Any other recent/to be new Dads?

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kpr121

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My wife is 39+ weeks and is ready for our boy to make his appearance. I can't wait to meet him and to become a dad!

Any other recent or to be daddy's (or mommys even) here? How have you adjusted? Beer intake suffering?
 
I have a nine month old assistant brewer. He's great. My beer intake has increased, but brewing time has suffered. There are some threads about guys that started brewing after the baby goes to bed. I haven't gone there, but its pretty funny.

Good luck to you and your wife!
 
Have a 16 month old and another one on the way in May. Good luck man, being a Dad is the best.
 
Yep...Just brewed up my newest child. He looks so cute bubbling away. Just love tickling him under the airlock. Has his mothers bitter disposition, but time should help settle him down and make him a more rounded individual.
I can't wait till he's old enough to leave the crib(or ferment chamber) and go out into the big world on his own. They seem to age so slow, but before you know it they're gone.
I'm just so proud.
 
I mash in around seven, kid (2.5 now) goes down at eight, sparge as soon as I can. Sometimes I brew on the weekends, sometimes at night.

let's see, other advice:
Just because they are old enough to hold stuff doesn't mean they should hold the hydrometer.
Once old enough they are great mash stirrers.
Once they are old enough they love to eat grain, well, at least mine.
It's odd hearing a toddler talk about beer when they see a very large kettle.
Brewing can actually get you some alone time which is nice.
 
4 year old and a 7 month old. The 4 year old helps me measure and grind grain. Kids definitely cut down my brewing, but I'm hoping that it picks up now that they are getting a little older.
 
I have a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a baby born in October. Get ready to brew at night. I find it very relaxing to start a brew just as the kids are going to bed and get some quiet time at night. It is a nice break from the Chaos of the day.
 
I have a 5 month old. He has a lot of food intolerance issues and is generally a high need baby so I don't get as many opportunities to brew as I would like. I try to brew a couple batches together because it only adds about 2 hours to my brew session. I think as he gets older it will be easier and I will definitely include him.
 
got a 15th month old and one due in june. brewed about 4 times last year and that took a lot of hard work to the free time to get that done. Dont see much happening this year with second on the way.
 
I have a three month old baby boy, I have actually brewed 4 batches since he was born. So I guess it hasn't suffered too bad, just end up brewing at weird times with late night clean up.

Can't wait till he's old enough to help!
 
My youngest just turned 21....years :) My brewing time no longer suffers but my beer keeps disappearing......

EDIT: Good luck new dad's and congratulations!
 
I have a 2-year old and she loves playing in the driveway with me while I brew. I let her stir the mash, and she has her own little 2-gallon pot and she brews "beer" in. Yesterday during my IPA brew day she put a rock and a pinecone in the water in her brewpot. We're calling it a West Coast IPA Steinbier.
 
My first, Connor, is 5 weeks old. I have actually brewed twice (RIS and a BIPA) since he showed up on the scene, so my brewing hasn't really suffered yet. We actually brewed yesterday. My SWMBO is a rockstar and doesn't mind missing me for 4 hours. Since it was warm out yesterday, I was able to give her a break and brew with him by my side anyway!

Connor's First Brewday.jpg
 
It’s encouraging to see that for the most part everyone’s had time to continue brewing, even if it means switching to night-time sessions. That actually sounds a lot more fun anyhow.

As far as having a little brew buddy around, I guess I am going to need to really kid-proof my garage, including the electric brewery. I guess I have a little bit of time until I have to worry about that though!

Thanks for the thoughts!
 
My first, Connor, is 5 weeks old. I have actually brewed twice (RIS and a BIPA) since he showed up on the scene, so my brewing hasn't really suffered yet. We actually brewed yesterday. My SWMBO is a rockstar and doesn't mind missing me for 4 hours. Since it was warm out yesterday, I was able to give her a break and brew with him by my side anyway!

That is awesome, congrats! Cute kid!
 
