Parents who brew...

[schematix]

Long since planned due to the OP's reason, but now finally realized, i am brewing on weekday evenings. I used to be exclusively a weekend brewer but found that ate into "family time" quite a bit.

Kids are usually in bed by 7-7:30 on weeknights so i get home at 4:30, mashed in by 5, in the kettle by 7 and pitched by 10:30. Net loss of family time is maybe 30-45 minutes. Wife likes it much better this way. And i get my weekends to do the usual weekend stuff.

 

[knotquiteawake]

Long since planned due to the OP's reason, but now finally realized, i am brewing on weekday evenings. I used to be exclusively a weekend brewer but found that ate into "family time" quite a bit.

Kids are usually in bed by 7-7:30 on weeknights so i get home at 4:30, mashed in by 5, in the kettle by 7 and pitched by 10:30. Net loss of family time is maybe 30-45 minutes. Wife likes it much better this way. And i get my weekends to do the usual weekend stuff.

I wish i could brew outdoors at night/evening. We live next to a lake so the bugs/gnats are THICK around any light source. The only time of year I can brew at night outdoors is a couple months of the "coldest" part of winter (which in North Texas Means 40's-50s). If i want to evening brew its indoors for me. But If i can do extract successfully thats probably what i'll end up doing.

 

[schematix]

I wish i could brew outdoors at night/evening. We live next to a lake so the bugs/gnats are THICK around any light source. The only time of year I can brew at night outdoors is a couple months of the "coldest" part of winter (which in North Texas Means 40's-50s). If i want to evening brew its indoors for me. But If i can do extract successfully thats probably what i'll end up doing.

That’s why I built an electric brewery in my basement.... year round no problem.

 

[SEndorf]

That’s why I built an electric brewery in my garage.... year round no problem.

 

[51mmz0rz]

I would say small batches could be a solution - I think its better to brew smaller amounts more often than a full batch only once in a while.

A 1.5 gal batch takes me about 2 hours, which I know I can squeeze into a weeknight, or maybe even an early weekend morning. Trying to find 6-7 hours is harder, and probably sacrifices family time or my wife's sanity. Plus I get to brew more often and get more beer variety this way. The only downside is this may not be enough output.

 

[lump42]

After my first kid nothing much changed. At that point I was an extract/partial mash brewer.

After my second kid was born I just ran out of time completely and took a 4 year break.

I just started brewing again in February doing All Grain. That was a lot of fun and made some great beers.

Now we're expecting kid #3 in November so I think I'm going to at least try to keep up with doing extract batches, especially if I can get "brewday" down to <2 hours.

Speaking of which.



lump42 What is your typical process? Do you do full boil or partial boil and then cool the wort with your extra couple top off gallons? I think I'm probably going to do the same kind of thing for the next year.

I still do full boils. I still brew all-grain when I have time, but the extract batches fill in and keep my beer lines full.

I use brewers friend and it calculates the water needed less the volume of the extract. Other software may as well.
Fill the kettle with pre-boil water, add 1/2 campden tablet for chloramine. Then add any steeping grains while the water heats. When the water hit 170-200, I kill the flame add extract and stir till dissolved, bring to boil, add hops, chill, pitch.

Chilling, I fill 40-50 qt cooler full of ice from work add a gallon of water (just enough to submerge a pond pump) and recirculate the ice water through my IC while I stir, even with a smaller homemade IC (~40' 3/8") it takes near 10-15 min to chill to 64F.

Recipes are either following Basic Brewing Radio's 15-min pale ale recipe or kits I've picked up on sale.

15-min pale ale (source)
5 gallon batch
6lbs light dme
1lb C60
2oz cascade @15min
1oz cascade @ flameout

Hops can easily be substituted and adjusted to taste/ whats on hand. Total brew time is around 2-hours with setup to clean up.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I haven't brewed since April 2015. I did three batches. Daughter #1 born in May 2015.

Things evened out and was going to get back into it and Daughter #2 was born in May 2018. #2 is easier adjustment for us, so I'm hoping to brew relatively soon.

Though it's likely going to be a day off of work. I'm not to the point where I can brew on the weekends with the kids.

 

[myndflyte]

I'd second the 15 min boils. I've done 2 saisons and an APA with extract and 15 min boils and they all turned out good.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/570638/15-minute-saison (I liked this version better)
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/647880/15-min-saison-v2
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/585394/short-and-hoppy-apa

They make good beers with really quick brew days.

