How a Brix Reading Gets Logged

Fermentation · training map

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Every Brix and temperature reading of every open ferment is recorded once, with the day and time it was taken and who took it. Additions follow the Brix, so these numbers decide what goes into the wine next.

The page already knows which ferments are open. You bring the numbers, and say who measured them, when, and how. Often someone else takes the reading and passes it to the winemaker, who checks it and enters the report.

Nothing in this process ever deletes a reading.

From crush to closed

1 A crush is recorded Record Crush, from the Main Menu. The wine, the vessel, the date, and where it is fermenting. That is what opens a ferment. Nothing else does. 2 The ferment appears on the Daily Fermentation Log One column per open ferment, grouped by where it is fermenting, OCV first. Each shows its wine, vessel, crush date and Crush ID. 3 Somebody takes the reading A cellar hand, the lab, or the crush facility. They note the Brix, the temperature, the day and the time, and pass it to the winemaker. 4 The winemaker enters the report Report Date and Recorded By at the top. Under each ferment: Brix, Temp, and who measured it, when, and how. + reading for a second one. Measured by is who took it. Recorded By is you. 5 Log Readings One click, once. The screen tells you how many readings it is about to send. 6 Every reading is checked Is the ferment still open? Are the numbers sensible? Is anything dated after the report? If one reading is wrong, nothing is recorded. 7 Each reading is saved with its own number One row per reading, e.g. BX-00012, with the vessel taken from the crush. The numbers appear on the screen. The report is now on record. 8 The ferment is closed into bulk Close Fermentation, from the Main Menu, when it is pressed and in a tank or barrel. From then on it no longer appears on the log.
Happens on its own — nobody touches it
Needs a person

Steps 3 to 7 repeat every day the ferment is open — several times a day when it is very active.

Five things to get right

Do thisBecause
Put the person who took the reading in Measured by Measured by fills in with your name as you type Recorded By. If Maria took the reading, change it to Maria. Recorded By says who confirmed and sent the report; Measured by says who actually read the hydrometer. A question about a number goes to the person who took it.
Give each reading the day it was taken Measured fills in with the Report Date. A reading taken last night, or yesterday’s sheet from the crush facility, gets its own date — otherwise it looks a day newer than it is. A reading cannot be dated after the report.
Set Source when the number is not ours Source starts at Internal — our own reading. A number from the lab is Lab; one from the facility where the wine is fermenting is Crush Facility. Two Brix figures that disagree are only explained if you know where each came from.
Use + reading for a second reading of the same ferment An active ferment read at 6:30 and again at 2:00 is one report with two readings, not two reports. Fill in the Time on each so they sit in order. Up to four readings of one ferment per report.
Leave a ferment blank to skip it — never type 0 A blank box means not measured today, and the ferment is skipped. 0 is a real Brix, and it is recorded as one. A reading needs a Brix or a Temp; it does not need both.

If a ferment is missing, or should not be there

A ferment appears when its crush is recorded and disappears when it is closed. The log does not decide what is open; those two forms do.

What you seeWhat to do
A ferment you are measuring is not on the log Its crush has not been recorded. Record it on Record Crush (or ask whoever does), then reload. Until then, write the reading down with its date and time and enter it afterwards — the Measured date lets you.
A wine that is already pressed is still on the log It has not been closed. Close it on Close Fermentation. Until then, just leave it blank.
A column says “Facility not recorded” The crush was recorded without saying where it is fermenting. The readings still go to the right ferment; tell Gary so the crush can be completed.
Never log a reading against a different ferment because the right one is missing. It would be recorded against the wrong wine, and nothing afterwards can tell it apart from a real reading of that wine.

If something goes wrong

A red message that ends “Nothing was recorded” means exactly that: the whole report was refused, and the message names the wine with the problem. Fix that reading and press Log Readings again. It is safe.
“Error 500”, “Network error”, or no answer at all does not mean nothing was saved. Do not enter the readings again — that can record them twice. Tell Gary; he can see what arrived.
“The open ferments cannot be shown” is a failed load, not an empty cellar. Reload the page. If it persists, tell Gary and keep the readings on paper with their date and time.

“This report was already recorded … Nothing was added” is not an error. The same report was sent twice and the second one was ignored.

A wrong number already logged cannot be changed from the page. Tell Gary the reading’s number (e.g. BX-00012). The wrong reading is marked Void — kept, not deleted — and the right one is entered as a new reading.

Do not type readings into the spreadsheet by hand, or correct them there. A hand-typed row has no reading number and no record of who measured or recorded it, so nobody can tell it from a mistake.

Words you will see

Report DateThe day you are sending the report. It starts as today.
Recorded ByYou — the person confirming the numbers and pressing Log Readings.
MeasuredThe day the reading was taken. Starts as the Report Date; change it if the reading is older.
TimeWhen the reading was taken. Optional; fill it in when a ferment is read more than once a day.
Measured byWho took the reading. Starts as your name; change it to theirs.
SourceInternal — our own reading · Lab — a lab result · Crush Facility — from the facility where it is fermenting.
+ readingAdds another reading of the same ferment to this report. Remove takes it away again before you send.
Temp colours above 85°F, elevated · above 95°F, high risk. A warning to you; the reading is still recorded.
Crush IDThe permanent name of a ferment, e.g. CR-90018, under each column. Quote it when asking about a ferment.
Reading numberThe permanent name of one reading, e.g. BX-00012, shown after Log Readings. Quote it when asking about a reading.
Open fermentA crush that has been recorded and not yet closed into bulk.
VoidA reading entered in error. Kept, not deleted, and no longer counted.
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