Brewing a batch of beer, or creating an INSTANCE of a recipe

I don't know if this question even makes sense, but does BS2 just maintain recipes? or can it also maintain a list of instances I've brewed of a recipe?

For example, yesterday I made 2 batches of a recipe. Ideally, I would create a 'batch' and assign a recipe to it, but it appears that in BS I have to make 2 recipes with different names, even though the recipe was exactly the same. I did have a minor difference in the measured OG, but that was about it.

So basically, does BS keep track of my beer batches or just recipes?

Thanks
Monty

How I've handled this, is I created a unique set of different file folders. 

To keep track of a particular batch of beer that I've made, I copy it from one of the recipes under "My Recipes" and then paste it into the "Brewed Beers" folder.  So, any batch of beer that I've made in 2013 is in that 2013 folder, with all of my notes, readings, taste notes, things I might want to change the next time I make it, etc., etc. 

My base starting point recipe is still in it's original folder.  I do put a note in the base starting point recipe of the particular dates that I've brewed that recipe.  That way I can go to the "My Recipes" folder and look at the base recipe and then I'll know where to look in the  "Brewed Beers" folders for each time I've made it and look at any changes I've made over the years and how they turned out.  By having the "dates brewed" in the base starting point recipe, I can quickly and easily find all other "brewed" copies of it to look up my notes, etc.

When I want to make a particular beer that I've made in the past, I'll copy the version that most closely represents what I want to make and paste it into the Brewed Beers folder and then I'll make the changes that I want for this latest brew session to that version only and put in the notes section the reason I wanted to make changes, what changes I made and what I hope those changes will accomplish (more body, drier, sweeter, more or less carbonation, darker, lighter, etc.  Whatever I'm trying to accomplish).

As you can probably tell, I'm a note taker and detail oriented.  It's probably why I ended up in mechanical engineering for a career.

My files are currently set up as follows:

Note**--The name of each of my files is in "Bold" type.

Scott's Recipes File
  Brewed Beers-(Each year is in order by date, with the most recently brewed recipe at the bottom of the list.  The recipes in here are basically copies of the Recipes under my other files below, with the readings and notes of the particular brew session in this file by date.)
      2010
      2011
      2012
      2013
  My Recipes
      Ale Recipes
        Amber Ales
        American Pale Ales
        American Black IPA's
        Barley Wine
        Blonde Ales
        Brown Ales
        Etc., Etc., Etc.
      Lager Recipes-(I don't have lager recipes broken down by style yet, as I have not yet brewed a lager and only have about a dozen lager recipes.  I have about 100 different Ale Recipes, so breaking them down by style was necessary to make searching through them easier.)
      Award Winning Recipes-(These are recipes that I've found online and in publications that won awards and that I'm interested in making some day.)
    Project/Experimental Recipes-(Really weird stuff or something I work on with my Local Homebrew Club.)
  Wine Recipes

Ok thanks for the reply. That sounds like a great way to do it. I may not be super detail oriented, but I have found that things are much easier if you keep basic notes on each batch because I am making many smaller 2-ish gallon batches. (Mr Beer fermenters fit really well in my fermentaiton chamber - an old refrig)

Monty

BeerSmith uses the Brew Log for that.  I don't so you need to research how.

I use the 'brew log' functionality of BeerSmith.  From your recipe folder, you click once on the recipe you want to brew and then click on the button on the tool bar which reads 'copy to log'.  BeerSmith will create a Brew Log folder with the recipe in it.  I then go into the brew log and change to date to my brew date.  I then update any ingredient information, such as the date on the yeast package and any pricing info to reflect current purchase price or ingredient data.  I created a subfolder in Brew Log titled "finished brews" where I transfer the finished recipe file with brewing notes and information when I am done brewing and fermenting.  Very similar to what Scott has outlined above, but I am no where near as organized as he is.