Beer

Making Beer Tips For Dads
By Paul Weese

Beer is an excellent pastime, both to drink and brew. Home brewing beer is as rewarding as a fantastic pile of barbecue ribs, rubbed and sauced. In the household, Dads are the most common brewers in America, especially with beer kits. Over the years, being Dad has given me new opportunities in beer. The two main ones are educating my kids in the brewing process and the history of beer. The second is the new, um, moments to increase my relationship with my wife by containing the messes I make with being King Brew Master of my home.

My wife loves beer as much as I do. Having beer brought in from the store in a clean case and discarding the bottles is very efficient. A fermenter, gear, empty bottles, full bottles, books, and magazines are a project unto themselves, often being very messy. In managing beer inventory, studying how to brew better beer, and sampling, I have had to get creative with my small house. I have taken up to keeping much of my brewing equipment in dark places of the house. The first reason for this is to control the temperature of the wort. I want my wort to fluctuate as little as possible and stick to the cooler side. (This has been a challenge because my house is a very warm structure.) The second reason is that my wife doesn't want to see the equipment laying about the kitchen, dining room, or bedroom. Though I enjoy the thought of a good brew fermenting nearby, I know that beer happiness starts with household happiness.

The biggest items for Dads to remember is to keep your area temperature stable, clean, and out of the way, preferably out of sight of company and wife. A clean area can be a hard find. My area is under my stairwell. This area is excellent for my wort to remain a stable temperature and I have built an area to keep it off the floor (away from gunk on the floor) and a shelf above to prevent dirt from falling onto the top. This area is made to contain all my brewing equipment and supplies. What I run out of most is area to store the cases of beer I brew, which is a good thing. When considering a place to put your fermenter and beer gear, think about ease of cleaning up of spills, and everyday access.

Some brewing systems are made to be in a refrigerator for the entire brewing process, like Mr. Beer. Some beers require a chilling process. In both cases, this can be cumbersome for the one frig household. As well, it's tough to brew beer at someone else's home and hope to taste the results! If you are using a cooling type process, make sure to plan around the amount of cold storage you have.

Including my family has been very rewarding. Telling my kids about the history of beer from mead to Prohibition, and the German Purity Laws, has been entertaining for us all. They enjoy mixing the boiling ingredients, filling the bottles, capping, and making an occasional big batch of root beer. When I was younger, it didn't occur to me that beer would be such a great family pastime. In all of this fun, it is also great time to encourage drinking responsibly. Having a caring and responsible approach to brewing beer at home has brought extra rewards.

To keep beer making in the home a great day, remember to hear the input from your family members. Overall, make sure that beer making is cleaned up, out of the way, and happy. Happy beer is good beer. Good beer is good for Dads.

Paul Weese is the editor and chief beer maker for http://thebarleyreview.com, a home brewing beer kit review website devoted to helping you find the best beer brewing kits, ideas, and recipes since 2008.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Weese
http://EzineArticles.com/?Making-Beer-Tips-For-Dads&id=2424620