Many people have asked me what part I and the children have in the process of brewing that my husband does. Like Ms. George Bush Sr. and Mrs. Harry S. Truman stated so eloquently, “very little.”

My husband is a very crafty gentleman. After asking me for my blessing for the endeavor of brewing, he next asked if I would also like to participate. “How would you like to make the labels?” This was a fun project. During the year I made the labels using MS PowerPoint on our home computer. This was my all-important contribution. Others in the family were given similar “important tasks”. The security department became our dog Spot, the cleaning department became our front door area with easy access to the garden hose, and the bottle-capping department became the job for the children. See how easy it is to make this an all-inclusive family hobby!

Warning to including your children in the hobby of brewing beer: My daughter was sitting in on her 9-grade literature class reading Beowulf. The teacher in her instruction asked the class if they knew what Mead was. MY OFF-SPRING was the only one to raise her hand with the correct answer. She then comes home and tells us how impressed the English teacher was. My husband wanting to show his gratitude for teaching on such a fine topic wraps in a brown bag a bottle of HIS homemade Mead, takes it to the school and leaves it at the front desk. Remember there are rules for teachers as well as students about alcoholic beverages on school property even if it is for educational purposes. The phrase for the school that day was, “don’t look and we won’t know.”

The Beowulf class was not the only school incident. Both my son and daughter have won acclaim from science teachers for their knowledge of the growth and benefits of molds, yeasts and bacteria. When asked at the teacher-parent conferences how these children became so knowledgeable there father proudly takes a deep breath and goes into a full explanation of his hobby and their participation. I am amazed we have not been visited by county social workers.

As the years have gone by, I have succumbed to my own interests away from my husband’s brewing. I take great pleasure watching him fuss over the fermentation, the watching of the gizmos perk, and the amazement he has in measuring the alcohol content of the mixtures. I am even more proud of the awards and acclaims he has achieved for his brewing accomplishments. He too is equally proud. Check out his web page.

http://www.glewwe-castle.com/brewing/

The following is a list of his achievements.  I love his side comments.

1995	First place for his hard apple cider at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
1996	First place for a still mead at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.   Second place for his sparkling apple cider at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
1997	Third place for his Spring Lake Cider at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
1998	No show - Aaargh!  The competition is improving.
1999	First place for his orange blossom mead at the Scott County Fair.  First place for his Reichelbrau Dopplebock at the Scott County Fair.  Third place (after a recount) was awarded for orange blossom mead at the Great Minnesotan Get-Together (State Fair). Third place for his Death by Honey (Raspberry Blossom) mead at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
2000	First place for his orange blossom mead at the Scott County Fair.   First place for his root beer at the Scott County Fair.  Yea! Finally, recognition for a fine recipe. Second place for his Spring Lake apple cider at the Scott County Fair.  Second place for his Reichelbrau dopplebock at the Scott County Fair.  First place for his Belgian trappist ale at the Dakota County Fair.  Second place for his orange blossom mead at the Dakota County Fair.  Fourth place for his Reichelbrau dopplebock at the Dakota County Fair.  First place for his orange blossom mead at the Minnesota State Fair. Yea!  A fine day in history!
2001	A wonderful comment on my Root Beer.   First place for his cyser (apple mead) at the Scott County Fair.  First place and Champion for his Hard to the Core apple cider at the Scott County Fair.  Second place for his root beer at the Scott County Fair.  Second place for his Hard to the Core apple cider at the Minnesota State Fair.