Barrel Aging

Understanding Barrels

A barrel record tracks:

• Physical barrel information
• Current contents and status
• Complete aging history
• Tasting notes
• Transfers between barrels
• Links to production batches

Barrel Status

• NEW: Empty barrel, never used
• FULL: Currently contains beer
• USED: Empty but previously used
• SCRAP: No longer usable, retired from service

Managing Barrels

Creating Barrel Records

1. Navigate to Barrels table view
2. Click "New Barrel"
3. Enter required information:
   • Barrel number
   • Source/supplier
   • Previous contents
   • Acquisition date

Tracking Contents

Each barrel's contents section shows:

• Current beer
• Fill date
• Source (batch or jumped from another barrel)
• Tasting notes
• Volume

Filling and Emptying Barrels

Barrel contents can be managed two ways: through BA (Barrel-Aged) batch records, or directly from the barrel record using the Jump Contents and Dump Contents actions. Knowing which to use keeps your production records clean.

When to Use BA Batch Records

Use a BA batch when the barrel contents are being packaged — kegged, canned, bottled, or blended into a brite tank for packaging. The BA batch records the transfer from barrel(s) to brite tank, tracks your cellaring-to-packaging yield, and links the packaged beer back to its aging history.

• Filling a barrel from a fresh batch: open the batch record and add a rack log entry pointing to the barrel
• Emptying barrels into a brite tank for packaging: create a BA batch and select the source barrel(s)

When to Use Jump Contents

Use Jump Contents when beer is being moved from one barrel to another with no packaging involved — for example, consolidating aging beer after a barrel springs a leak, or splitting into smaller barrels. Because no packaging event is happening, there is no BA batch to create; the jump is recorded directly on the barrel.

Jumps are available from the Contents section of any full barrel record. The source barrel is marked as Used and its history is updated; the destination barrel is marked as Full. See Jumping Between Barrels below for step-by-step instructions.

TIP

If you find yourself creating a BA batch with no packaging logs (kegs, cans, bottles), that is a signal to use Jump Contents instead.

Barrel Operations

Barrel-Aged Batches

Barrel-aged batches can be scheduled from full barrels instead of from a brew day. When creating the batch, enter the transfer date, select the facility and brite tank, then select barrels that were full on or before that transfer date.

Available cellaring kegs can also be selected as source beer for the barrel-aged batch. Use this when clean or young beer is blended with barrel-aged beer into the brite tank before packaging. See Cellaring Kegs for details.

Racking into Barrels

1. Open the source batch record
2. Navigate to racking logs section
3. Click "ADD BARREL"
4. Select target barrel
5. Enter:
   • Fill date
   • Volume transferred

Note: Only barrels in "NEW" or "USED" status are available for racking.

Jumping Between Barrels

1. Open the source barrel record
2. Click "Jump Contents" in contents section
3. Select target barrel
4. Enter jump date
5. System will:
   • Move contents to new barrel
   • Update both barrel statuses
   • Maintain content history

Note: Target barrel must be empty (NEW or USED status).

Adding Tasting Notes

1. Open barrel record
2. Navigate to contents section
3. Enter tasting note
4. Click enter to save
5. Note is saved with:
   • Your name
   • Current date
   • Content status

Dumping Contents

1. Open barrel record
2. Click "Dump Contents"
3. Enter dump date
4. Barrel status changes to "USED"
5. Content history is maintained

Correcting Mistakes

Correcting an Unrecorded Historical Fill or Emptying

Administrators can use Correct Barrel State from the barrel record menu when the physical barrel and a reliable historical record disagree with Bev Deck, and the normal linked production record cannot be identified.

Use this only after checking the normal correction paths:

• If the source batch is known, add or correct its rack log.
• If the barrel was packaged or blended through a known BA batch, correct that batch's barrel sources.
• If the beer moved to another known barrel, use Jump Contents.

For an undocumented fill, the correction requires the fill date, beer name, volume or an explicit barrel-capacity estimate, evidence reference, correction explanation, and confirmation that no source batch can be identified.

For an undocumented emptying, the correction requires the empty date, contents disposition, evidence reference, correction explanation, and confirmation that the operation cannot be repaired through a BA batch or barrel jump. When the contents were packaged or blended, the resulting beer name is also required.

Corrections update the current barrel state and create an immutable audit record containing the before and after values, evidence, explanation, administrator, and correction time. They do not fabricate rack logs, BA batches, or barrel jumps.

Undoing Racking

1. Open source batch record
2. Find racking log entry
3. Delete the rack log line item
4. Save batch record
5. Barrel reverts to previous status

Undoing Jumps

1. Open barrel record
2. Find jump entry in contents
3. Click 'undo' icon
4. Contents return to source barrel

Note: Source barrel must be empty to undo a jump.

Retiring Barrels

Scrapping Barrels

1. Open barrel record
2. Click "three dots" menu
3. Select "Scrap Barrel"
4. Enter scrap date
5. Status changes to "SCRAP"

Note: History is maintained for reporting.

Deleting Barrels

Only delete unused barrels that are duplicate or incorrect records:

1. Open barrel record
2. Click "three dots" menu
3. Select "Delete Barrel"

Warning: This permanently removes all barrel history.

Best Practices

• Number barrels consistently
• Record tasting notes regularly
• Update barrel status promptly
• Document reasons for scrapping
• Maintain accurate source information
• Track volumes carefully