Plan a brew
Book the tanks for your next brew, and how PintDeck works out when each beer needs brewing so it doesn't run dry.
Planning a brew puts a batch on the tank schedule with its tanks booked for as long as the beer takes. Pick the beer and PintDeck fills in the rest: the recipe, the days, a brew day and the tanks that are free.
Plan a brew
Start from Plan a brew at the top of the Tank Schedule, or from a beer that needs it: a dashed suggestion on the schedule, a Brew … by … chip in Needs you, Plan a brew on a recipe, or the Beers group on Today.
What
Pick the Beer. PintDeck fills in its house recipe (or its only recipe), its days, its usual size and the tanks. To brew a variation instead, pick it under Recipe. When PintDeck has worked out when the beer runs out, its reasoning shows underneath.
When
Pick the Brew day. Days in the fermenter and Days in the brite come from the recipe, the beer's last batches or your defaults, and can be changed for this batch. The caption shows the grain to glass, and the chips list each stage.
If the day doesn't fit, PintDeck says why and moves to the first day that does: Oct 9: The brewhouse is already brewing that day. First day it fits: Oct 10.
Tanks
The Fermenter and Brite are filled in with tanks free for the whole time, starting with the fermenter the beer went in last time, then the smallest one it fits. Change either one. Pick Carbonate in the fermenter to skip the brite; the brite days are spent in the fermenter. Pick No tank yet for the fermenter to plan the day without a tank; it shows on the schedule under No tank yet.
Batch
Add the Size (bbl), Expected kegs, Batch number and Notes if you like, then Plan it. The batch opens so you can check it.
| PintDeck says | Why |
|---|---|
| The brewhouse doesn't brew that day | It isn't one of your brew days in How you brew. |
| The brewhouse is already brewing that day | That day already has as many brews as Brews a day allows. |
| The brewery is blocked off that day | A brewery-wide blocked-off stretch covers it. |
| No fermenter big enough is free | No fermenter or unitank of the batch's size is free for the whole fermenter time. |
| No brite is free when it would need one | The fermenter fits, but no brite is free when the beer leaves it. |
Size and kegs feed the plan
PintDeck counts a planned batch toward the beer's stock from the day it's pourable: its Expected kegs as half-barrels, else its Size. Leave both blank and the beer has no brew-by date past that batch.
When to brew next
For every beer you've brewed before or have a recipe for, PintDeck works out:
- When it runs out: today's stock at the pace it pours. This is the beer's out date on Kegs; see Why this date.
- How far the planned batches stretch it: each batch already planned or in the tanks adds its yield once it's pourable.
- Brew by: the last day to brew so a new batch is pourable that many safety days before the beer runs out, counting its grain to glass.
- A day that fits: the latest day with free tanks in the two weeks before Brew by. If there isn't one, the first day after, with how many days you'd be without the beer.
Grain to glass comes from the beer's house recipe (or its only recipe) when it has fermentation steps. Otherwise it's the middle of the beer's last three packaged batches, and otherwise your How you brew defaults. Beers are placed in the order they run out, so two beers aren't both offered the same fermenter.
| When | Where it shows |
|---|---|
| Brew by has passed | Late: a red chip in Needs you, and Brew it now on the iPhone's Today. |
| Brew by is within 7 days | Soon: a chip in Needs you, and Brew soon on the iPhone's Today. |
| Brew by is within 45 days | A dashed bar in the Suggested row of the schedule. |
When the first day with free tanks is after Brew by, the dashed bar says how many days you'd be without the beer (4d dry) instead of the date.
The same answer shows on the batch's Overview (Cutline IPA runs out around Oct 20 on what's in stock. This batch is ready in time.), on a recipe's Overview, and on Kegs as the beer's next batch.
When there's no brew-by date
- No run-out date yet, so no brew-by date. The beer needs kegs in stock and some pours before it has an out date.
- Without a yield or a pour rate for the planned batch, there's no brew-by date past it. Give the planned batch a size or expected kegs.
On the iPhone
Plan a brew from Cellar's + menu, the Brew schedule, a dashed suggestion, a Brew soon row on Today, or a recipe.
- Pick the beer. The most urgent come first, each with when to brew it or where its next batch is.
- Pick the day. PintDeck finds tanks again; if they're free later, it says Tanks are free from Oct 10, so it moved there.
- Check The plan and Tanks, then Put it on the schedule.
On the phone, PintDeck picks the tanks. To choose them yourself, or plan a brew with no tank yet, use the web.