Opinions Needed

[jimjohson]

Ok several people have ask me to have an AG "class" which I am not adverse to doing. However a lifetime of working in a shop don't qualify me to be the best instructor. By this I mean I may not have the best ideas. I.E. My plan is to have a clinic not a class. By that I mean every body brings their own equipment, water (we do have taps in the shop), & ice and we all brew the same brew. Kind of a Home EC for brewers.(gave my age away with that term huh?) I plan to use my APA (Middletown Pale Ale) it's my second oldest recipe and the one I have the best results with...as far as hitting the numbers consistently. Thoughts?

[D_Rabbit]

I think the best way to go about doing this is for you to brew while everyone watches and helps. You can even have someone take the lead on it. The basics of an AG class would be procedure. Mill, strike water, mash, sparge, boil, ferment. They can take what they need from that and branch off to what works best for them and their equipment.

I think if you have 6 people who have never Brewer AG before trying to do it at once it may create a lot of repeated questions that would otherwise be covered once with everyone watching and participating on one particular brew.

[FedoraDave]

I agree with Dan. Too many balls in the air trying to get six or so people to follow the same procedure at the same time.

If you engage people on ONE brew, with you supervising and explaining, they'll probably get more out of it, and it'll serve as a springboard for their own AG brews/recipes.

You might even want to create a brief handout outlining the basics, for future reference.

[John Sand]

I think you'll do fine Jim. Don't look at it as a class as much as a display/discussion. I agree that a printout will help, and give reference for later. If you like, you might instruct while others do the steps. If you really want to make several worts, form teams. Pair off more experienced brewers with less. Have fun, let us know how it works out.
My club is also considering some kind of demo for members at the yacht club. Right now we are just talking about displaying ingredients, equipment, and the finished product. Your project is more ambitious, but I assume it's for brewers with a little experience.

[bpgreen]

Just make sure nobody knows the difference between averse and adverse and you'll be fine.

[Pudge]

It's the terminology that hangs people up. The general outline of how to brew is very simple. I think I'd actually type up and hand out that outline and fill in the termonology and technical details as you went through a brew session.

I like the idea of you brewing while a half dozen or so watch. They could all join in on a brew session or have their own at a later date. Having them brew at the same time could quickly break down into you trying to brew 6 beers simultainiously. That sounds more like a stress test, not a brewing class.

[RickBeer]

I agree with the demo and people watching. I'd also point out that if you're going to do the full brewing experience, it's 4 1/2 hours or so long... You might want to consider instead having a shorter experience, in which you SIMULATE the experience. You could do everything but the boil ahead of time, and have a pot full of wort ready to boil. Then, take them through the process WHILE that pot is heating up. Here's equipment, here's how you clean, here's how you sanitize, here's how you do the various stages, and now you do your boil.

Remember when instructing, you want to teach to a 7th grade level, so you'll need to study up... Seriously, when teaching to the common person, you want to teach to a 13 year old level, not use big words, talk slow, etc.

Good luck Jim (Mission Impossible music...)

[Dawg LB Steve]

Make it one brew, but make it hands on for all. After it is fermented bring them back for bottling and send each home with some to see what AG brewing brings to recipes. You might pick Inkleg's brain he did a class at his LHBS, even though it was BIAB he might have some suggestions.

[RickBeer]

Make sure you understand the laws before you send them home with brew... At Brew Your Own places, you have to brew and bottle YOUR OWN. Staff cannot help, violation of law in Michigan anyway. So if YOU brew the beer and they take it home and consume it, you may have a legal problem.

[Inkleg]

Thanks for throwing me under the bus Steve.

I'm in the one pot to rule them all camp too it will KISS. Which route are you thinking? Traditional 3 vessel or BIAB because both are AG.
Make a list of all the steps, this will help you keep on track. Since you will be at the store, delegate jobs to people but be there to supervise while the others are around too.
Set up the pot fill with strike water. While thats coming up to temp go weigh and grid the grains, show them what the grind looks like, let them taste the grain. Then off to where the hops are kept, tell Richard you need X amount of X hops while you are telling all when and why they go in the boil at different time. Then back to see how the strike water is coming along. Make it an interactive class, there will be some that just want to watch and others that will jump right in. Do this from start to finish and all will get something from it. Plus it will give you a chance to point out what not to do or watch out for. My mistakes have been a big learning tool for people and I have no problem sharing them.

My LHBS has a class the first Saturday of each month. During the hour boil he will have the new class bottle the last classes beer and gives them 2 to take home. They learn another step in the process and he gets his beer bottled, win, win.

Let us know what you decide and how else we can help.

[JohnSant]

My 2 cents. Set your brew schedule up like a lesson plan put bullet points for important stages. Keep all the class involved don't want to lose them with to much BS, keep it light and funny with your miss-haps. What ever insure the message is picked up about key points of making good beer. Should be a good experience.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Thanks for throwing me under the bus Steve.

No problem, Jeff! What are friends for! Other than my LHBS doing classes, (which I have never attended) you are the only one I know that has conducted a class/clinic.

[bpgreen]

Just make sure nobody knows the difference between averse and adverse and you'll be fine.

Well that was unnecessarily snarky and unhelpful.

Sorry.

[FedoraDave]

Some more thoughts, and I know the number of comments and suggestions could be making your head swim, JJ, but take what you can use, make it your own, and realize that, just as in brewing, the craft of teaching has to suit the style of the individual doing it. If something we've suggested just doesn't seem like something you'd be comfortable with, don't try to shoehorn it in.

Anyway, the following things occurred to me while reading through this thread:

1) I still think a single batch, with you demonstrating (and having individuals participate at times, such as mashing in, measuring hops, etc.) is going to provide the most clarity for your students.

2) Have you ever watched a cooking show like Julia Child, or The Galloping Gourmet? I used to love watching the Galloping Gourmet. They would take viewers through the preparation step-by-step, but the finished product was prepared beforehand, to show by the end of the program, even if it took an hour in the oven. The idea of hitting the main points without the wait appeals to me. I mean, what are you going to do during the hour-long mash? It may be a real challenge (not to mention a logistical nightmare) to telescope a four-hour process into 90 minutes or two hours, but unless you have a plan for the downtime we're all familiar with (such as a discussion of grains, or a seminar on recipe formulation or styles), you're all going to be standing around looking at each other until the timer goes off. Plus, being able to show the pay-off (whether it's the finished boeuf bourguignon or an Irish Red Ale) is more satisfying for your audience than telling them "Okay, come back in three weeks, and we'll bottle it, and then four weeks after that, you can drink it."

3) Stress the importance of staging things beforehand. It comes naturally to those of us who have been doing it for years, but a big part of a successful brew day is the prep work. Put everything where it'll be handy, and know what order you're using stuff, and just stress organization. This part of the presentation could be done during the mash, actually, while you have time.

Jeff's suggestions are excellent, and as he speaks from experience, he knows what works. Just have things to do/discuss throughout, otherwise it'll get boring.

[Pudge]

Ever see an episode of Emeril Live? He skips processes that are time consuming and has some parts prepared in advance.