Gesta Lexen - #BrewingWithDad

Gesta Lexen, Director of HR

Years at Northern Brewer:1.5

Years of Homebrewing:1

Gesta, our Director of Human Resources, is relatively fresh to the team and a newbie homebrewer, but he’s already nurturing his son into the craft.

“My son is 13 months old. Brewing with him (as with anything productive involving a toddler) requires intense spacial awareness, multitasking, and expert distraction skills. Beau is curious about anything and everything. He loves watching, listening, and ‘helping’ whenever he can. It takes a little extra time (and sanitizer), but brewing as a dad is such a great experience for me to share with my son.”

Describe a brewing experience that caught you by surprise?

"I accidentally aerated my first brew when I was getting ready to bottle and thought I’d ruined it. However, the beer was much more forgiving than I thought, and it actually turned out great! In brewing, you can make dumb critical errors, but in many cases there are things you can do to recover and still produce a nice result. Don't stress, and feel free to get creative. It's just beer!"

Any homebrew hacks you’ve used during your process?

"I ended up using our toddler's medicine syringe to portion out priming solution and add it to each bottle individually. It was a huge pain and added an hour to my bottling day, but surprisingly it worked out and the beer carbonated well after a couple of weeks!"

Favorite Cheers:

“We got a babysitter!”

Name a starter kit you found was easy to use & produced awesome results?

"The 1 Gallon Shandy Starter Kit* is a straightforward, easy-drinking brew that embodies all the elements of a sunny day. It's a crowd pleaser that easily courts the taste buds of friends or family who aren't typically beer drinkers."

*Please note: the Limited Edition: 1 Gallon Craft Beer Making Gift Set now includes the delicious Frosty Footprints Pale Ale.

Shop Limited Edition 1 Gallon Craft Beer Making Gift Set >