39 replies to this topic

[chadm75]

My wife is 37 weeks pregnant and growing more uncomfortable and short-tempered by the minute !When Matylda gets here, I'm thinking about how my brew schedule will work. Anyone have any tips or thoughts of what has worked for them?!Thanks all! I need all the help I can get!

[ANUSTART]

I find that depending on when you add them to the boil, you can seriously hurt them and it doesnt add anything desirable to the beer. It should be avoided at all costs.

[Yeasty Boy]

Well, for one thing I'd recommend you brew three or four batches in the next couple of weeks, to set you up for a while.Assuming you're working and she's not, you'll be coming home and playing relief pitcher, spending a lot more time doing dishes and cooking than you might be used to. You may even try to get some friends to bring brew over like they do dinners for the first week.Once things settled down a bit (~10 weeks or so) after my first child I was able to start brewing again, but it was a lot easier to fit in on a Saturday morning, with the grain crushed and liquor gathered the night before. I could have the equipment rinsed and put away by about noon and still have the day to play. Somewhere in there I also learned to brew after work, doughing in as soon as I got home, working the boil during dinner, chilling and pitching yeast, quick rinse and then clean up the next day.If possible I recommend 10g batches of the table beers, just to save time.Remember, those first few weeks will go by fast. Take lots of video.

[ncbeerbrewer]

+1 on Yeasty Boy's comments. For me I found that the easiest time to brew and get the least amount of backlash from the wife was to brew in the evenings. I started doing all grain after my two kids were born (twins) For them their bedtime was around 7ish so the strikewater was being headed 715-730 and mashed in around 8pm. Yes it did make for some late nights but it never bothered me either. I brewed like that for well over a year and it worked great. Now I have interest in brewing at other times and taking care of my kids is much easier now than when getting started. Now I find you can still brew beer and watch your kids at the same time and of course have a beer in the process. I think it would be wise to brew up as much as you can as suggested so that way you have some stock to drink as you get adjusted to your new blessing. Hey as my wife tells me she is happy that my hobby only takes me out to the garage so at least you are still around and available if need be too. Good Luck Chad, look forward to hearing how you work it out for yourself.

[RommelMagic]

I find that depending on when you add them to the boil, you can seriously hurt them and it doesnt add anything desirable to the beer. It should be avoided at all costs.

[Given2fly]

Congrats Chad, my wife is at 20 weeks so I'm in the same boat (just not as far out to sea). I need to pick up some extra kegs and brew over the summer to fill them, because I don't expect much extra time when October hits. Brewing at night sounds like a good idea though!

[drewseslu]

Jimvy should chime in on this one.Beware, however, DJ had me help with a couple of random batches during the 'hiatus' and look how I turned out...

[Deerslyr]

I agree with Yeasty as well. You won't be doing any brewing in the first 10 weeks... that "short tempered" nature you are experiencing now is not likely to go away once the fatigue of caring for an infant begins. You will need at least 10 weeks to figure out the routine. Anything before that is useless because the "routine" will change on a weekly basis. If you had some generous brew buddies, I'm sure that you could arrange to do some brewing at their place, but let them understand you may only be there for maybe 25% of the time and figure out what portion would be the best time. Don't be surprised if they say that they want you there for the cleaning portion. I know its not the same thing, but last November I basically brewed a Porter that was technically a "joint" brew because my buddy had his day job, his night job teaching a math class at the local CC and was preparing to go to Siberia for an adoption the next week. We worked out the cost sharing and basically doubled the batch. He was able to come over in between work and heading to class for a few minutes and then came back around the time I was chilling the wort. If you have a friend that has the capacity and you can agree on the recipe, then just split the cost of ingredients.Trust me... it's gonna be tough to find "me time" with a newborn around the house. The other option is to re-acquaint yourself with more styles of commercial beers. Thank god for BevMo!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Do any of you guys have family close by? I don't have kids but judging by the way my parents go nuts for my nephew if I did have kids they'd be over before I could hang up the phone if I asked them to come over and watch a little one for a day while I brewed.

[ncbeerbrewer]

If you have family or parents close by then the challenges are much less. My closest family my parents are 5 hours away, not happening here for sure.

