Teaching My Dad to Brew

[Quadrupled]

As part of a gift to my Dad, I'm teaching him how to brew an extact tomorrow. We'll be brewing a Kolsch kit which has really enjoyed when I brewed it in the past.

I was hoping to get a few pointers (do's and don'ts) from you seasoned brewers who have successfully taught someone to brew.

Please, fire away!

 

[bad67z]

Have fun and don't make it to intense of a session. Enjoy the time with your father.

 

[TrubDog]

My kids got me into brewing. They have been extract brewing for the last two years. I researched for 6 months and jumped into AG and totally bypassed extracts. Over Thanksgiving I bought them a mash ton and a turkey fryer (black Friday deals) and we brewed up an AG Mac & Jack batch the next day.

They are now totally into AG brewing!

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Don't get upset if he doesn't take to it. It is not for everybody.

 

[DizzyPants]

Awesome! Bring people into the hobby slow and low and they will love it!

 

[unionrdr]

I think it's a noble effort. We parents are at the age where we like such distractions that also contribute to good times. Home brewing is perfect in this regard. Since many of us can cook pretty well at this point,I think that makes something like brewing easier to learn. We are still following a recipe,after all. So be clear & to the point during different phases of the brew. And don't be too harsh as the one doing the teaching. By this I mean keep it interesting,& not too many boring details. That'll come as he brews more,should he enjoy doing it. This could be downright fun. My wife brews with me now,& she's begininng to understand how to get what she likes. Not to mention,wanting to do it again!

 

[RM-MN]

Showing him how to do a batch will be a nice thing. If you know well enough why things are done this way and not that and can explain them clearly it will be a help too. Have fun and don't get stressed if things don't all go perfectly.

 

[Quadrupled]

Well, I took RDWHAHB approach. While explaining the various aspects, I kept it all very simple. I made sure to have him taste the DME and LME, smell the different hops as he added them, observe how the wort changed with each addition etc. When we were done, I had him taste the gravity sample to see how sweet/bitter beer is before fermentation.

The two funniest things were when he smelled the hops and couldn't figure out what it reminded him of - after a few minutes he said "Oh, that's it. It smells like dope.". This caught me off guard. The other thing that was really funny was when he tasted the gravity sample - way to bitter for him.

Overall it was a great success. He was already asking when it would be ready to drink - he wants to bring a bottle over to HIS dads house to show off (my great grandparents were wine makers when my dad was a kid). I don't forsee him running out to buy equipment for himself yet, but he was saying that he wanted to brew next time I brew again! Woo Hoo!

 

[Tyrone]

Oh, that's it. It smells like dope.

heh...

 

[Homercidal]

Some good treats to eat. Some good beer to drink. Make it a fun time to spend together. Not everyone is going to enjoy the technically aspect of the hobby. He might just want to brew with you to spend time with you.

 

[OlatheSurferDude]

I did this same thing over Thanksgiving with my dad. He wanted me to do an Oatmeal stout so we did. He came away from it realizing out was not for him which I was glad he realized that. But I will also plan brew sessions around when he will be in town. He ended up with a case of the oatmeal stout to take home and enjoy.

 

[Quadrupled]

Yeah, it went really well. Most of my free time is spent with my two kids and wife, so I'm hoping that this may be a good way for he and I to spend some time together.

As for brewing traditions, since we started around 10 AM, I didn't bring out any beer - I didn't want to give the wrong impression on day one of brew number one. There's always next time.

 

[unionrdr]

remembering certain things from my youth,I have to agree with him. some hops to smell like the "good" weed in our day. Kinda cool he remembered that. Glad he had a good time.