 

[NewJersey]

Well news has arrived that I will be a new parent! With all the excitement and other feelings that come along with this huge change, I can't help but wonder how this will affect my brewing. Thankfully I have a system that can do 5 or 10 gallon batches, so if I can't make it into the brew house I can easily double up.

How have the introduction of children changed the way, or how you brew?

my boy is 3 and my girl is 9 months. the year before my son was born i made about 20+ brews. Since he was born I have made 1.

 

[beernutz]

My youngest will be 21 in a few days so I'm about to have all adult children. The hardest part of brewing when they were growing up was during middle and high school when I actually quit brewing for about 7 years.

Maybe you can steer your kid away from sports or extracurricular activities and towards being a couch potato. That will free up a lot of brewing time.

I am of course kidding.

 

[KonservativeJay]

My youngest will be 21 in a few days so I'm about to have all adult children. The hardest part of brewing when they were growing up was during middle and high school when I actually quit brewing for about 7 years.

Maybe you can steer your kid away from sports or extracurricular activities and towards being a couch potato. That will free up a lot of brewing time.

I am of course kidding.

Or are you?
I myself am starting to wish my children did less for brewing purposes! Sadly I could never encourage such behavior [emoji17] lol

My children are in 9th and 7th grade and I only recently started brewing (last winter in fact) so I am still trying to get it all figured out myself.

 

[murphyslaw]

For me, the keys are to start early, and to get as much done as possible the night before.

Any time saved meauring ingredients and getting stuff ready not only shortens your brew day, it also makes it easier to step away from the production and give the family some time.

 

[teesherv]

I agree with what's been said. To echo others, it may actually get harder to find time as they get older. I dialed it in early (do as much prep as possible the night before, make sure the wife gets 'her' time, start early the next morning, schedule brew day on the calendar, etc) so now it's part of what is normal in our house. And bonus, my oldest just said he can't wait to have drink with me soon and learn more about brewing. I tried to convince the wife I was teaching responsible drinking [emoji3]

 

[matt_m]

My children are in 9th and 7th grade and I only recently started brewing (last winter in fact) so I am still trying to get it all figured out myself.

Ours just turned 16 about 6 months ago. We suddenly find ourselves with a lot more free time because she's a lot busier but we aren't driving.

 

[tarcrarc]

One more suggestion is if you can go electric (such as using a Grainfather) you can brew right in the kitchen with the family around you.

 

[Toxxyc]

We're the same, you and I OP. My first is coming March next year. We found out the gender yesterday, actually. So far it's not affected much. Time will be an issue, yes, but for now I'm sticking to extract brews for this exact reason. 30 minutes, start to finish, and I'm done for 2~3 weeks before bottling comes. I want to get into kegging before going all-grain actually as that's a big time hog - bottling.

 

[brewswithshoes]

Congrats OP (and others with little ones on the way).

Biggest gains I made to shorten brew days and allow not to interfere with kid life were like a lot of what was mentioned already, but you have to make sure you don't sacrifice the part of brewing that brings the joy/happiness. I was able to move from a 3 vessel to a brew boss system.

That saved massive amounts in cleaning time. Prepping the night before helps, and I start a brew day early, usually Saturday long before they get up.

Being electric and brewing in the house is a big help in that it's easier to move about the house.

Clean as you go, I can usually have the mash basket cleaned and put away before the boil is done.

If you love brewing, it's an easy adjustment with kids.

If you can work on getting your brew day times down before they come you'll be that much ahead of the game.

Congrats again !!!

 

[AzOr]

Congrats!

I have two little ones, so I know that extra time is scarce.

I break it into two evenings, after the kids are asleep.

First night- heat water and mash. Collect wort. In the winter, I simply leave the wort in the brew kettle overnight on the burner.

Second night- boil, chill and then pitch yeast.

Both evenings it usually takes 2-2.5 hours including cleaning.

Even if I didn’t have kids, I think I’d still use this method. It’s just more relaxing and gives me time to finish/clean up other garage projects.

 

[atom]

My son is 17 months and my daughter is due in Dec. My brewing has slowed way down (but so has my drinking). Since my wife is currently pregnant, the demand has dropped even more. I'll echo previous statements, make sure you give your SO plenty of time for themselves too. I also schedule my brew days as far as i can in advance. I don't split up my brew day... It's a solid 6 hours, but there are chucks of time in there that my son can hang out with me and give my wife a break. I am brewing this weekend for the first time since june. It will be interesting to see how things change after we have our second.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I have 3 little kids right now(8,5,2). I never brewed before I had kids, and I put off starting for a long time because I was so busy with them I figured I just didn't have time.

