Proud Dad

My number 3 son wanted to do a brew with me. Yes, he's under age and under adult supervision, but I explained what was gonna happen, stressed cleanliness, and we started from there. It was a simple extract ale, with some DME and a bit of Irish moss, nothing fancy. Basically I just pointed and he did all the work, I had the heavy lifting job. We purposlly used the glass carboy to get the visual effect and were done brewing in about 2 hours. The next morning it was bubbling nonstop, and still going. We covered it with a black sweatshirt, and let it go. I peeked in on it and he was sniffing the airlock a little bit later. He comes out and says "Dad, it smells like a good batch". Man, made my chest swell up, and throat got all tight.
If that don't beat video games and TV, I don't know what will.

Great news! Truly better experience than he could have with the TV or Video games. It teaches him patience and attention to detail, and in the end he will have something to be proud of... good for the both of you!

I can't wait to have a son to share this with... daughter will work to . Congratz to you and your son!!

... I won't tell if you let him taste it when its done.

Can't beat it. How old is he?
Is he old enough to sample it?
It does good to educate young'uns about alcohol. Making it taboo just makes them want it more. I was allowed a small glass of beer or wine with special meals when I was a youngster.

I agree Orfy, and its perfectly legal in your own home under parental supervision. Not too mention, homebrew will make you respect alcohol as a complex art versus a way to get drunk.

I use it as a teaching tool. Not just to respect alcohol, but also lessons in Microbiology and math. I have my son (11) do formulas and research on how the yeastys (as he calls them) do their work. It was funny that he wanted to do a paper in science of how the process works. I told him to hold off a few years and do it for a college paper when he was getting his biology degree. That way he can be a brewmaster and Daddy won't have to brew into his old age. And yes he does try a sip of what we brew. You should see him taste, swallow, breath into his mouth and out his nose and tell me what he tastes.

Maybe when he sees all the work and patience that goes into making good beer, he won't be so apt to consume mass quantities of swill when he's in college. He'll slowly drink a fine beer and appreciate it, instead of beer-bonging three things that taste like puddle-water.

Congrats on the Father/Son brew day, My boy is just one right now and I can't wait until we can share an experience like that. We brew together now but he mostly just likes to smack the side of the carboy and grab the siphon tube while I am racking. I have to agree with everyone here on the important life lessons to be learned from brewing, like patience and cleanliness.

The family that brews together, stays together.

Cheers

wop31 said:

Congrats on the Father/Son brew day, My boy is just one right now and I can't wait until we can share an experience like that. We brew together now but he mostly just likes to smack the side of the carboy and grab the siphon tube while I am racking. I have to agree with everyone here on the important life lessons to be learned from brewing, like patience and cleanliness.

The family that brews together, stays together.

Cheers

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My boy is a crappy assistant brewmaster. He cries, he wants snacks, and an hour in he wants to take a two hour break to take a nap! His performance evaluation is far from stunning.

He'll work out well over time, I just need to develop his job responsibilities. So far, they include "Don't touch" and "Go play in the living room". He fails at both.

Cheese, you absolutely nailed it. Amen. I've started doing something akin to what Radar is doing with his son, in my case, it's my daughter. I figure, like Cheese, teach her to respect and appreciate good brew that it will quell her curiousity and have a well founded education on the arts of brewing. I for one, don't want my daughter "beer bonging" just because it was strictly taboo at the house. She has told me that she doesn't like beer, and I tell her that's OK. Someday she might and I'll teach her that it's OK to drink, just be responsible and know your limits. Getting stupid only makes you stupid.

My 4 year old wants to help me no matter what I'm doing. I try to find little stuff for her to do and she usually does a pretty good job. With brewing, it's hard to find much for her to do, but she askes LOTS of questions.

Yeah, he's not the best assistant in the world, but I'm not going to fire him yet either. Like your boy he has to have is mid-brew session nap. What is it about brewing that makes one year olds tired anyway? Definatly need to teach a respect for beer at a young age. A freind and I joke about how are sons are going to be the ones showing up to high school parties with corny kegs instead of crappy yellow fizz water 30 packs.

Cheers

wop31 said:

Yeah, he's not the best assistant in the world, but I'm not going to fire him yet either. Like your boy he has to have is mid-brew session nap. What is it about brewing that makes one year olds tired anyway? Definatly need to teach a respect for beer at a young age. A freind and I joke about how are sons are going to be the ones showing up to high school parties with corny kegs instead of crappy yellow fizz water 30 packs.

Cheers

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To their defence, I often find myself jealous of his mid-session naps. I wish that just once, in a meeting with my boss, I could suddenly start crying and throwing things at him and have him carry me to bed and tell me to take a nap.

I slammed his finger in the patio door the other day. Talk about feeling horrible. He had the owie, but I think my guilt was more painful.

My 15 yo son helped me bottle a batch a couple of weeks ago. He was truly a big help. As I filled each bottle, I'd hand it over to him, and he capped them. Made bottling go much faster!

I'll let him sample a sip or two next week when they're carbed. I too feel that including him in things like this takes some of the "forbidden fruit" mystique away from alcohol. But I'll have to admit that my dad let us kids have sips when we young as well, and it didn't stop me from chugging more than my fair share of Old Milwaukee in college.

My kids are 9 and 12. My son (the 12 yro) really likes helping me (on his terms). He seems to be fascinated by the process. I like the idea of letting him do the whole process and might try that.

I do offer both of them a sample everytime I rack, and whenever I open the first bottle from a batch. They get their lips wet and say it tastes good, but I'm not sure they can taste anything. The school has both of them convinced that all alcohol is evil. They like to lecture me about how much I drink (1 or 2 brews a night) even though I doubt they've ever seen me drunk. I suppose it's better they think that than to be out partying and getting drunk. I try and teach them to have a healthy respect for what they put into their bodies and the decision that they make. Prohibition doesn't work. The surest way to get a kid to do something is to tell him that he's not allowed to do it.

Our five year old daughter helps brew sometimes. She enjoys it, even though she is adamant about not liking beer. We've made cream soda a couple times, which she enjoys making and drinking. Shes decent help brewing and racking, but I dont think she would like bottling as much.

Im pretty sure at some time she will develop a taste for beer, and I think brewing with her now is setting her up to appreciate good beer over swill, and also learn a bit of science.

- magno

Wow, truly a heartwarming story. I can't wait until my son is old enough to help me brew, instead of just throwing ice cubes from the floor into my cooled wort.

Cheesefood said:

My boy is a crappy assistant brewmaster. He cries, he wants snacks, and an hour in he wants to take a two hour break to take a nap! His performance evaluation is far from stunning.

He'll work out well over time, I just need to develop his job responsibilities. So far, they include "Don't touch" and "Go play in the living room". He fails at both.

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Dad???

This is a cool story. I know I used to go to work with my dad (He installs telephone systems) and after a long day, he would let me have a beer or two. I think I was around 16 or 17. It was kind of awkward, but very cool. I would love to share my hobby with my kids. It's just like anything else, the more knowledge you arm your children with, the better their decisions will be.


Dan

I have to agree... This a very cool story!
Enjoy that time with your son!!!

That is great parenting. Teaching your kid the joys of brewing at a young age. I don't have any kids, but if I ever do I hope that I can have the joy of homebrewing with them.