Ask The Brewmasters

Can anyone recommend resources to help me write a great recipe document?  Our beer is non-barley based, so the process is not typical, and we are contract brewing only, so the document has to be thorough but not overly complicated.  My commercial brewing experience is limited.

Thanks for your help!

Hello Luther,

I assume you're referring to a relatively  comprehensive technical document with information regarding process parameters and in-process/ finished beer specifications and not just a simple raw ingredient/material list with %'s/weights, etc? There may be other resources on this website and the Brewers Association website but I recently co-authored an article regarding co-manufacturing/packaging best practices.

It is useful to organize the document by process area (brewhouse, fermentation, finishing, packaging) and ingredient, if applicable such as water (treatment). Not sure where you are in defining your process but I would think you  want to include as much information as possible potentially including (in addition to raw ingredients):

1. desired water treatment if applicable

2. brewhouse process: mash program (times/temps), boil time, etc

3. fermentation process: desired cooled wort and attemperation temps, wort aeration parameters,  yeast strain and pitch rate, desired fermentation and conditioning cycle times, any additions at this stage, etc.

4. finishing process: desired clarification method if applicable

5. in-process and finished beer specs that have been defined including targets and actionable limits (green/yellow/red system). These can include items such as : original gravity, final apparent extract, apparent/real degree of fermentation, %ABV, bitterness (IBU's), VDK level,  clarity, carbonation level, max desired dissolved oxygen in the BBT and final package oxygen (TPO), microbiological stability, desired flavor profile as well as primary/secondary packaging types/formats.

It is important to work with your co-manufacturer on the above as they may not have the testing capability for all the items.

Please feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss further offline.

Can anyone recommend resources to help me write a great recipe document?  Our beer is non-barley based, so the process is not typical, and we are contract brewing only, so the document has to be thorough but not overly complicated.  My commercial brewing experience is limited.

Thanks for your help!

Hello Luther,

I assume you're referring to a relatively  comprehensive technical document with information regarding process parameters and in-process/ finished beer specifications and not just a simple raw ingredient/material list with %'s/weights, etc? There may be other resources on this website and the Brewers Association website but I recently co-authored an article regarding co-manufacturing/packaging best practices.

It is useful to organize the document by process area (brewhouse, fermentation, finishing, packaging) and ingredient, if applicable such as water (treatment). Not sure where you are in defining your process but I would think you  want to include as much information as possible potentially including (in addition to raw ingredients):

1. desired water treatment if applicable

2. brewhouse process: mash program (times/temps), boil time, etc

3. fermentation process: desired cooled wort and attemperation temps, wort aeration parameters,  yeast strain and pitch rate, desired fermentation and conditioning cycle times, any additions at this stage, etc.

4. finishing process: desired clarification method if applicable

5. in-process and finished beer specs that have been defined including targets and actionable limits (green/yellow/red system). These can include items such as : original gravity, final apparent extract, apparent/real degree of fermentation, %ABV, bitterness (IBU's), VDK level,  clarity, carbonation level, max desired dissolved oxygen in the BBT and final package oxygen (TPO), microbiological stability, desired flavor profile as well as primary/secondary packaging types/formats.

It is important to work with your co-manufacturer on the above as they may not have the testing capability for all the items.

Please feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss further offline.

Can anyone recommend resources to help me write a great recipe document?  Our beer is non-barley based, so the process is not typical, and we are contract brewing only, so the document has to be thorough but not overly complicated.  My commercial brewing experience is limited.

Thanks for your help!