[commander flatus]

ditto the above comments. my parents come over on weekends sometimes to lend a hand an i can usually squeeze in a brew while doing yardwork, etc.it's a lot of fun. i can't wait until the little guy is old enough to be brewer's assistant #1.flatulently,

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

ditto the above comments. my parents come over on weekends sometimes to lend a hand an i can usually squeeze in a brew while doing yardwork, etc.it's a lot of fun. i can't wait until the little guy is old enough to be brewer's assistant #1.flatulently,

This brings up an interesting point that I've been wondering...If you guys have kids helping you brew do they get to drink some of the end product (not when they are 5 obviously). I'm actually a little concerned about what will happen later on for me - I don't see myself wanting to stop brewing but it's not long ago that I was in HS. If I had had kegs at my disposal at all times the temptation would have been enormous!

[ncbeerbrewer]

My kids are only 3 and they don't know anything about beer or my kegerator or anything. I am pretty sure as they get older and definitely are in high school I will be getting some tap locks to put on each tap since I would not be a happy camper if my kids were drinking or letting their friends drink if I was not around or heck at all when they are not old enough. I got plenty of years before that but the idea has crossed my mind already too. LocksHmm I might need to start saving now for them too.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

My kids are only 3 and they don't know anything about beer or my kegerator or anything. I am pretty sure as they get older and definitely are in high school I will be getting some tap locks to put on each tap since I would not be a happy camper if my kids were drinking or letting their friends drink if I was not around or heck at all when they are not old enough. I got plenty of years before that but the idea has crossed my mind already too. LocksHmm I might need to start saving now for them too.

You'll have to lock the door to the kegerator as well. I know when I was a kid I would have quickly figured out I could just buy my own picnic tap with hose and QD and serve myself beer all day long

[Greatfookin]

You'll have to lock the door to the kegerator as well. I know when I was a kid I would have quickly figured out I could just buy my own picnic tap with hose and QD and serve myself beer all day long

This is my fear about my youngest boy, as he is as smart, or smarter than me when I was younger. There isn't much he can't figure out.

[djinkc]

If you have the time and means, get set up for 10+ gal batches and kegging before this kids start arriving. And consider extract if you need to. Both of those will cut down brewery time. And get used to the fact that it will be hard to brew as often. I went 20 years between batches once.It was a bit different then though, ingredients were mediocre. The few dry yeasts available were a crapshoot at best. It was hard to make something decent in the early '80s. With what is available now I probably would have kept brewing, but just a not as much.Oh, and things never get back to "normal". One day you wake up and figure out that you now have a "new normal". Wouldn't trade it for anything though.

Edited by dj in kc, 30 May 2009 - 03:54 PM.

[Yeasty Boy]

Well, as for "normal" I will say that with a 7, 3 and 2 year old I knock out at least a batch a month, so with a few 10g's in there I keep myself in beer just fine. If you can't take 5 hr a month in there to putz around and let grains steep and boil, something ain't right.Keep in mind that brewing a batch of beer is basically about a 90 minute process, with lots of gaps in between. fill those with loading the dishwasher, cooking, folding laundry, etc., and it won't even seem like brewing. This last beer I brewed a couple of days ago was in between dishes, dinner and gardening. Not sure my wife even noticed I was brewing until I had to take a time-out for chilling/O2/pitching and cleanup.Some of us have it easier than others, depending on who you got hitched to, but it's important to remember and remind that raising kids takes two, and you both need some "me" time to stay sane.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Yeasty. I like your most recent comment as well. Tonight I mentioned told my wife that I was getting up with the birds tomorrow morning and brewing. I said I felt inspired (sorta just fancy terms I wanted to say to her) she was like ok and then says aren't you always inspired? LOL gotta love her. I too agree I have watched my kids, cleaned up and so on while brewing. All grain does allow for more time gaps to do things than the old extract ways. Its all good though, gotta love it!!

[realbeerguy]

Plan your brew day to start early in the AM. Have coffee & breakfast ready when she gets up.

[Stout_fan]

I find the boiled flesh of young goats detrimental to head retention.It doesn't help the flavor much either.