Research question

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bearhugger1972

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Research question
« on: August 20, 2012, 16:12 »
Hi everyone,
This thread may be slightly off topic but please bear with me. I am doing a HND Computing (IT) project starting in September and would like to base it on home brewing if possible. My initial thoughts are to have a small website with a forum, but the main part would be a computer program / application that could hold user inputted recipies, a sort of calendar system that could be used to record start of brews, when to add ingredients / rack off etc, obviously a search facility for recipies.
I was wondering what other functions people would like to see on a 'dedicated' program. The program would be available for download from the website free of charge. I am hoping to make the website available once the project has been handed in so you could get your hands on something by this time next year hopefully.
Thanks,
Darren
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Aunt Sally

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Re: Research question
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2012, 22:39 »
This sounds very interesting bh'72.

Good luck with the project.

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Alastair-I

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Re: Research question
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2012, 17:29 »
I'm developing something broadly similar as an Excel sheet.  Things I'm adding that I find useful are:

  • Ingredients tables, one for liquids where I can list the description, purchase volume, purchase price, sugar content; another for sugar, yeast, etc with purchase quantity and purchase price.
  • Recipe builder where I can select the ingredients via drop-down lists, add quantities and the worksheet looks up the sugar content, estimates the finished strength and works out the costings.
I've still to add my seasonal calendar for hedgerow ingredients (which will work off a table lookup based on the TODAY value), and to figure out how to handle non-liquid ingredients (eg. blackberries, elderberries) although I do include intermediates in the liquids list (eg. homemade elderberry cordial).

That may give you some ideas.

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bearhugger1972

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Re: Research question
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2012, 11:53 »
Thanks for the reply Alistair-I.
The project is aimed at building skills we have already learned. I was originally thinking of trying to do something using Visual Basic to try and improve my programming skills but Excel would work as well. I will be putting a link to this thread in the Word report i have to do so all help and ideas are acknowledged. Is your excel sheet a pivot table or just a large sheet?

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bearhugger1972

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Re: Research question
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2012, 11:56 »
The VB program would have a couple of recipies already included (TurboCider, Elderberry Wine & Ginger beer) but also have the ability for the user to put in their own recipie as ingredients, notes etc and save them to the program.

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hamstergbert

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Re: Research question
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2012, 15:39 »
Couple of suggestions:

How about you make several experimental brews of the same recipe ensuring that the primary fermentation step for each is conducted at a carefully controlled and monitored temperature, deriving the length to fermentation complete at each temeperature.  With the results derive the algorithm for length of fermentation required at a given temeperature, using either the temperatures of your trials, interpolating in th etemperatures between the actual recorded ones, or speissing on/back (extrapolation) if outside your experimentally derived range.   

After the experimental brews you then of course have to find some way of disposing of the product.   Group of oppos to form a taste panel complete with scoring sheets.  Hey, it's all in the interests of research, right!

Also current ingredient prices with effective dates, use against each recipe with ingredients and actual/probable realistic yield to derive unit cost.  Did something similar for baking and find it quite useful when assessing production costs including energy assessment to work out margin from sale price or vice versa.  (Mine in SQL Server with Delphi front end but could be done in VB on to SQL if necessary - or for a really easy albeit limited result in VBA through MS Access).

However the final design specification looks, just wish you good luck with it - enjoy it.

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Alastair-I

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Re: Research question
« Reply #6 on: August 23, 2012, 19:37 »
Thanks for the reply Alistair-I.
The project is aimed at building skills we have already learned. I was originally thinking of trying to do something using Visual Basic to try and improve my programming skills but Excel would work as well. I will be putting a link to this thread in the Word report i have to do so all help and ideas are acknowledged. Is your excel sheet a pivot table or just a large sheet?

It's a workbook with several worksheets on tabs.  There's a sheet for the liquids table, another for the other ingredients.. then a recipe builder sheet that I copy as required for new recipes.  The recipe builder uses LOOKUP commands to draw the data from the tables.  Ingredients are selected from drop-down lists and then the sugar/cost/etc via the lookup.  There's an additional tab with a sugar:ABV table and a lookup pulls the potential ABV from this from the calculated total sugar the recipe builder has determined.

I will add a homepage tab that will generate a welcome screen based on TODAY and reference with a lookup another worksheet with a seasonal list for what's ripe, what's going over and what should be ripening.

It could also be done in Access, but I personally hate Access and much prefer to use Excel.  If you wanted to really test your skills, you could build a front-end and menus in VBA to sit in front of the Excel sheet.  I've done similar things before when building idiot-proof* spreadsheets.


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VegGirl7

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Re: Research question
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2012, 11:48 »
this sounds great, Darren

I'm still to build some kind of Excel spreadsheet to record all my homebrew adventures (I do like a good spreadsheet  :lol: ) - it's on my 'to-do' list!  I have endless notes, quantities and dates to input...

A calendar system sounds good to remind you what needs doing and when, also a way of entering a date of when you actually did something (added yeast, sugar, racked 1st/2nd time, bottled etc...).

I sometimes do 2 or 3 batches with slightly different recipes so a way to record and compare the outcome of these would be good too

Also, what about the end product?  Tasting notes and scores of each brew including the year, batch number and tasting date... 
I've been keeping bottles of the same brew and tasting them after lengthening periods of time to see what stage of maturity is best for consumption.  I have 1 bottle of apple wine made 2 years ago still to taste (had the 2nd to last bottle a couple of months ago and it was definitely better that the 1st bottle I tried when it was only a couple of months old)  I'm intrigued to know at what point there's no benefit in maturing longer and also if/when the taste deteriorates if left too long so a way to compare this would also be good  :)

Good luck with your HND - & good idea doing a project on something that interests you  ;)



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