Childrens Beer

[widsith]

My son (10 yo) likes helping me brew and would like to try brewing his own. Of course there is the issue of alcohol. Im happy to give him a sip of the beers we brew together, but here hes looking for something he can drink. There is also the fact that he still has a child's taste profile and therefore likes sweet flavors. (So while he likes helping me, hes not terribly enamored of the finished product of my recipes. I think this is part of the reason he wants to make his own.) I have some equipment to make a 1gal batch, so Im happy to work with him on this, but Im looking for ideas.

One idea is to not add yeast and carbonate the wort. While this would be sufficiently sweet for him, based on the sampling of worts Ive done with him when brewing, it tends to be a bit too malty. (Might this be resolved by a simpler beer? I tend to brew IPAs, American Ales and stouts. Perhaps if I used a pilsner recipe?)

Another is to brew an actual beer with a sweeter profile and then heat it to 175-180 F and hold it there for a while, possibly adding distilled water to make up lost volume. I would expect this to burn off most, but not all the alcohol, but I am concerned about loosing some flavor and potentially carmelizing some of the remaining sugars.

I suppose the other alternative is to make some sort of small beer, perhaps a ginger beer or birch beer. Although he likes to help grind, so Im not sure he would be thrilled if that step is missing.

All input is welcomed.

-Widsth

 

[Paps]

perhaps look in the `root beer` section of these forums.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I bet you could make a 10.25 beer that he might like maybe a amber with some lactose to help sweeten it. I would also look for a yeast that is lazy. I would admit this could be a challenge. the next question is how much beer and when do you let him drink. Maybe a Blond beer would be better for his taste just add honey malt. Being a Dad can be Challenging!

 

[VT-NAV]

Despite the fact that I'm sure this is a troll, I'll respond as if it was real.

Why not make soda instead?

 

[seigex]

When I brew with my boys, we make daddy beer first, then finish up the brew day making and kegging root beer....one tap is dedicated to their homemade root beer.

 

[GHBWNY]

perhaps look in the `root beer` section of these forums.

^^^ I'll bet if he makes something like this on his own that he can drink and enjoy --- even without grinding grains, which he can still help you do with your brews --- he will have some fun and a tasty beverage to boot. If it were me, I wouldn't encourage the production or consumption of anything alcoholic at this point in my kid's life.

 

[Jim_Holmes]

id say troll but my answer would be this http://byo.com/stories/item/263-brew-a-great-non-alcoholic-beer

 

[Teromous]

My son (10 yo) likes helping me brew and would like to try brewing his own. Of course there is the issue of alcohol. Im happy to give him a sip of the beers we brew together, but here hes looking for something he can drink. There is also the fact that he still has a child's taste profile and therefore likes sweet flavors. (So while he likes helping me, hes not terribly enamored of the finished product of my recipes. I think this is part of the reason he wants to make his own.) I have some equipment to make a 1gal batch, so Im happy to work with him on this, but Im looking for ideas.

One idea is to not add yeast and carbonate the wort. While this would be sufficiently sweet for him, based on the sampling of worts Ive done with him when brewing, it tends to be a bit too malty. (Might this be resolved by a simpler beer? I tend to brew IPAs, American Ales and stouts. Perhaps if I used a pilsner recipe?)

Another is to brew an actual beer with a sweeter profile and then heat it to 175-180 F and hold it there for a while, possibly adding distilled water to make up lost volume. I would expect this to burn off most, but not all the alcohol, but I am concerned about loosing some flavor and potentially carmelizing some of the remaining sugars.

I suppose the other alternative is to make some sort of small beer, perhaps a ginger beer or birch beer. Although he likes to help grind, so Im not sure he would be thrilled if that step is missing.

All input is welcomed.

-Widsth

What you're asking about (unfermented wort) is pretty common in most places around the world. You can buy it in the US but it isn't as popular as other drinks (such as soda). In Germany it is called Vitamalz and in many island locations (such as Jamaica) it is called Malta. It's pretty good stuff if you have a sweet tooth. I would recommend getting some and seeing if your son likes it before you make it. Grocery stores where I live sell Malta Goya, but if you can't find it, try looking at a specialty/ethnic grocery store that has either Caribbean or Mexican foods.

 

[widsith]

What you're asking about (unfermented wort) is pretty common in most places around the world. You can buy it in the US but it isn't as popular as other drinks (such as soda). In Germany it is called Vitamalz and in many island locations (such as Jamaica) it is called Malta. It's pretty good stuff if you have a sweet tooth. I would recommend getting some and seeing if your son likes it before you make it. Grocery stores where I live sell Malta Goya, but if you can't find it, try looking at a specialty/ethnic grocery store that has either Caribbean or Mexican foods.

Ill look for that.

As to the root beer suggestions by others, Im trying to replicate the process for him. He can be fairly particular about doing things a certain way. He wants to have to make something and age it, which I suppose could work with a root beer. He wants to keg it, and Im willing to sacrifice a few o-rings to the project, but would need an alternative to running it through my taps.

Is ginger ale as contaminating of rubber and plastic?

 

[Komocabo]

My son makes barley pop when we brew. Basically, mash and a large but plan for an extra gallon or so to pour off for him. He doesn't like hops. He boils his on my old kettle for about 20 mins, or until he is ready for something else. We chill in an ice batch, then throw dry ice in there. Bam. Barley pop.

He also makes root beer when I brew, if that is what he wants to do. Same as above, boil, chill, dry ice, drink.

That's another reason why I love this hobby-doesn't take me away from the house and fam

 

[Komocabo]

Is ginger ale as contaminating of rubber and plastic?

No dude, full of redheads. Lol
You can get ginger ale at any grocery store. Not sure what you mean by rubber and plastic

 

[jrgtr42]

Don't know exactly what you mean, if it is what I think, O-rings and tap hoses are cheap - and the tap itself is easy to clean. If you dedicate one keg and an outflow hose to rootbeer or some other soda, it's not really a big deal on most multi=tap kegorators to change out, or you can set a picnic tap rig for that as another option. Still use the regular CO2 rig for carbonation, but pour though the cobra not the big tap.

 

[NTexBrewer]

My son and I have made this beer and we also made a lemon shandy beer that was around 2.5%

http://beerandwinejournal.com/rye-wit-session-beer/