that need recording.

To modify the recipe, click the edit button and it will take you to the Recipe Designer page for the recipe. This will allow you to substitute any ingredients or change equipment profiles, for example. Any changes made now will only be saved to the batch recipe, not your master recipe.

The batch includes a copy of the recipe, any changes you make to the recipe in batch mode will only change the recipe in the batch section. If you change the original recipe on the Recipe Designer page in the recipes section, you must click the Update button if you want the changes to be reflected in the batch.

This way, the batch will always contain a copy of the recipe the way it was when it was brewed and will then also function as a version log for your recipes. If you want to make the recipe used in your batch a new master recipe, you need to click the save button, and it will save it to your recipes in the recipe section.

Batch Inventory

Inventory section of the Batch Planning screen

The batch inventory section shows what ingredients you need for your recipe and the total amount in your inventory stock, including fermentables, hops, yeast and miscellaneous ingredients. This allows you to see what ingredients you may need to buy, if any, to brew the recipe. Ticking the checkbox to the left of each ingredient removes the amount from your inventory stock, providing you with a means to maintain an accurate inventory.

Cost Section

The cost section gives a breakdown of the costs of the batch

If you have entered the details for the cost of the ingredients, when you enter them into your inventory, you will be able to get a cost breakdown for your batch of beer. If you have any ingredients you haven't entered pricing information into the inventory, this will obviously not give you a correct cost, so enter those values into your inventory when you add your ingredient stock.

Water Section

The water section gives you an overview of the total water needed, including the totals for each part of the process, and the approximate mash pH

The water section summarises the total water needed and the amount used in each part of the process. This is particularly useful if you are using RO water or pre-treating all of your water before brewing.

Log Section

The Log section allows you to record notes for the batch

The Log section displays any batch notes that have been added during the planning and brewing process of the batch. This can be used for anything, including notes about any issues you had during the brewing and any extra values you may wish to record, like first running gravity, pH at different times during the process like pre-boil, etc.

Yeast Starter Section

When the batch recipe includes a yeast starter, the Planning stage displays a Yeast Starter section. This section appears when the yeast mode is set to "starter" and starter steps have been configured, or when the primary yeast has a starter size defined.

For multi-step starters, each step is listed with its starter volume and the required amounts of DME (dry malt extract) and LME (liquid malt extract). If overbuild cells are configured, the section also shows the overbuild volume, harvest ratio, and the final pitch amount for each step.

For simple starters (configured directly on the yeast), the section displays the total starter volume and DME requirement.

Events Section

The events section can list all the key dates in your brew schedule based on your brewing and fermentation profiles used

The events section helps plan all the jobs that need doing. Click the slider at the top right to display all the dates based on your planned brew date, brewing schedule, and fermentation profile. This allows you to double-check your calendar or plan your work schedule in a commercial brewery.

Events can include brew day, fermentation step transitions, dry hop dates, and bottling or packaging dates. You can configure notification settings for events so you receive reminders when action is needed.

File Attachments

Batches support file attachments (images, PDFs, lab reports, and other documents) accessible from the File Attachments section at the bottom of the batch page. You can add files using the Add button, and the section can be collapsed to save space. For more details, see File Attachments.

Status Transition

At the top of the batch page, status transition buttons allow you to advance the batch to the next stage. From Planning, you can change the status to Brewing, Fermenting, or Completed. When you navigate to a different stage tab, a "Change status to..." button appears at the top, letting you move the batch forward. A secondary button also shows the next logical status (e.g., "Change status to Brewing" when viewing the Planning tab).

Related docs

• Brewing

• Recipe Designer

• Equipment Profiles

• Batches