I mash in around seven, kid (2.5 now) goes down at eight, sparge as soon as I can. Sometimes I brew on the weekends, sometimes at night.

Almost exactly what I do. Kids (3.5 yrs 14 months) go to bed around 8. I aim to have the strike water in the tun at 7. Go inside, get them ready for bed, read books, brush teeth, etc. Tuck them in and head back out. I'm usually ready to sparge by 8:15-8:30.
 
Glad I found this post! My wife is 37 weeks and I just brewed a batch on Saturday. I hope I can get one more brew in before she/ he arrives. I've done a few night brews before and looks like that works well for most of u.
Cheers!
 
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i have 2 girls, 4 and 2. this is the 2 yr old and her neighbor friend (who's dad is also a home brewer) checking out the mash tun. at this age they are not much real help but they sure are cute.
 
I have a 5 month old daughter, our first. I have definitely scaled back my consumption, but I'm brewing more. I upgraded to doing all grain a month after her birth. I have a lot of beers ready to drink, but I just don't have the time to drink them anymore. I've been giving away a lot lately.
 
I have a nearly 3 year old with another due in the next couple of weeks. So my homebrewing is put on hold until sometime after the birth. Don't want to be in the middle of a brew and have the wife come out to tell me she's in labor and we have to go to the hospital.

With the first one my beer consumption went up briefly then probably normalized after the first couple of months. My overall brewing the year he was born dropped off, but not but a huge amount. It's a good way to get some time to yourself which you need from time to time. You also end up with things like having one of your child's first 5 words be beer. Now whenever he sees a Wyeast pack or the erylmeyer flask he goes "daddy is going to grow yeast!" I have a feeling when he goes to kindergarten there might be some interesting conversations with teachers.
 
6 and 3 year old daughters. Brewing is the best way to have a hobby and stay at home. Kids help, you can keep an eye on them, and mom isn't looking at her watch wondering when I'm gonna be back from the golf course.
Best. Hobby. Ever.

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My wife is at ten weeks. It's crazy and I'm psyched! However, our life revolves around beer: Beer festivals, Breweries on days off, etc. Well she has learned to smell beer really well and I have learned that dragging her to a brewery on a Saturday when she can't drink anything is just inconsiderate.

We have already canceled three beer festivals that we go away for every year, a trip to Vegas and a trip to Portland to try all of the amazing beer out there. Oy. All that extra money is going into our savings account.

My brewing has not taken a hit though. I have done 7 batches since finding out. That makes 5 on tap and 11 in fermentors.
 
My son is 5 months old. Beer consumption has increased, beer brewing has decreased. Since he was born in July I've brewed 5 batches, compared to 9 batches from Jan to July. It's picking up a little more now that he's past the point of needing to be held all the time and getting up every 3 hours to eat around the clock. Wife has no trouble letting me have a few hours from time to time.
 
I have a 17 month old son. Prior to his arrival, I would brew every three weeks or so. Now, it's every two months or so. I think that may increase to every six weeks, but we'll see about that.

I didn't drink much after he was born. Was wayyy too tired. One beer would put me to sleep. Adjusting to having the responsibility of a baby is exhausting enough. Add in nighttime feedings, and you literally go insane. (Ever see the Simpsons episode where Apu works a 72 hour shift, and he thinks he's some sort of hummingbird at the end of the shift?)

You start adapting to life without sleep after a few months. I think I started feeling comfortable having a few beers after 2-3 months or so.

I used to start my brewday around 9-10am on a Saturday or Sunday. Now, like others, I'm an evening/nighttime brewer. If all goes as planned, I try to mash in around 3-4pm on Saturdays when my wife gets home from work. However, straddling brewing with parenting responsibilities can be stressful. Sometimes, I just wait until after dinner to mash in. It's a late night, but less chaotic.

