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seigex

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Ok here's a question for ya'll...

I brew with my six year old, even though he can't drink the finished product. Its great bonding time, and it teaches him alot about chemistry, microbiology, amongst other things. He's actually pretty good at being a helper and knows all the terms and what things do.

My question is... does anyone else make brewing beer a family event or to you all is it taboo to introduce children into making beer?
 
Not taboo at all. It teaches kids about responsible drinking. Also, for centuries before our time, children would learn their parent's craft as apprentices and such. Many old breweries have been passed down from generation to generation.
 
My "baby" is 18 and just graduated High School. I have only been in this hobby (OK, lifestyle) since this year. My wife will help me a little if I ask but she sure will drink'em.
 
I have two girls,ages 5 and 8. they are not allowed to help when the keggle is on the burner,but they do get to help. they love to help rinse the capped bottles and stick them in the box. they love to help pick hops. When they go to school they tell the teacher about daddys beer. (the school must think I am an drunk) :drunk: But its fun to spend time with them and they know I love this hobby. They know for fathers day,birthdays ect. that brew stuff is what I will want. :rockin: yes I try to let them help as much as I can. I tell my girls when they get better at math they can help me with my recipies. and when they get older they will be beer snobs. just let some punk pull out a case of natty lite at a party.

:tank:
 
My "baby" is 18 and just graduated High School. I have only been in this hobby (OK, lifestyle) since this year. My wife will help me a little if I ask but she sure will drink'em.

I can't get the wife to drink them. She see's the yeast working its magic, the krausen or occasional infection and passes it off as "moldy beer." She's the same with beef, if she see's it raw then she refuses to eat it.
 
...and when they get older they will be beer snobs. just let some punk pull out a case of natty lite at a party.

This a huge reason why I am teaching him early, so he doesn't start out drinking that crap I used to drink. Back in my military days I used to drink a lot of Bud Light and Coors Light and don't want him to fall to that same shame.

Also I have the same dream that I'm sure many people on this forum have. I've at least considered starting a micro/nano brewery (as far fetched as it might be) and if that should happen, I would want him to work there.
 
Until its fermenting, it's just cooking in my opinion. Measuring cups, teaspoons and a dash of this and a pinch of that. My 7 yo loves to help stir the pot while I add ingredients. It does sound a little bad when she is spilling to her teacher or day care lady.
 
My 6yo son loves to help too. He likes the unfermented wort a lot, but isn't too keen on the final product. I think it's the carbonation actually, because he doesn't like soda either. I only let him have a tiny sip once, and he's refused since then. His favorite chore is sticking the labels on the bottlecaps. I don't involve him too much on brew day yet, I've got a very nuclear propane burner.
 
My 13 yr old is my helper monkey on brew days. She loves it. We are setting back a bottle from each batch for her 21st birthday.
Also, she knows the difference between IPA's and ESB's, porters and stouts etc just by tasting the wort.
Knowledge is power.
 
My 6yo son loves to help too. He likes the unfermented wort a lot, but isn't too keen on the final product. I think it's the carbonation actually, because he doesn't like soda either. I only let him have a tiny sip once, and he's refused since then. His favorite chore is sticking the labels on the bottlecaps. I don't involve him too much on brew day yet, I've got a very nuclear propane burner.

On the same note, I let my kid have a sip once in a while, especially when I have a really hoppy beer or really stouty beer. He grimmaces (sp?) and then smiles and says, "It's good." I think he's trying to make me happy by saying he likes it, lol. I gave my 18 month old a sip of a hoppy beer once and he tried to grab the bottle out of my hand to drink more. That was the last time he got a sip, and I have a feeling I'm going to have to watch him more during his teenage years :D
 
My daughter is 15 and she's helped me on every batch I've done. She's there when I brew, she helps when I transfer, she fills while I cap when we bottle. So, I don't refer to it as my beer, it's "our" beer and she takes great pride in it. She gets to have a sip from each one to see how it comes out.

She expects that she's going to be very popular when she gets to college since she'll be the only chick there who brews her own beer. She's also learning to play poker. Her plan is to lure the guys in with the homebrew, get them drunk and then skin 'em in poker to pay for future batches. That's daddy's girl! :D
 
I'm a few years off from having kids, but I definitely hope to have kids like that!
 
My boys 9-12 have helped hold the funnel while I pour into the primary, give me reqular updates on airlock activity, and help on bottling day.
 
