Production batches

A production batch is a single brewing of a beer, always based on one recipe. The batch records the schedule and execution of the steps, the tanks and other production equipment, the reservations and consumption of ingredients, work tasks, measurements, packaging into products and the batch's costs.

Production batches can be found under batches in the menu. The tabs of the page are Production batches, Calendar and Production equipment. Under In progress, the batches in progress and the planned batches are shown as cards, where a bar shows how far along the batch's schedule is. Planned batches are marked Planned. Completed batches are shown as a table under Completed. The newest of each group are shown, and the link Show all takes you to the full list.

Production batch statuses

• Planned – a new batch is a draft that does not yet have a batch number (shown with the name "unnumbered"). The schedule can be edited and ingredients reserved, but consumption cannot be recorded yet.
• In progress – the batch has been confirmed by giving it a batch number. Now the consumption of ingredients can be recorded.
• Completed – the batch has been marked as completed. The schedule is locked, and the packaging plan is no longer shown.

The status does not change automatically: marking the steps as completed or packaging does not make the batch completed; the batch is marked as completed separately.

Creating a new production batch

The prerequisite is a recipe in use.

1. Open batches, press Start new production and choose the recipe. (Alternatively, open the recipe and press Create production batch, or start the batch from an empty tank on the tank map, see Tank map below.)
2. Enter the Production batch size in litres. The default is the recipe's batch size; if you enter another size, the recipe's ingredient quantities are scaled in the same proportion.
3. Press Create production batch.

The system creates the batch with the status Planned and schedules the recipe's steps one after another according to their duration, so that the first step starts at the next full hour. If the previous step ends outside working hours, the start of the next step is moved to the next working hour on a weekday (Mon–Fri 8–17). If an overhead cost has been set for the recipe, it is copied to the batch. Creating the batch is recorded in the event log.

With the Clone production button on the batch page you can create a new batch from the same recipe with the same size and the same step schedule. The copy is always a new unnumbered draft.

Confirming the batch, i.e. numbering

A draft is confirmed as in progress by giving it a batch number:

1. Open the batch and press confirm production start at the top of the page.
2. The system suggests the largest batch number in use + 1 as the number, and the page shows the latest numbered batches. You can change the number. If the number is already in use, the warning NOTE: The batch number is already in use appears below the field – the system does not, however, prevent saving, so check the number yourself.
3. Press Set batch number and confirm production.

The batch moves to the status In progress. The number of a batch already confirmed can later be changed with the link change next to Batch number.

The batch page

The top of the batch page shows the batch number and status, the recipe, the batch size (and the scaling in relation to the recipe), Actual, i.e. the quantity packaged so far in litres, and the batch's schedule. Of the buttons at the top, Tank map opens the tank map with this batch's tanks highlighted, and Download production sheet downloads the batch's production form. The tabs are Schedule, Ingredients, Tasks, Measurements, Packaging, Shipments, Taps, Costs and Notes.

Schedule and steps

The Schedule tab shows the steps, their status (Incoming, In progress or Done), duration, planned start and actual start time, the production equipment reserved for the steps and the batch's calendar.

• The start time of a step that has not been started can be changed directly in the table. When you change the start of one step, the form also moves the steps that follow it. Save by pressing Update schedule. The date of the work orders related to the step moves at the same time.
• Change start (shown when the first step has not been started) moves the start of the batch and reschedules all the steps one after another according to the recipe's durations.

The execution of a step is recorded on the step's own page (click the step's name):

1. Check the date and time (the current moment by default).
2. Press Mark as started, and when the step is over, Mark as completed in the same way.

The step page also shows the step's ingredients (Ingredient consumption) and production equipment reservations. The step markings are recorded in the event log.

Production equipment and the production calendar

Production equipment includes, for example, the brew kettle and fermentation tanks. They are added and managed on the Production equipment tab (see Tank map below).

Reserving equipment for a step:

1. Open the step's page.
2. Under Production equipment reservations, press reserve for this step for the equipment. The reservation can be cancelled with the button remove reservation.

The Reservation status column shows other batches' overlapping reservations for the same equipment, and the equipment is marked overlapping reservation, CIP or Maintenance. The system does not prevent the reservation, but it warns you if the equipment is reserved for another batch at the same time, is waiting for cleaning or is in maintenance, or if another batch is still in the tank.

The Calendar shows the batches' steps and the equipment reserved for them on a timeline: the steps of planned batches in grey, of batches in progress in yellow, and steps marked as completed in green. Equipment reservations are shown in blue. Move forward and back with the buttons back, now and forward.

Tank map

The Production equipment tab shows the tanks as a map. Each tank is a card showing its details, a picture of the fill level and the batch currently in the tank with its step. The step's name is shown as the batch's stage, and the colour tells the type of step (fermentation, secondary fermentation, conditioning / cold, carbonation, souring or other step). At the top are shown the number of tanks, the tanks in use and free, the tanks in cleaning or maintenance, and the total litres in the tanks. The view can be switched between the map and a table (Map / Table), and the tanks can be filtered by location.