Congratulations on your oncoming child. Best of luck.
 
inhousebrew said:
I mash in around seven, kid (2.5 now) goes down at eight, sparge as soon as I can. Sometimes I brew on the weekends, sometimes at night.

let's see, other advice:
Just because they are old enough to hold stuff doesn't mean they should hold the hydrometer.
Once old enough they are great mash stirrers.
Once they are old enough they love to eat grain, well, at least mine.
It's odd hearing a toddler talk about beer when they see a very large kettle.
Brewing can actually get you some alone time which is nice.

I'm at the same spot. My 2 1/2 yr old says things like "momma make beer" and wants to "help" a lot. I did two batches in the last 2 weeks. The first was a Sunday and I mashed in around 11 am and was doing the majority of stuff during his nap. Friday night I prepped in the late afternoon and mashed in at 5:45. Ran & got my BF's 10 yr old son from afterschool, made dinner. Heated sparge water, ate, sparged, put kettle on the flame, gave 2 yr old a bath. Did 60 min additions, put kid to bed.... Finished up and cleaning done by 10pm. Passed out on couch at 10:15.
 
I have a 7 and a 2 year old, and a 4 day old baby at the house. I tried my best to get stocked up before she came but she came early. I have 5 gallons each of AIPA, and a Rye APA on tap, about 3 cases of bottled homebrew and store bought, and 5 gallons of RIS in primary. I was hoping to get at least one more batch brewed but oh well. A good time saver is to mash the day before you plan to brew, overnight mashes are great for efficiency too.
 
Well I don't have one on the way.... Yet... But I wanted to congratulate all expecting dads and moms alike. Having a kid is awesome !!! You'll get very little sleep and as they get older very challenging but ultimately so worth every second. My 4 year old helps me brew now and actually knows what all the equipment is called and a really basic idea of what I'm doing its quite funny. The only thing is what's he gonna say when he goes to school !!! His teachers are gonna think I have a meth lab at home lol !!
 
I'm 9 weeks away from our little Nugget making her grand entrance. I'm super excited! I'll probably be a zombie for the first few months from what I've read but i'm filling the fermenters up as much as I can before then. 10 Gallon batches really helps! Congrats to all the other new Dad's out there as well!
 
I've got one that turned five a few months ago and another that's supposed to be here around the end of June.
Beer consumption went waaay down but is slowly creeping back up to acceptable levels.
The brewing is something SWMBO lets me do with no complaints. I just make sure she knows in advance when brewing days are and she leaves me be for the whole six hours.
Have to agree with all the posts about letting the kids help out. Daughter enjoys stirring, tasting and picking the sprouts out of the mash. Started letting her help after a short article in the back of BYO (i think. might be Zymurgy. I'm old and get confused easily). She also enjoys trips to the LHBS and the local beer store (if only for the Twizzlers she gets from the clerks).
But a word of caution: Don't let your kid fake "taste" a beer. I did and she told her teacher that she tasted beer. Which led to teacher telling mother-in-law which led to M-i-L telling SWMBO.
Good times, good times.....
 
I have an 18 month old daughter who loves to "help" me brew. I remember bottling an Amber Ale the day before she was born though. As I recall, that beer conditioned in the bottle for like two months before I remembered they were stashed away. Didn't brew either. Too tired.

But, once I chilled those suckers and sampled one, I was back in the game. :ban: By then, I was ready to make time to brew despite my life changing forever (for the better) with the arrival of my daughter.

I think brewing at bedtime is the easiest way to go...no distractions. Kids are quick and can come up on a hot kettle in the blink of an eye. I'd say they're faster than those boilovers that happen when you turn your head for a split second. No, she hasn't burned herself on my kettle but it sure was close once. Now, I'm paranoid about it.
 
I have a 20 month old and a sixteen year old at home. Hard to believe that the youngest is almost two now. Both of my kids don't really mind that I brew, but also don't really help out much. They're the girliest of girly-girls (as their Mother sees fit) and don't like the smell of boiling hops much, so their Mom usually takes them out to the mall or girl scouts meetings or something like that on my brew days.