I know my 6 1/2 year old just can't stand the smell of boiling wort! I normally start the boil after she is in bed, but occasionally she will wake up and ask me to please stop making the house stink...

But she enjoys taking Hydrometer and tempature readings with me. :rockin:
 
I have no problem with letting my 9 year old daughter be a part of my brew day. I have found the less fuss you make about something, the less deviate curiousity a child develops about it. Sadly I have family members and friends that think Beer (or any wine of spirit) are sinful. That can really send some mixed messages to a child. As a parent you have to guide them by what you personally believe is right or wrong. I believe beer is good and a natural thing. With it comes responsibility and moderation. When I consume, it reflects that to her. My grandfather taught me that "There is no skill in getting drunk, only in making the Beer."
 
I have no problem with letting my 9 year old daughter be a part of my brew day. I have found the less fuss you make about something, the less deviate curiousity a child develops about it. Sadly I have family members and friends that think Beer (or any wine of spirit) are sinful. That can really send some mixed messages to a child. As a parent you have to guide them by what you personally believe is right or wrong. I believe beer is good and a natural thing. With it comes responsibility and moderation. When I consume, it reflects that to her. My grandfather taught me that "There is no skill in getting drunk, only in making the Beer."

Just like with anything else, I think the more you know about it the more you respect it. If you're tuned in to the process of making beer at an early age, you will take greater pride in drinking your beer when you start and won't be so apt to abuse it.
 
I'd have no problem letting my 6 and 13 year old daughters help out with some stuff, I'm sure they would love the capping of bottles.

But the last thing I need is for them to be going home Sunday night and telling my ex, "Daddy is brewing tons of beer in his basement!" and have the whole thing misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. Don't need that crap.

So I bought a root beer extract last week, and figure we would give that a whirl.
 
I gave my 18 month old a sip of a hoppy beer once and he tried to grab the bottle out of my hand to drink more

When my son was about that age, we went to a party. I was holding him in my lap, drinking a bottle of Guinness. He grabbed it out of my hand, tilted his head back and upended the bottle all over his face, then laughed. Couple hours later I hand him off to my wife, and she wondered why her little boy smelled like a frat house. Funny stuff.
 
I have 2 daughters 8 & 9 they i get them on the weekends and they always help on brew days they even ask what kind we are making next. They got very upset one time when they found out i bottled one day when they were not with me.
 
My kids, all four (7, 9, 12, & 13), have helped at some point. My seven year-old daughter is the 'Chief Bottler' and always asks when the next bottling day is coming up.

You know you are on the right track when your kid takes a sniff of your latest IPA and says it smells like 'oranges and flowers' instead of 'beer'.

I still tear up with pride. *sniff*
 
My son is 2 and he helps quite a bit. He is good at adding in the premeasured hops, stirring, holding things, spraying us with the hose . . . you know all good stuff like that.

Here he is helping add some ice around the pot of Summer Irish Ale we made.

img4786808.jpg
 
My oldest is only 3, but I let him help with small things like weighing grain and hops and scooping the spent grains from the mash tun.

Then while the keggle is on the stove he gets out his homer bucket, fills it with water and mixes in dirt and leaves with a paint stirrer. He tells me that his beer will be better than mine. ;)
 
I have a an 11 and 15 year old, who both understand and take part in my brewing. It truly is a family thing with us. it has led to my 11 year old wanting and brewing his own line of root beers that he make sure every guest gets a taste of.
 
I think it is a great idea. I'll have to get my grandson to help me on my next batch. He already is an assistant on homemade ice cream.
 
I don't have kids yet, since I'm only 21. My 14 year old sister helped me crush malt when I brewed my first (and only so far) brew though. I'll probably let her taste it when it's done.
 
I just bottled a batch this morning with my boys - 2 and 5. We had a nice assembly line going. They helped fill bottles. My 5 year old helped me cap and my two year old put all the filled bottles back in the bottle box.

SWMBO complimented me on my sweatshop laborers.
 
My 10 year old son is my assistant brewmaster. He enjoys helping (not as much on bottling days), and has a decent understanding of what is going on. His enthusiasm for helping has decreased somewhat now that it is not such a novelty (we are on our 9th batch). But it has created some good bonding time.
 
My family helps with different phases. For the most part, everyone likes the smell during the boil. My wife is an excellent bottle filler and capper and my 8 year old daughter is a good bottle filler, adds hops and yeast.
 
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