Adding a tank. Press Add production equipment and enter the Production equipment name and, if you wish, the Location (the map groups the tanks by location), Type, Net volume, Maximum pressure, Model and Manufacturer. Save with the Save button. A tank's details are edited, its condition changed and the tank deleted from the tank's ⋯ menu.

When a batch is in a tank. A batch is shown in a tank when its step is reserved for the tank and the step has been started and is not yet completed, or – if steps are not marked – when the step's planned time is under way. The batch shows the quantity remaining, i.e. the batch size less the litres packaged and recorded from taps. A batch stays in its last tank also after its schedule has ended or it has been completed (marked waiting for packaging and batch completed), until the tank is marked empty, the batch has been fully packaged or a new batch comes into the tank.

Tank condition. An empty tank is Done (ready), waiting for cleaning (CIP) or in maintenance (Maintenance). When a batch has left the tank, the tank is shown as waiting for cleaning until it is marked as cleaned with the button Mark as cleaned.

Actions on the map:

• Start a batch (an empty, ready tank): choose the recipe and press Continue. On the Create production batch page the tank is reserved for the chosen step, by default the recipe's first fermentation step. If the recipe's batch size is larger than the tank's net volume, you get a notice about it.
• Move to another tank: drag the batch onto another tank or choose it from the tank's ⋯ menu and choose the Target tank. The reservation of the batch's step moves to the new tank. If the target tank already has a batch, is waiting for cleaning or is in maintenance, you get a warning, but the move is still possible.
• Empty: when the tank has been emptied, choose Empty, to CIP or Empty, to maintenance. The steps of the batches that were in the tank are marked as completed, and the tank moves to the chosen condition. If according to the records some of the batch is still left, the confirmation question tells you.
• Step and Package open the batch's step and packaging page.

Moves, condition changes and emptying are recorded in the event log. In the classic user interface the production equipment is shown as a plain list of names.

Ingredients: reservation and consumption

The Ingredients tab shows by step the recipe's ingredients scaled to the batch size (Recipe), the reserved quantities (Reserved), the consumed quantities (Consumed) and the ingredient's status (Consumed, Reserved or no reservations).

Reserving. A reservation is for accounting purposes: it does not reduce the stock balance, but the reserved quantity is taken into account in calculating the ingredient's free balance.

• Reserve all of a step's ingredients at once with the link reserve all ingredients for this step now next to the step's heading. The quantity according to the recipe is reserved for the ingredients that do not yet have a reservation.
• Reserve a single ingredient by pressing its Reserved cell. Choose the ingredient – the options are the recipe's ingredient and the ingredients under it (e.g. different brands of the same malt type), and for each the quantity in stock and the free quantity are shown. Enter the Quantity to reserve and press Make reservation.

Recording consumption (only for a batch in progress):

1. Press the ingredient's Consumed cell.
2. Under From warehouse, choose from which warehouse or shelf location the ingredient was taken. The balance is shown for each warehouse.
3. Check the Quantity (prefilled with the remaining recipe quantity, at most the warehouse's balance) and press Add to consumption.

If the ingredient was taken from several warehouses, record each warehouse separately. Consumption is deducted from the warehouse's purchase batches starting from the oldest (FIFO), and the price of the consumption is calculated from the prices of those purchase batches. If the consumption exceeds the warehouse's balance, the system reports Not enough stock, still records the consumption and creates a pre-consumed purchase batch for the excess. Its purchase details can be completed later in the ingredient's purchases; until then this part has no price.

By choosing Record consumption without stock entry as the warehouse, the consumption is recorded for the batch without touching the stock balances. In that case no cost accrues for the consumption either.

Recorded consumption is deducted from the ingredient's reservation. If you consume less than was reserved, the rest stays reserved; release it if necessary with the link cancel reservation. Marking the batch as completed does not release reservations.

Undoing.

• In the list of consumption entries, the newest entry can be undone with the delete button next to it. The quantity returns to the same purchase batch.
• The ingredient's reservation can be released with the link cancel reservation on the consumption page.

Ingredients outside the recipe. Press Add an ingredient outside the recipe, choose the ingredient, enter the quantity and press add. The ingredient is reserved for the batch, and its consumption is recorded in the same way as for the recipe's ingredients. If you add the same ingredient again, the new quantity replaces the earlier reservation.

Reservations, consumption and undoing are recorded in the event log.

Tasks and work orders

The tasks defined for the recipe's steps are shown on the Tasks tab by step with their time estimates. A task can require a measurement result to be recorded.

Choosing the assignee:

• For a single task: press select assignee, choose the user and press assign.
• For all open tasks at once: press the link assignee for all tasks at once, choose the user and press assign.

Choosing the assignee creates a work order whose date is the step's start date (or the date it was started, if the step has already been started). An unfinished work order can be deleted with the delete button on its row.

Checking off a task as done:

1. Open the work order by clicking the task.
2. Under Mark as done, enter if necessary the measurement result (Measured …), the completion time, Remarks and Time spent in minutes (prefilled with the time estimate).
3. Press record.

The measurement result is saved in the batch's measurements, and the recorded working time is used in the batch's labour costs. The check-off is recorded in the event log.

