beer making presentation

[TonyKZ1]

I've been sorta volunteered to have a beer making presentation at our next Art Guild meeting (my wife is an author and artist).

I've got a Guide To Craft Brewing from Craft-a-Brew and a 1 gallon extract w/steeping grains Irish Red Ale recipe from Jaspers. I'm planning on starting with showing the required brewing items, brewing pot and 1 gallon glass jug fermenter. Then go through the guide, talking about the ingredients, malted barley, hops, water and yeast. Then about sanitizing your equipment/utensils and how it's one of the most important parts. Then go through the procedure without actually making the beer of course. As I'm talking about this, start passing around the ingredients and guide so they could look at it also.

Any hints/suggestions?
Thanks, Tony

[Inkleg]

I might suggest getting some extra whole grains if you can. Maybe a 1/2 lb each of base, C-40 and a dark roast. Pass that around and allow them to smell and taste the grain. You could do the same with an ounce of whole leaf hops. It would be around $10 out of your pocket, but I think it would bring a lot to the presentation.

[Whamolagan]

Talk about yeast and how it can affect flavor,, and some history of why beer is important to our culture, and lastly talk up the borg.

[FedoraDave]

Good suggestions by Ink and Whamo. But I would caution you to stick to the KISS presentation (Keep It Simple, .... uh ... Sweetie). To someone without any experience, brewing could seem intimidating and complicated. I know it seemed that way to me before I got immersed in it. But really, it can be as simple or as challenging (I don't like the word "complicated") as the individual wants it.

The basics are as follows:

You need clean, dedicated vessels.
You need decent water. Tap water can be fine, but it may not be. It's important to know.
You need to sanitize everything.
Temperature is important.
Proper carbonation/conditioning time is also important.

It doesn't matter if the individual wants to make a beer from a kit, or if they want to go all-grain, or some other permutation of the procedure/recipe; it's the procedure that matters.

That being said, your presentation is also going to depend on how the Art Guild wants demonstrations presented. Are they more interested in history, philosophy, technique, or some other aspect? Or is it more or less up to you? Good luck with it, and keep in mind, no matter what you do, you're probably not going to please everyone. But if you do your best to present it comprehensively and engagingly, you've done all you can do.

[TonyKZ1]

Thanks for the info & suggestions. As for the way they want it presented, it's all up to me. Keeping it simple is one reason I was thinking of the 1G recipe/procedure. Yesterday my wife was making some cookie bars with the spent-grain I had left over from a Stout I just made. She thought perhaps I should make some another batch that uses grain, either as all-grain or steeped, and then she'll make some cookies with the spent grain for them to try. Sounds like I need to make more beer, yay!

[Kealia]

If you are looking for an actual presentatioin (Power Point, etc.) don't strat from scratch.

A quick Google search turns up some basic slides you can use like this one.

[TonyKZ1]

Well, the presentation was Sunday afternoon and it went well, better than I expected anyhow. The attendance was kinda small or at least smaller than we had thought were coming. The people asked some questions, one lady was from California and had spent time in the Pacific NW and knew about growing hops, etc.. i brought a Liter of the simply.beer Pale Ale that I had made recently and offered samples that most of them tried. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the beer sampling, so I guess it went pretty good.

[Inkleg]

Glad it went well. Sounds like everyone had a good time.

[FedoraDave]

Good job. It's always kind of tough to know if enough is enough, or not enough, or too much. But it seems as if it went well, and if you've planted some seeds, well, that's a positive thing.