Episode Fifteen: Making Ginger Beer

When I was young my Aunty made ginger beer with my cousins and I was always jealous of the fact that they got to do that and that they got to reap the fruits of their labour. So, inspired by those exploding bottles, I decided to make my own ginger beer with my own children.

Using a recipe I found in a magazine we got to work: On the first day we started our bug using water, sugar, yeast and ground ginger. Then, every day we added to our bug. Each day for a week the boys took turns putting in the sugar and the ginger. It got to the point where first thing in the morning my youngest boy would wake me up by saying "Dad, we need to feed the bug!". It was exciting stuff.

After a week the bug was looking pretty settled and smelt like real ginger beer so it was time to create our brew. Using a large pot we poured in some water, a heap of sugar, some lemon juice, cream of tartar and our bug. Each of us took turns to add the ingredients. Even my baby girl got to stir the potion.

Once it was all mixed we filled out bottles. After a warning from Dee and a friendly caution from one of the contractors who was painting our house, we decided to use a mixture of glass and plastic bottles. Apparently the bottles are liable to explode so they were all put into a big black rubbish bag, tied up and put in the garden shed. Hopefully if the pressure gets too great and they do explode, the theory is that all of the mess will stay contained within the bag. Fingers crossed.

Although I wanted to rewrite my childhood and finally get my own experience of brewing ginger beer - there were also some great lessons for the kids in this activity. The slow process of feeding the bug can't be rushed so we learnt patience. We all took turns adding to the bug and adding the ingredients to the final mixture so we learnt about sharing the load. Finally, we will have some sweet homemade ginger beer to drink and to give away to our friends so we learn the value of hard work and patience.

We couldn't resist having a little sip to see how it tasted before we bottled it. We're currently on to our first week of fermenting with one more to go. Once it's time to do the taste test, I'll be sure to post the results. In the mean time, here is the recipe should you want to give it a crack:

Ginger Beer Recipe

Warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp raw sugar
2 tsp ground ginger

This here is your bug. Fill a large jar (hipster points for Mason jars) three quarters full with warm water. Add the rest of the ingredients then cover loosely. Don't tighten the lid or who knows what will happen! Then, every day after that for a week add 1 tsp raw sugar and 1 tsp ground ginger. Once a week is up, you're set.

3 cups raw sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar
1L boiling water
5L cold water
2 lemons worth of juice

This is your mixture. In a large pot or bucket add the sugar and the cream of tartar then pour the boiling water in there (might be a good idea to do this yourself). Give that a bit of a stir so that all of the sugar is dissolved. Once you've done that, pour in the cold water and your bug (but DON'T add the sludgey stuff from the bottom). Give that a short stir then throw in your lemon juice. Give it a good stir and then pour into your bottles. They say to store your bottles in a cool, dark place. Apparently these bottles can explode from the awesomeness of ginger beer so make sure wherever you are storing it, you're not too attached to or it's at least cleanable. I just chucked ours in the shed to avoid all that hassle.

With your left over sludge you have two choices: chuck it out, or, start again. If you want to start again, fill the jar to the top with water then tip out half (or give to a friend to make their own!) then fill again to three quarters with warm water and away you go.

Have fun!

Episode Eleven: Take A Nostalgia Trip

I had hoped to offer you a sequel to the 'Share Your Hobby' post this week, but we've had a nasty bout of stomach bug which made things difficult. In the mean time, enjoy...

If there is one thing I remember about my Dad when I was growing up, it was that he loved to tell stories about when he was growing up. To hear the sort of fun he got up to and the inventiveness of what they did was fascinating. It sounded like a different world where 50c got you a ride to town on the tram, two movie tickets and a bag full of Goofy Gums. In hearing these stories, I wished there was a way I could relive those times with him.

I find myself telling my son my own stories about what I did growing up. The fun I had, the mischief I got up to and the lessons I learnt. The interesting thing about my generation is that technology and computers snuck in pretty early and some of my favourite memories of being a pre-teen involve computer games.

I was trying to explain to my eldest son about a strategy war game we used to play called 'Command & Conquer: Red Alert'. It involved defence, offence, construction and finance. The best thing about the game is that it was a multi-player game allowing you to compete over the Internet with different people. It was, in it's time, pretty high-tech, but these days sounds as primitive as my Dad's tram rides and 7c movie tickets. The cool thing about the time my son is growing up in, is that I can show him these old games first hand.

I'm not a huge gamer; I like one or two games and play them until I get sick of them. Then a few years later I get back into them. So, I feel like I have a handle on them and hopefully can pass that approach on to my son (not winning so far, he is game crazy).

Anyhow, we had a great time reliving my early years showing him my strategies and having a friendly competition. Who could outwit who? He's still got a bit to learn, but it's nice to share that little slice of my childhood with him. He probably looks at this game like I look at drawings on cave walls by primitive men, but still.

Apart from being a good excuse to sit inside on a sunny day and play games, the take away lesson is that sharing your experiences with your children is invaluable. If you can relive them, or at least demonstrate those experiences to them, even better. Being able to put those stories into context and letting them see what you got up to as a snot nose will give them an insight into what makes you tick. Those shared experiences will bring you closer together.

Over the last eleven weeks of sharing these ideas with you, I've noticed two things: One, the activity doesn't matter, the time you spend does. I eluded to that earlier but it really is true. Two, a lot of these ideas are humanising us as Dads. I think that is one of the single most important lessons that helped me with my own parenting journey: realising that my Dad was just a regular guy, trying his best. If you can break down that barrier with your children, I think you'll both reap the benefits down the road (I'd like to write more on this if anyone is interested?).

Have fun!

Episode Eight: Looking Through Photo Albums

Over a year ago we had our third child, a girl. With that arrival we also had a new addition to our house: The middle child.

For this idea you will need old photos of your children and a captive audience.

Being a middle child looks like a tough gig. I am the youngest of three so couldn't tell you what it's like. From what I see of my middle boy and thinking of my sister when we were growing up, it doesn't look like an enviable position. In our house there are two parents and if each parent is looking after one child, whoever is left over out of the three either roams free or gets left out.

One thing that constantly pops up with our family is that the eldest boy is allowed to do a lot of things that the middle boy wishes he could do (go and stay with friends, stay up later some times). Also my baby girl gets away with a lot more than the middle boy could too. I constantly find myself either saying, "One day you'll be old enough to..." or, "When you were a baby you used to always...".

One evening I had a thought: Instead of repeating those same old lines to him I would show him. So, we looked through our old photo albums - particularly the one filled with photos of him as a baby. It was great. Not only did I get to show him that, yes, he was once a baby who got away with not tidying up after himself or making fart noises at the table but I also got to show him that his older brother was about the same age that he is now. That way he could really see that he would in fact grow up to be big like his brother one day.

It probably seems like such a simple idea but I didn't realise how much a bit of nostalgia and reminicsing could help out our inter-sibling relations. We had a great time going through each of the photos, talking about how cute everyone was and how Dad had more hair back then. Or pointing out old toys that are now gone or looking at our old house and remembering what we miss about it.

It was also a really good chance for the kids and I to just lay on the floor and take some time out. A nice quiet activity that all of us got involved with. It was the perfect way to reinforce that concept to the middle boy that life is tough, but hopefully it won't always be.

Have fun!