Recipe "Snapshot" - Purpose and Use

[RevFrank]

I have about a half dozen brews under my belt using the Brewers Friend recipe and tracking software. On my last brew, I triggered a "snapshot" of my recipe quite by accident. Now I have two of the same recipe listed. I'm puzzled. What's the purpose of "snapshot" and how should I be using it?

 

[jmcnamara]

I think it's for when you want to deviate slightly from the main recipe, like try a new ingredient or process.
Truth be told, it's kinda fuzzy for me too

 

[KC]

The snapshot will capture exactly what you brewed that day, and it has several uses. I'll make a snapshot of every brew day to preserve the exact recipe that's tied to the brew session and tasting notes. If I use a substitute hop, I alter the additions in the snapshot to match the target IBU, leaving the base intact for next time. That snapshot is saved so I can go back and see where I've made that substitution and how it turned out.

It's also useful for when you need to change the base recipe somewhere down the road. I brewed several verisons of a hefe, compared them side by side, and copied the features I liked best from each snapshot recipe back into the base.

 

[jmcnamara]

Thanks you said that much more eloquently than I could.
Is there a view where you can see the stats of the master recipe then each snapshot one below that?

 

[Head First]

Thanks you said that much more eloquently than I could.
Is there a view where you can see the stats of the master recipe then each snapshot one below that?

If you scroll to the bottom of the recipe it should show all snapshots. I use this a lot to zero in recipies, as KC stated.

 

[White Haus Brews]

I use a similar process to KC. I create a master recipe, auto-create a snapshot when I create a new brew session, and then I can make changes to the master recipe after I've tasted it for the next time while keeping the history of what else I've tried. I currently have a recipe folder called snapshots which they all go into so they stay out of the way of my main recipes but you can also filter them out when you are viewing your recipes too.