The Task lists show all users' work orders in a weekly view: a column per user and a row per day, with the day's estimated and recorded working time. You can open the page with the Task lists button on a work order's page, or by typing your account's address followed by /tyolistat as the browser address (e.g. …/123/tyolistat). The week is changed with the buttons Previous week and Next week.

Measurements

On the Measurements tab you record measurement results taken from the batch, such as specific gravity, pH, temperature, alcohol content, oxygen or carbon dioxide content, or sugar content (Brix/Plato). Press save new measurement, enter the Date/time, choose the Parameter, enter the Measurement result and, if you wish, Remarks, and press save changes. The table also shows who made the measurement. Measurements recorded through tasks are shown in the same list. For a parameter measured at least twice, a trend chart is shown.

Packaging

With packaging, the beer is recorded as finished products (kegs, cans, bottles). The prerequisite is that products have been defined for the recipe; otherwise the tab has a link to defining them.

Packaging is done in two stages:

1. Under Packaging record, choose the Product, enter the number of units (Units) and the packaging date (Date) and press Create packaging batch. The packaging batch is shown in the list, but it is not yet in stock.
2. Press record to stock for the packaging batch, choose the warehouse and press Record.

Recording to stock creates the product's stock balance and uses the account's production litres. If the account's licence is not sufficient, the entry is rejected with the notice The account's licence is not sufficient to record packaging – in that case add licence (see Fees) and try again. The stock entry is shown in the event log, and packaging batches recorded to stock are included in the data for Valvira's packaging report according to the packaging date.

Packaging batches of the brewery's own beer are also entered in the small brewery ledger by packaging date, and each batch gets its small brewery reduction tier according to how much beer had been produced in the year up to that point. Record the packaging date correctly for this reason: a packaging added afterwards to an earlier date can change the tier of later batches. See Excise duty.

If a shelf life in months has been defined for the product (or its beverage), a best-before date calculated from the packaging date is set for the packaging batch.

Below the list are shown the totals and Of the production batch, i.e. the packaged quantity's share of the batch size.

Cancelling a packaging batch. Delete the packaging batch with the delete button next to it. If the batch has already been recorded to stock, cancelling makes a correction entry in stock and returns the production litres used. Cancelling is possible only as long as no other stock transactions have been made on the batch's stock entry; otherwise the delete button is not shown.

Packaging plan. For an unfinished batch you can record how many units of each product are intended to be packaged from the batch. The form shows the litre quantities and the share of the batch size (in red if over 100 %). Save by pressing Confirm change. The plans of batches in progress are shown in the Incoming column of the sales catalogue according to the week in which the batch's last step is completed.

Shipments

The Shipments tab shows the shipments to which packaged products of this batch have been allocated: the shipment's status, the customer, the delivery date and the batch's products in units and litres. At the top are shown the number of shipments and customers, and the quantity delivered and not yet delivered. A shipment can also contain products of other batches, but they are not counted here. On this tab you can see, for example in case of a recall, to whom the batch's beer has been delivered.

Taps

If you sell beer directly from the batch's tank, bypassing packaging, the consumption is recorded through the Taps tab. See Taps for details.

Costs

The Costs tab calculates the batch's costs (VAT 0):

• Ingredients – the prices of the consumed ingredients from the purchase batches.
• Labour costs – the working time recorded in work orders multiplied by the user's wage cost. Wage costs are set per user from the user list in the account settings (button costs); working time without a wage cost has a value of zero.
• Overheads – the overhead cost per litre multiplied by the batch size. Set it under Set overhead either per litre or for the whole batch and press Update overhead.

If purchases recorded at estimated prices or purchases without a price have been used in the consumption, the page shows a warning and the figures are marked estimate or price missing. The cost becomes more precise when the actual prices of the purchases are recorded.

Confirm total cost. Enter the batch's final total cost in euros (VAT 0, excluding excise duty) and press Confirm. The cost is divided among the batch's packaging batches according to the packaged litres, including those already recorded to stock. The value can be updated later, and new packaging gets its cost from the same figure.

Notes

On the Notes tab you can write free-form notes on the batch (New note, save with the Save button) and comment on other people's notes (Comment). You can edit your own note directly, and the change is saved automatically. A note can be deleted by its writer or the account's owner.

Completing and deleting a batch

• Mark as completed (on the Schedule tab of a batch in progress) moves the batch to the status Completed.
• Return to in progress returns a completed batch to the status In progress.
• Delete batch (for planned and in-progress batches, in the ⋯ menu) deletes the batch. Deleting releases all of the batch's ingredient reservations and production equipment reservations. If consumption has already been recorded for the batch, choose whether the consumed ingredients are returned to stock to the purchase batches they were taken from, or nothing is returned. Confirm the deletion with the checkbox and press Delete batch. A batch with packaging cannot be deleted before the packaging batches have been cancelled. A completed batch cannot be deleted.

Status changes and deletion are recorded in the event log.

Production batches with an AI assistant

If you have connected an AI assistant to your BrewOS account, you can ask it, for example, to start a batch, mark steps as started and completed, reserve ingredients, record measurements and packaging, move a batch to another tank or mark a tank empty.