Advice to the new Dad: Yes, having children will change your life for the better. There will be times when it seems like it's pure hell (sleepless nights the first few months, feedings, etc.) but it's worth it.
 
I'm at the same spot. My 2 1/2 yr old says things like "momma make beer" and wants to "help" a lot. I did two batches in the last 2 weeks. The first was a Sunday and I mashed in around 11 am and was doing the majority of stuff during his nap. Friday night I prepped in the late afternoon and mashed in at 5:45. Ran & got my BF's 10 yr old son from afterschool, made dinner. Heated sparge water, ate, sparged, put kettle on the flame, gave 2 yr old a bath. Did 60 min additions, put kid to bed.... Finished up and cleaning done by 10pm. Passed out on couch at 10:15.

Yikes. That sounds like a very stressful brewday. I guess, for me, I want to enjoy the brewing process AND get tasty beer. I don't think I'd enjoy that so much. Congrats to you for making that work. I hope that you can fit in some less stressful brewdays.

Highlights a point that one of the first posters on this thread made. Brewdays can give you some peace and quiet. My wife always asks if I'm going to invite people over for when I brew. She doesn't understand when I say no.
 
JohnnyO said:
Yikes. That sounds like a very stressful brewday. I guess, for me, I want to enjoy the brewing process AND get tasty beer. I don't think I'd enjoy that so much. Congrats to you for making that work. I hope that you can fit in some less stressful brewdays.

Highlights a point that one of the first posters on this thread made. Brewdays can give you some peace and quiet. My wife always asks if I'm going to invite people over for when I brew. She doesn't understand when I say no.

Lol. I'm a mom, and this particular brew night was stress free. No tantrums, OR stuck sparges! I am a queen of multitasking. If I'm not juggling 3 things I don't know what to do with myself! After the little guy was in bed I even had time to browse HBT during the boil. I try to be as efficient as possible. Brew days for me are more about the process and science than relaxing... I tend to drink coffee during brew days so my notes are clear. An uninterrupted hour long bath and home spa treatment is relaxing... And that I haven't found time for since my son was born.
 
Get ready for a whirlwind! Mine turned 6 months yesterday....

He'll go from this:

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To this:

196905_577517255215_2022020424_n_zps49e2b129.jpg



....seemingly defying the space-time continuum.



Unfortunately, my brewing time was lost somewhere in the unknown along the trip. :confused: I could have easily made time to brew, but after the last two brew sessions went south fast with system problems, I needed to take a break anyway.

I did just pull out my pump to start troubleshooting it.... :mug:
 
YO! Brewing dad here too. :mug:

I have a 20mo old son, and a baby girl that will be here on or before Feb 5th.

I'm excited to have my wife home for Feb and March....should be able to sneak in some brewing during the day. If I can stay awake ;) I am going to try a few test batch 1 and 2 gal recipes on the stove, instead of taking half a day brewing 5gal in the garage.

BTW, I'm a SAHD (stay at home dad). Any others?

-Cheers, Kurt
 
Well! Our little boy was brought to us a few days early! 7 lbs 15 oz (god bless my wife and her 3 hrs of pushing)! It was the greatest experience in my life and I'm still high on adrenaline after about 3 hrs of sleep since early Monday morning.

I just wanted to share pics of my little brew buddy with my HBT community!

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Well! Our little boy was brought to us a few days early! 7 lbs 15 oz (god bless my wife and her 3 hrs of pushing)! It was the greatest experience in my life and I'm still high on adrenaline after about 3 hrs of sleep since early Monday morning.

I just wanted to share pics of my little brew buddy with my HBT community!

Wow! Contrats! KPR121 jr.
 
My Honey is 33 weeks! Gotta get my brewing equipment while we still have money! ;)
Very excited for our first born (boy). I was thinking ergo carrier for brewing/babysitting...
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