And I don't, on the weekends. There's just nonstop activities usually. What I find does work though is brewing during the week after work. I generally will already have my water measured out with the mineral additions to save time. Then I mash in as early as possible(hopefully around dinnertime). Sometimes it'll be midnight by the time I've finished and cleaned up.

Since alot of the mash and boil doesn't require me to do anything I can step away and help with family stuff during the process. The downside is I have to do small enough batches where I can brew in my kitchen, so right now I do 2.5 gallon BIAB batches.

 

[Staticsouls]

I haven't been back on in a bit as I had listened and spent ample time with my wife. I can already tell that I will be consuming much less by nature.

Luckily for me I helped a friend build out a kegerator while my wife met with a friend, so he can consume the other half. I guess I need some small kegs for split and small batches. That ought to round me out in batch size flexibility. 2.5 split, 5, 10 split into 2x2.5 and one 5, and a split 10 gallon batch.

I have the mash and boil on my list and have everything to make it a recirculating biab, for a more flexible brewday.

I do wanna say hbt rocks. This is all great advice and things to consider. Cheers!

 

[00Seven]

I have an almost 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. Ive always been an early riser and cant stay up late but my kids are the same way. I have days when I do a lot of work from home and I will either try to brew during the day or I will brew after the kids go to bed. If I measure out my water and have my stuff ready to go I can turn on my stove under my mash water around 7, put my oldest to bed at 7:30, and be mashing by 7:45. My brew day from start to finish clean up is usually around 5- 5.5 hours so I can still be in bed by 1-130. I only do that if there is something I really HAVE to get brewed like if Im bring beer for a customer event or a party and I didn't allow myself enough lead time to brew in the day.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Found out a couple of weeks ago i'll be joining this club. First kid due in May '19! I'll definitely be reading through this thread to get some ideas on how to make it work

 

[Radboud]

Father of 2 here. My wife works long hours so it's hard for me to find the 6-8 hours of guaranteed uninterrupted 'me time' to do a brew. I did about 6 to 8 brews each year before the kids, now down to about 2 I guess. I do a lot of tinkering with my gear though which kind of keeps the hobby going.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Found out a couple of weeks ago i'll be joining this club. First kid due in May '19! I'll definitely be reading through this thread to get some ideas on how to make it work

Congratulations, if you already have a process it should be easier to adapt that and if you are taking time off, the first few weeks they just sleep so lots of time there is potentially time there to start changing your process. I'm short on free time to brew so that's why i personally do 5 gallon batches or 2 5 gallon batches at a time.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Congratulations, if you already have a process it should be easier to adapt that and if you are taking time off, the first few weeks they just sleep so lots of time there is potentially time there to start changing your process. I'm short on free time to brew so that's why i personally do 5 gallon batches or 2 5 gallon batches at a time.

Thanks! Yeah, I do 5 gallon batches currently. May have to try to double up. I've been looking at upgrading my kettle and my mash tun to be able to do 10 gallon batches so I don't have to brew as often. We'll see how it goes!

 

[jimmyjusa]

Thanks! Yeah, I do 5 gallon batches currently. May have to try to double up. I've been looking at upgrading my kettle and my mash tun to be able to do 10 gallon batches so I don't have to brew as often. We'll see how it goes!

I only have a 10 gallon kettle so the one split batch i find two 4 gallon batches, the next time I'll do something similar but throw in extra grains and have a higher gravity and then fill them up to 5 gallon batches. I'll probably only do this with something that would be lower abv anyways. I do biab btw, and in a double batch I'd probably do a dunk sparge or something and get up to 9 gallons and go from there.

 

[WestMichBrewer]

Just make sure you give your wife time to do her hobby activities free from the kids also.

I second this one.

 

[Calder]

Any accident with boiling liquid can cause serious harm. When you are boiling, young kids should not be around, and you probably should not be drinking (too much) either.

When boiling the wort, it tends to take a lot of your attention, adding things at the right time, and watching for boil-overs, that you may not be able to give kids the attention they need.

Outside of the actual boil, you can do pretty much everything else while looking after the kids.

........ and, as others have said, make sure to allow the time to escape from the kids too.