Teaching a Homebrew Class (community ed)

[DaveT]

I learned alot being a new brewer from your youtube videos, I think it would of been nice to see the aeration test you did before my first batch. possibly work aeration in when you are talking about the yeasts and bring a TV or laptop to play the video or some of the other good ones you made, possibly one for a over view of all grain brewing?
make sure you get a chance to explain the hydrometer and all the cool gadgets that you prefer for brewing so they don't think it's a big chore to brew (like auto-siphon ect..) . I would go if it were close by me, I have brewed 4 extract kits so far and still striving for more information.
The Midwest DVD was helpful but is missing some detail that would make it easier for the noob. It felt like too much like a infomercial that I didn't want to follow
Another good thought would to hand out paper with some basic notes or suggest they take notes as they follow the class

1 keg-ed, 1 bottled, 1 bottled and party pig'ed and the last awaiting the secondary. next batch is coming soon when I think I have my high FG problem sorted out Do you plan to tape the class and post it for us? I'd like to see how it goes.

 

[dantodd]

If you're willing I'd like to get the outline you decide on. I think I might propose a similar class to our City. It might be kinda cool to put together an unofficial HBT syllabus for homebrew classes.

 

[Bobby_M]

This is a revived old thread. The class that was offered in June wasn't booked by a single student. We're trying again in October with a lower price so we'll see how it goes. I moved the class to my garage to make it easier on me too. If I was smart, I'd just promote the class myself by plastering 100 flyers on the Rutgers campus a mile away.

 

[Grimsawyer]

The problem with colleges is most people who go there just want to get screwed up and party. They are young people that want to drink whatever dosn't taste too bad and get their buzzzz on. I noticed with my friends it took till our mid 20's to actually start going after the "finer" things in life. BMC worked up till then for my friends. ok, so i'm an odd one. It never worked well for me but now I brew my own! The trick with this class would be to find a hangout for mid 20's or older and post fliers. It is my humble opinion that kids are lazy. Socializing is much more important to them than a time consuming hobby such as this. However there are the lone wolves that this could be a blessing to as well. Maybe posting fliers at local brew pubs or even bars AS WELL as at the college. Plant the seeds of fate. I know when I was 21 I visited a homebrew shop out of curiosity. I diddn't have the time, the money or the motivation to do it but it stuck in my mind like a splinter. From time to time I would think about it on and off. If it wasn't for that spurr of the moment, hey I'm walking by a homebrew shop and I wonder what that's all about day I might not be a homebrewer today. Eventhough nobody signed up for the class don't be discouraged! I'm sure a few people saw it and thought, naw. Not for me. Then kinda toyed with the idea a bit. And if they saw it again maybe, just maybe they'd sign up. I love the idea of this class. I would have taken one a year ago if I could have found one. I say go for it! Don't stop trying to reach out. Sometimes it only takes one person to set off a feeding frenzy of people interested in something. I just don't think it'll be our younger citizens. HA! I talk like I'm old and experienced. Hell i'm only 30! Just observations from what I have noticed in my directionless wandering while enjoying life as much as my beer will let me! Cheers!

 

[dantodd]

I don't know, I think that kids today (god that makes me sound old.....) are growing up in the micro-brew age. While economics certainly keep a lot of Meisterbrau moving through the liquor stores there are a whole lot of kids who are turning 21 who grew up with "real" beer in the house. Even if it's just Sam Adams Boston Lager or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale kids today are exposed to a much wider selection of beers beyond BMC. I know when I was a kid BMC were the good beers, imports were for snobs and ******* and cheap beer was for college kids. We had no idea what micro-brews were or what a pale ale was.

I am now fortunate enough to live in a fairly affluent part of the country but I don't believe it is THAT far from the rest of the world.

 

[Eric_Duel]

I went to Rutgers. I brewed beer in my apartment 1 block behind the student center on College Ave.

I say go for it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I went to Trenton State...old school with a new name...

 

[Bobby_M]

By the way, I also direct mailed about 60 flyers to all the Knights of Columbus, Veterans Clubs, Masonic Temples, etc. Not one call. I planned to do firehouses next but lost motivation.